© Dianne Bates
Getting one’s
first contract is probably the highlight of a new author’s writing life (next
to first hearing that a publisher wants to publish her book). However, it can
be easy to receive the contract and in a moment of blissful ignorance, sign and
date it with a flourish – only to later discover you have signed your life
away. I’ve signed hundreds of publishers’ contracts over the past 30 years, so
I, too, have blundered along the way. Here are a few "nevers" I would
suggest when signing a contract:
* Never let a
publisher bully you. Never! If you are inexperienced or nervous and you have a
contract, then is a good time to contact a literary agent and get them to
negotiate on your behalf. (Agents are more interested in writers who already have
contracts.) Alternatively you can contact the ASA (Australian Society of
Authors), a private arts lawyer or the Arts Law Centre, all of whom will advise
you on what rights you should accept.
If at any time during negotiations,
the publisher tries to bypass your agent re the terms of the contract, be firm
and refer them to your agent.
* Do not sign the
option clause in your contract. The option clause basically says that you agree
to submit your next manuscript to the company. It is unnecessary and for many
reason it’s to your advantage not to. You can always submit your next work to
the same publisher who gave you the first contract. Or to anyone else!
* Never sign with
book publishers for "devices which might be invented
in the future" Negotiate these separately, when the publisher is ready to
publish via non-book means.
* Never assign CAL
(Copyright Agency Licence, or photocopying) payments to your publisher, but DO
register your book with CAL as soon as it is published
* Never let your
publisher take your share of ELR and PLR payments. (If in doubt, ring
the Lending Rights' people and ask them what to do). Lending Rights is a
Federal Government payment to compensate authors for their books held in public
and educational libraries.
* Never refuse to
take an advance against royalties. Even if it's only $300, take it. If a
publisher says he can't afford it, find a publisher who can afford it. Do you want to deal with a
liar? Advances should always be non-returnable. If the contract is signed and
your publisher reneges, you are entitled to what is known as a "kill
fee" which compensates you for the work you have done, or have missed out
on doing.
* Never take a
flat fee payment: if you do, then you will never get ELR and PLR payments which
are worth a lot of money to you over a period of time. Lending Rights payments
are only made where there is a continuing interest in the book (ie royalties
coming in).
Always check every
single clause in your contract: be especially careful with percentages on subsidiary
rights and book club deals. Also, watch the translation and film rights clauses
and make sure you negotiate for as much as you can.
·
Re
negotiation tactics, put everything in writing. Talking to publishers in person
or on the phone about contracts can be emotionally charged, so it is best to
put it in print (either email or snail mail) and keep paper copies of all email
exchanges. Create a paper folder marked with the publisher’s name and keep
papers in consecutive date order, including royalty statements, letters (or
emails) to and fro etc. Date everything. This will prove very helpful in the
long run if you need to check on anything, or if there is a legal problem.
·
A CONTACT IS A LEGAL DOCUMENT. NEVER LOSE IT. KEEP IT IN A SAFE
PLACE.
RISING ROYALTIES
If you negotiate for rising royalties make sure you
keep an eye on the number you sell and let the publisher know if they
conveniently forget that the clause is there. A rising royalty means you are to
receive a greater percentage of royalties depending on book sales. You might,
for example, have a royalty of 10% on the first 3,000 copies sold, rising to
12% thereafter.
Don't
let all your great talent and many hours of work be under-valued by yourself
and/or your publisher!
ROYALTY STATEMENTS
Whenever you
receive a royalty statement, always check how many copies there are remaining;
if it approaches 50 (which indicate the book is close to going out of print)
immediately write to the publisher and give notice to reissue or reprint the
book. If they don’t want to do so, ask to buy remainders at discount (offer 50
cents, and negotiate from there.) According to your contract, when the book
goes out of print, the rights will revert to you so you can get your book
published elsewhere, if you wish. Get the publisher to put it into writing that rights have reverted to you. I have done this quite a few times.
REMAINDERS
Sometimes
publishers decide to get rid of stock in their warehouse. There can be numerous
reasons for this, including old stock making way for new, or stock not selling
and taking up valuable space. In any case, most contracts indicate – or should,
as it is to your advantage – that the author gets first right of refusal. Having
remainders means that you can dispose of them as you wish (donate them to
schools, give them as gifts to family and friends, or sell them.) Often the
publisher will offer the remainders to you at a certain price. But it is better
if you make the first offer. I generally ask to buy remainder stock (which
might be up to 1,000 copies) at 50 cents a copy. The publisher will agree or
(mostly likely) make a counter offer. Always make sure that the agreement you
reach results in the publisher paying the freight charges (they get them a lot
cheaper that you will.)
You can sell your
remainders at RRP, if you wish, or at discount at
Markets
Your local schools
To book shops
Conferences
Schools where you present
Via the internet
Via your website
By mail order
If you donate your
books to organisations, such as schools or charities, you can claim a tax
deduction (as a donation or for promotional purposes).
If giving the
books away is part of your marketing yourself as an author, you can also claim
a tax deduction. Make sure you keep accurate transaction records, including
date, price, quantity and customer .
I was once stuck with 500 CD books which I was unable to sell, so I donated
them to a teachers’ organisation which had a stall at a national conference; that year I made a bonus tax deduction as a result.
Dianne (Di) Bates is the author of 120+, many of which
are now out of print. Her most recent books are The Girl in the Basement
(Morris Publishing Australia), Nobody’s Boy (Celapene Press) and A Game of Keeps (Celapene Press). Di’s website is www.enterprisingwords.com.au Di also
offers an online course for those wishing to write for children.
