Exploring traditional book publishing deals

Although many choose to self-publish

Despite the increasiKellyFrancis newng popularity of self-publishing among authors, traditional book publishing deals are still coveted. While self-publishing platforms generally offer authors a set of “take-it-or-leave-it” standard terms, authors taking the traditional publication route may have somewhat more leeway to negotiate a deal that is tailored to their specific situation. If you are an author lucky enough to have been offered a publishing deal by a traditional book publisher, there are a range of issues to take account of when negotiating the terms of your agreement. Below are just a few of such issues.

Publication medium
With advances in technology, defining what exactly is a “book” has become increasingly challenging. A book is no longer merely a set of loose sheets of paper that have been bound together. Books are now sold in a variety of different media, including print, digital, audio and video format. As such, publishing contracts are now drafted to take account of the various different available formats. Many successful authors now conclude deals that grant the traditional publisher rights in the print format of a book while the author retains the right to self-publish the digital format, for example.

Territory and language
Another important consideration is the territories to which the rights conferred in a publishing contract apply. An author may be able to partition the publishing rights attached to a book for different territories and grant these rights to different publishers. So, an author may grant a publisher the right to publish a book in the U.S. only and then grant another publisher publishing rights for Canada.
An author may also decide whether or not to grant the publisher the right to translate a book into different languages. For example, an author may contract away English-language editions of the book to one publisher and grant French-language translation rights to another publisher.

Royalty payments
It is important to ensure that your publishing agreement addresses royalty payments. Note that percentage of royalties to which an author is entitled may vary from contract to contract. Also, the intervals at which royalties are payable will vary as well depending on the terms of the contract.
For further information, you may contact Kelly Francis at (514) 802-7736 or at info@kellyfrancisavocate.com.
Disclaimer: This article merely gives readers an overview of the issues discussed therein and is not legal advice. Please do not take action based on this article alone without first seeking the legal counsel appropriate for your specific situation!