The Fine Print May Not Be So Fine
By
Susan Gable
Congratulations. You finished the book. Mailed it off to agents/publishers. Survived the rejections. Got "THE CALL." Received the contract. Read the contract carefully. Signed the contract...
Wait a minute.
What do you mean, you didn't read the contract? That's your agent's job?
Sorry, folks, but even if you have an agent, reading the contract is your job. I recently heard a horror story where an author requested advice regarding an options-clause in a contract negotiated by her agent. Actually, by her former agent. After receiving input from numerous multi-pubbed authors, including some who were also lawyers, it became obvious that her agent (who if he/she wasn't a former agent at that point, would have been about to be fired) had really fumbled the ball with this options-clause, tying up not just the writer's next work, but the one after that as well, for an indefinite period of time, and possibly binding the author to the same contract terms on the optioned books as the current project.
In other words, great news for the publisher. Not so great for the author. She didn't read the fine print. Or if she did, she read it without a clue of what she was reading.
You need to educate yourself about contracts of all kinds in the writing business, because that's what this is: your business.
A list of resources for your partial education:
American Society of Journalists and Authors www.asja.org They offer a newsletter called Contracts Watch which serves as Contract Information Central for freelance writers, keeping thousands informed about the latest terms and negotiations in the world of periodicals, print and electronic publishing. You can subscribe (free) to the e-mail version, or read the newsletter on the website. Another page worth clicking onto is an article regarding dangerous clauses, including gems like: "you will paid at our then standard rate," and "First North American serial rights, which includes…"
Writers Beware website, a service of SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc.) www.sfwa.org/beware Also covers vanity presses and scam contests. Definitely a site a newbie needs to visit. Remember the basic rule: Money flows to the author, not from the author.
National Writer's Union's BITE CONTRACTS GLOSSARY covers terms commonly found in writing contracts. It includes general contract and legal terms, copyright terms, and publishing industry terms. www.nwu.org/bite/gloss.htm
Be Your Own Literary Agent by Martin Levin. July 1996, Ten Speed Press. ISBN 0898158788.
How to Be Your Own Literary Agent: The Business of Getting a Book Published, by Richard Curtis. Revised edition, Feb. 1996. Houghton Mifflin Co., ISBN 0395718198.
Kirsch's Guide to the Book Contract: For Authors, Publishers, Editors and Agents by Jonathon Kirsch. Dec. 1998, Acrobat Books. ISBN 091822635X.
Kirsch's Handbook of Publishing Law: For Author's, Publishers, Editors and Agents. Nov. 1994, Acrobat Books. ISBN 0918226333.
The Writer's Legal Companion: The Complete Handbook for the Working Writer by Brad Bunnin and Peter Beren. Oct. 1998, Perseus Press. ISBN 073820031X.
You can also make use of Pennwriters. One of the main purposes of the organization is networking; the other is education. If you have a question to which you can't find the answer, tap your Area Rep. If she doesn't know, she can ask up the channels. Somewhere along the line, someone will either know the answer, or know where to find out.
Don't sign a contract you haven't read, whether you're writing and selling books, articles, or short stories. The fine print, even if it passed your agent's inspection, may not be so fine.