Jess here with Sarina Bowen to help simplify and demystify author contracts. Let’s start off with a wonderful resource called The Authors Guild. They have sample contracts on their website

The Authors Guild Sample Contract

Sarina made a lovely outline to prepare for the episode (because of course she did) so I’m dropping that here.

• You’re not “selling” your book. You’re licensing it.

• Grant of rights

• Term length

• Which territories

• Which formats

• Territories

• North American

• World English

• World

• Formats and sub rights

• Print and digital and audio

• Sub rights like “first serial”

• Translation MAYBE

• Time limits

• X years

• The life of the copyright

• Financial remuneration: advances and royalty rates. WHEN is it paid? What percentages?

• Advance and payment schedule

• On signing

• On acceptance of the work (after an edit)

• On publication

• A year after publication

• Manuscript delivery and acceptance. What happens if people are unhappy.

• Other clauses

• Copyright stipulation

• The Option Clause

• The Next Published Work Clause

• Cover approval vs consideration or collaboration

• Narrator approval vs consideration

• Indemnification

• What are reserves against returns?

• Reversion terms: bankruptcy, failure to publish, failure to pay, and out of print

• Red flags:

• Film rights, even if they say “non exclusive”

• Derivative works

• Lack of reversion language

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