Publishing Agreements for Writers

David McLaughlin — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:12:07 +0000

For any writer the single most important legal agreement you sign in your career is likely to be a Publishing Agreement. Unfortunately these agreements are seldom straight forward legal documents. In order for you to make sure you are getting a deal that does not unfairly disadvantage you and provides you the protections and benefits you are after, it is important to have an understanding of the key issues in Publishing Agreements. In this Fact Sheet we consider these issues.

The specific questions we address are:

What is a Literary Publishing Agreement?
What rights will the publisher require?
Will a publisher own the copyright in my work?
What is copyright exactly?
How long will the Publishing Agreement last for?
Will the Publishing Agreement relate to future books I write?
Can I write books for different publishers?
Does the publisher pay the cost of any illustrations in my book?
Can a publisher under the agreement refuse to publish my book?
Can a publisher make changes to my book without my permission?
Do I have any control over the price the publisher sells my book at or how the book is promoted?
How much will I get paid?
Are there different royalty rates?
How often will I get paid?
How do I know the publisher is paying me all royalties I’m due?
Are there any other obligations I will have to the publisher?
Are there any other rights I should insist on?

Fact sheet: Literary Publishing Agreements (586)

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Publishing Agreements for Writers