Question: My publisher has sent me a contract and I don't understand all the terms in it. Where can I get an easy to understand explanation?
Answer: The NZSA booklet 'The Business of Writing' contains an annotated model standard contract. It explains the publishing contract clause by clause and offers useful advice.
Question: I sent my manuscript to a publisher and they have accepted it provided I make a contribution to the publishing cost. Should I go ahead and sign the contract?
Answer: Some publishers ask an author to make a financial contribution to the publication of their book. While there is essentially nothing wrong with this, there are several things a writer needs to be aware of. First, if the amount being charged is considerably more (sometimes double or more what it would cost to self-publish), be wary as there is little likelihood you will recoup even 50 percent of your investment. Secondly, paying the publisher in advance may mean they have little incentive to produce a quality book or to market it effectively once it is published.
When it comes to the contract it pays to think of it as a joint-venture business deal rather than a publisher/author contract. There needs to be provision in the contract for performance of the publisher in terms of publishing deadlines and production values. The profits of the venture need to be shared in a manner equal to the contribution made by each party and the publisher needs to be able to account to you for the expenditure incurred in producing the book.
If you are a member of the NZSA you can send in a query to our Legal Advisory Service and they will answer it for you. Contact the NZSA national office.
Question:: What are the NZSA's views on e-book and print-on-demand publishers?
Answer: These terms cover a wide range of activities and while there are some reputable e-book and POD publishers there are many more who are not. If your work is unpublished, be very cautious about agreeing to have it published online or as an ebook/print-on-demand. Also be wary of the electronic publisher who wants you to pay a large sum for the publication of your book by these methods.
This method of publishing is an easy market for vanity publishers (the production, marketing and distribution costs of making ebooks and running off print-on-demand copies are very low). Even if you are not being asked for money, proceed with great caution. Such companies often have little incentive to sell or promote your work (which may well only be listed on the publisher's website and in its catalogue), and may be earning their money in other ways, e.g. selling advertising on their website; or by buying up an author's other rights, so if a work takes off in future they are guaranteed a percentage of the earnings.
Be realistic about who your readers might be. How many people do you know who have sought out such websites? And of them, how many have come across a book they had not heard of before, bought it and read it? If the site is just one of many offering a random selection of titles covering a miscellaneous range of subject areas (not always by top quality writers), ask yourself: is that really the best home for my work? If you go ahead, limit the rights you are granting to ebook rights only; and make sure that you can terminate the contract after, say, two years.
A better alternative might be to set up your own website and sell copies of the book (self-published in printed or electronic form) yourself.
Question: A friend and I are looking at writing a children's book together and wanted to know how we should go about writing up an agreement for it?
Answer: While the links and information below are all from the US, they are still valid for the New Zealand market. The most important thing for a co-authored book is to ensure that you have an agreement that covers all eventualities, including what to do if the relationship deteriorates, or the co-author dies and you end up having to deal with an estate and so on. It might sound over-the-top to have things spelled out in a contract when you and your co-author first conceive of the idea for a book but down the track, if things go awry, you will be glad that you went to the trouble of having a solid agreement.
Article about collaboration - http://www.ivanhoffman.com/coauthors.html
Authors often collaborate to write a book. There are an extensive number of important issues that potentially arise as a result, both as between the authors and as between the authors together and the publisher.
If you will be collaborating with someone else on a book, the first issue to be resolved – as Tad Crawford points out in Business and Legal Forms for Authors and Self-Publishers – is how the copyright in the collaboration will be owned.
In every case, all details of the agreement should be spelled out. For example, the names of the parties and the names of their agents, if any, should be stated. The nature or subject of the work must be specified – autobiography, how-to book, child psychology, cookbook, etc. The tentative or working title should be named, and if there is an outline or synopsis of the work, it should be attached to the contract.
There are many different kinds of collaborations, but the agreements for each one must be in writing if you are to avoid some really sticky problems later on. Here are some specific pointers for avoiding trouble with two common kinds of collaborations.
For a more academic viewpoint – http://business.nmsu.edu/~mhyman/M610_Article/Hyman_Marketing_Educator_coord_2001.html
The Co-ordinating Author and the Co-author Contract by Michael R. Hyman, NationsBank Professor of Marketing, New Mexico State University. This covers more academic issue of research, analysis and so on. It also has a sample contract.
Tips for co-authoring a book -- http://www.speakernetnews.com/post/coauthor.html
A range of writers give their views, tips and experiences for the co-authoring process.
