Comments on: Publishing Contracts: Part 2 by Dyanne Davis

By: Dyanne

Dyanne — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:51:28 +0000

Janie,

Does your contract say that you will receive your advance upon signing? Some contracts pay in installments of two to three payments. If it does say you will receive upon signing has that time expired? If so you can email your editor and ask about the payment. She won’t be the one to send you the payment but she will have to notify the person taking care of writing the checks that you’ve fulfilled your obligations and should be paid.

Good Luck, Jamie. Believe me I know how hard it is to ask for your money but you’re worth getting paid and your work is worth it so you should get paid in a timely fashion.

Dyanne

By: Janie

Janie — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:23:44 +0000

Hi Dyanne, I was wondering who should you contact if you haven’t recieved your advance after signing the contract?

By: Dyanne

Dyanne — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:23:20 +0000

Hey Vanessa,

I hope I didn’t scare you. An advance is never a bad thing. I’d love to receive an advance every week. LOL

Dyanne

By: Dyanne

Dyanne — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:21:45 +0000

Shelia,

I’m so glad you found this useful. When I was writing it I decided I’d better stop before I received the glazed over look. I’ve even decided to break up the contractsa little bit with other things and pick up on the contracts a little later.

Dyanne

By: Dyanne

Dyanne — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:18:44 +0000

LaTreka,

LOL. I like that. I don’t think many of us know that many people. But 15,000 is not considered a larger print run. If the print run is low the chances of you making more than the advance is slim to none. You’ve given me a task. I’m going to research the larger publishing houses to see what their print run is for first time authors. First time meaning first time with them.

Dyanne

By: Vanessa A Johnson

Vanessa A Johnson — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:45:33 +0000

Dyanne,
Thanks for breaking down the ‘advance’ thing. I have a clearer understanding, and further understand why some have said advances are not all they’re cracked up to be. While they can be a plus, they can also be a negative too. I look forward to reading your next installment.

By: Shelia

Shelia — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:52:00 +0000

Dyanne, I read both posts and this is a good break down for anyone who has questions on contracts. I will be linking to it from my site under tips for writers.

By: LaTreka

LaTreka — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:23:07 +0000

Thanks Dyanne! Again very good info. I wonder though, is it fair to the author to print so many books on the first run? Fifteen thousand books is a lot especially for an unknown like me. I guess that’s why marketing is so important and it’s imperative to market yourself and get the word out six months to year before the book drops. I personally don’t know 15,000 people. lol.

By: Diane Martin

Diane Martin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:05:18 +0000

Hi Dyanne,

Thank you so much for this information. Very important stuff…:-)