Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

Posts Tagged ‘contracts’

Intro to Publishing Contracts

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

This 34 page .pdf document by Sean P. Fodera and C. E. Petit  provides an overview to publishing contracts.

Publishing contracts are, as a rule, neither well organized nor well written. Related, but critical, provisions are often scattered in provisions from the front to the back, and a provision on page six will often negate or vastly modify a provision on page two. Further, there is no such thing as a “standard” contract that cuts across publishers, across types of books, or across much of anything.
We have organized this presentation thematically, rather than trying to perform a paragraph-by-paragraph dissection of a contract that may bear little resemblance to either a preexisting contract you might encounter or your (or your clients’) particular needs. In the appendices, you’ll find two representative publishing contracts. Materials from the morning session include more publishing contracts and clauses, and comparing all of the materials should be educational—if all too often frustrating.

Download the .pdf

Tags: c.e. petit, contracts, Publishing, sean p. fodera
Posted in Copyright Education, Sample Contracts | Comments Off

Book Authors’ Bill of Rights

Saturday, August 1st, 2009

This document has been endorsed by the Romance Writers of America (RWA), Novelists, Inc., Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. (SFWA), and Western Writers of America, Inc. (WWA), representing a total of nearly 11,000 writers.

Ratified version (2002)

While affirming the freedom of every writer to negotiate in his or her own best interests, the undersigned organizations nevertheless assert that the following rights should be inalienable to all book authors.

1. The right to negotiate contracts in good faith, the right to honest and unconflicted representation by a literary agent, and the right to mediation when conflicts about authors’ and publishers’ rights and responsibilities cannot be settled informally.
2. The right to copyright ownership on all novels or nonfiction works written solely by the author and to “moral rights” to those works, as defined in the Berne Convention.
3. The right to an advance against royalties that reflects an author’s anticipated royalty earnings. If a book does not earn out its advance, the author shall not be responsible for repaying the balance.
4. The right to prompt acceptance time of a completed manuscript and on the timely exercise of publisher’s option clauses on subsequent works.
5. The right to a realistic period of time in which to review copyedited manuscripts and page proofs and to the final say on all changes.
6. The author shall be consulted about cover design and cover copy.
7. The right to control the use of the author’s writing names and/or pseudonyms without limitation.
8. The right to sign all subsidiary rights contracts for a particular work, unless author has specifically authorized for such contracts to be signed by author’s agent or publisher. Authors shall be notified when their works are licensed or reprinted. Authors are entitled to a minimum of 2 authors’ copies of foreign editions.
9. The right to accurate and separate accounting of the publication of their books, including the right to audit the publisher with an unlimited look back period. Royalty statements should include publication date, number of books in print and in stock, number shipped, current sales, cumulative sales by units, cumulative sales by type of sale, amount in reserve, reserve released, and number of returns. The author has the right to release of all reserves after four reporting periods and minimal reserves held on reprinting. The author has a right to complete reconciliation to print on request and upon termination of the contract. The author has the right to a copy of all subsidiary rights contracts upon request.
10. The right to a swift reversion of rights when a book is out of print. The author has the right to be quickly informed in writing when a book meets the Out of Print criteria defined in the contract. Any book declared “Out of Stock” for more than three months shall be deemed Out of Print. The author has the right to reversion to the author of subsidiary rights if the rights have not been exploited by the publisher within two years of first publication.
11. The right to the most effective protections available against electronic piracy or other violations of copyright.
12. The right to receive effective marketing of the author’s work from a publisher, and the publisher’s timely and practical support of the author’s own self-promotion.

Tags: authors' bill of rights, contracts
Posted in Contracts and Copyrights, Information Center | Comments Off

SFWA® Contracts Committee Mission Statement

Friday, July 31st, 2009

Purpose

To provide expert advice on contractual matters that affect significant numbers of SFWA® members, and to provide a clearinghouse for new developments or issue alerts to SFWA® members regarding those contractual matters.

Typical Functions

1. Evaluating standard contracts from new publishers with a view to improving their model forms.
2. Notifying members about questionable or contentious contractual provisions about which they should be aware.
3. Developing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and responses to issues that commonly arise in contract negotiations.
4. Continuing exploration of the contractual issues inherent in new forms of publishing, especially electronic publishing.
5. Referring individual matters to the Grievance Committee.

Functions Typically Not Performed

1. Reviewing individual contracts. The contracts committee is not counsel for individual SFWA® members.
2. Granting an “imprimatur,” “certification,” or any other form of SFWA® “seal of approval” to any contract.
3. Resolving grievances between authors and publishers. Responsibility here lies with the Grievance Committee.

To Contact the Contracts Committee

Send email to contracts@sfwa.org.

Tags: contracts, mission
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Amazon Kindle Contract Review and Annotation

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

by members of the Contract Committee

This .pdf document is an annotation of the Amazon Kindle contract as it was posted on Amazon’s Web site (downloaded in February, 2008). Members of the SFWA Contract Committee compiled these annotations solely as an educational service to SFWA members. It is not legal advice and may not be relied on as such.

Our annotations consist of yellow-highlighting particular passages, then describing issues raised by the passage (using blue indented text). In a few cases we present new language (in blue highlight) that is relevant to an issue we raise.

We welcome comments or suggestions, particularly if Amazon amends the Kindle contract.

Tags: Amazon, business, contracts, internet, Kindle, online
Posted in Contracts and Copyrights, Information Center, SFWA Blog, Sample Contracts, The Business of Writing | 5 Comments »