Publishing Contracts: Part 1 by Dyanne Davis
Written by Dyanne Davis · June 11, 2009 · 277 views
Most of you aren’t familiar with me, so I’ll introduce myself. My name is Dyanne Davis and I’m a romance author. I also write a vampire series under F. D. Davis. I’m thrilled to be participating in this new venture that Tee is doing. For many years I didn’t think I’d learned enough to be of any help to anyone else. I know think there are things we can all share with each other. With such a diverse group of writers and readers in the RAW family it’s hard to decide what to provide for this first issue. So, I decided to go with the one thing that I wanted to see years before I became published. A publishing contract. It’s one of those things that if you’re polite you would never ask anyone to show you. Like you’d never ask anyone how much of an advance they received. (smile)
Since I began in this business I’ve signed all kinds of contracts, some I shouldn’t have. I know now about adding clauses that favor me. Some things I picked up from my agent some from other places. This boiler plate contract is one of several that’s used in the industry. No contract should ever be signed without you first having either an agent negotiate it or an Intellectual Property Attorney look it over. If you’re offered a publishing contract and decide to ignore everything that I’ve said here, at least get the clause below inserted into your contract. Good luck
Ownership of Characters
Except as allowed under the sections of this agreement governing promotion of the work, Author owns the characters and controls their use in sequels or series books, whether published by Publisher or another Publisher. Publisher will have a non-exclusive right to use the title, all the material, including characters in the Work, for the purpose of advertising, publishing and promoting the Work.
Nothing in this agreement shall obligate the Author to submit any additional, unrelated works to Publisher.
Stay tuned for Part 2 and please post any questions or comments you have below.
(Note: To post and view comments, you’ll need to use Internet Explorer)
An avid reader, award-winning author Dyanne Davis’ love of the written word turned into a desire to write. She has been a presenter of numerous workshops and hosts a cable show, which provides writing tips to aspiring writers. Visit her website at www.dyannedavis.com or her alter ego ADAM OMEGA at www.adamomega.com.
Great article and information !
Hi Linda,
I hope the things I bring in the next months will continue to be helpful.
Dyanne
This is good information. I’ve had questions about contracts and I don’t have an Intellectual Attorney. Thank you. I look forward for the second installment.
Jeanette,
Some of this stuff is going to get pretty boring so I’m going to break it up from time to time. I’m going to do my best to explain to the best of my ability the different parts of the contract. Just keep in mind that it won’t take the place of you letting a lawyer look over the contract. But I’m hoping it will help.
Dyanne
Great article Ms Jack of All Trades. I am sure it will help those whose hearts desire is to be published.
Hey Toni,
Look who’s talking. LOL. How are you?
Dyanne
Thanks for sharing Dyanne. What is a standard length for a book contract?
Hey Lady,
There is no standard length.
Dyanne
Wow! Thanks for sharing this. I’ve always wanted to see what one looked like . This is very useful. I plan on self publishing my work but I also want to start taking on clients within the next few years once my company is established. I am trying to learn as much as I can about the business.
Hi LaTreka,
How are you? It took me a few minutes to actually read the message that said to use Internet Explorer. I posted the contract because I remembered how much I wanted to see one for myself. As far as self publishing goes, check out Renee Flager’s website. She’s a master at self publishing and extremely generous with information.
Dyanne
Dyanne:
I’m great and I hope you are doing well. I think its wonderful that you are taking out the time to explain this. Again thanks for the info.
LaTreka
I’m glad I found this information and I will be tuning in from time to time. I just got scammed by my last publisher and I am looking for a reputable publishing company to submit my newest manuscript to. It is really scary out there in the literary world.
Some publishers are out there to steal your talent and profit from it themselves, making the lame claim that this is ‘just business’. That alone says a lot about their lack of integrity and of their greed. Some make demands as if you are they’re employee and talk down to you as if you are a child. We should all be working together as a high functioning team, in order to produce quality books.
I am in the market for a literary agent to work with me in order to ensure that what happened to me in the past won’t repeat itself. And if I cannot find an agent you can bet I will be checking credentials and references of the companies that I do submit to.
Great topic and I lookd forward to hearing more.
Thanks for bringing up the topic.
Dyanne (and Tee C):
Thanks for bringing this information to our fingertips. I look forward to checking-in to read the rest of what you’re graciously sharing with us. Don’t worry about it getting boring. We’re sponges ready to absorb all that you write. We want to learn and learn even more about this business.
I m totally a novice on wt u r saying, but i suppose it’s something very interesting so i will like 2 know more about it if u dnt mind.
I shall b expecting it.
Thanks
Great article, Dyanne! Many authors are so excited to get a contract they aren’t willing to request changes. I’m looking forward to the rest in the series. Thank you so much for informing our readers and keeping them IN THE KNOW!