Standard academic book contract

Assume that everything is negotiable, though keep in mind that whats flexible in one publishers contract may not be so flexible somewhere else. Advances depend on the bankability of the author based on prior publications, the anticipated revenue, whether it is a first or subsequent. Authors are contractually prevented from discussing their own royalty rates. Posted in advising advice, altuniversity critique, bad advisors and good mentors, book proposals and contracts, graduate student concerns, how to build your tenure file, how to choose and manage recommenders, how to do conferences, how to get grants and fellowships, how to interview, how to write academic job cover letters, how to write cvs. May 28, 2015 a typical book contract specifies a royalty rate ranging from 5% to 10% of the net price of the book it could be more or less depending on a number of factors. The following contracts and forms have been approved by contract administration and are considered standard for university purposes. Termination and reversion of rights in a publishing contract.

Landing an academic book contract heres what the process looks like from initial contact to signed agreement. Its helpful to have an agent, of course, but not everyone has that luxury. As a scholar in a book field, inking your signature on your first book. While the careful crafting of the manuscript itself is the key step in a books. In some cases, writers are hired under contract to assist or ghost write for a lead author. A book contract is a legally binding agreement between an author and their book publisher that dictates assignment of rights, obligations, and money earned. Get tips on how to negotiate and alter a standard publishing agreement to meet your needs as a university of utah author.

Authors dont earn a salary for a book, be it one book or several. There may be variation in individual cases, but this is a pretty standard picture of the acquisitions process as experienced by most of my clients. This information is needed because the contract is a condition of a suspension appeal you filed that was approved by the academic appeals committee. At that point, all s owned by the publisher, if any, will transfer to the author, and this contract, including all provisions herein, will be considered terminated. In a traditional book publishing agreement, the author retains the and the book publisher purchases. How do you go about getting a contract to publish an academic book. It will usually also dictate terms such as authors deadlines and word count. Publishing contract negotiating book contracts, legal. This section of the template includes general terms common to business contracts. Michael sullivan, awardwinning author with 14 mathematics textbooks currently in print ive never recommended a law book to my friends or anyone, for that matter. Negotiating your contract georgetown university library.

This contract contract is by and between name of author, henceforth known as author, and publishing company, henceforth known as publisher, for the purposes of coming to terms on the publication of title of work, henceforth known as book. As with all other contract provisions, there are variations. Negotiating book contract terms and royalties foner books. There is a much lower overhead cost in ebooks, and the savings can be passed down to the author. University press contracts generally provide that royalty statements will be sent out once a year as opposed to the standard two times a year in trade book contracts. Bad publishing contracts, dishonest publishers, out of print books, low book sales, mismanaged marketing as unwanted as these things are for an author, these things unfortunately happen.

That said, its increasingly possible for authors to negotiate more favorable terms with scholarly publishers. In academic publishing, clean and clear generally trumps frippery, irony, and cuttingedge in the designers mind coolness. In addition to the specific terms the author and publisher have agreed upon for such items as the type of book, the advance against royalty amount, and the delivery date, the standard book contract encompasses a lengthy number of clauses covering important points in a books life cycle and an authors compensation. Jan 11, 20 most companies have a standard contract, or boilerplate that they use. To what extent this is now an industry standard for specialized scholarly books, i dont know, but it is somewhat disheartening, i think. This book publishing contract represents the entire agreement between the author and publisher.

Heres the process of scoring a book contract at least this was the process for me. Tales of my book contract with bloomsbury academic press. Hence the need for a termination and reversion rights clause in your publishing contract. Also, some people writing scholarly books are not in any academic role, but are independent researchers, unemployed, retired and so on. A record of your compliance with your satisfactory academic progress contract is maintained in order for the college to successfully administer the satisfactory academic progress policy.

The academics i have met who write books seem to assume one of two. Nov 05, 2012 in academic publishing, clean and clear generally trumps frippery, irony, and cuttingedge in the designers mind coolness. How to break a publishing contract with a traditional book. If the book is an extension or outgrowth of the authors existing business e. Understanding and negotiating book publication contracts. Academics dont have many cards they can play, but some things can be negotiated, so dont just sign any contract put in front of you.

Securing a book contract for promotion and tenure is a goal in itself for academic authors. Prior to writing the book proposal, the whole process was incredibly murky to me. Academic publishers, devoted to advice on publishing an academic monograph solicited. Its easy to be intimidated into thinking that you just have to sign on the dotted line and go along with what the publisher wants, but you dont. Negotiating a book contract is a lot like buying a cartheres some give and take, not everyone will get the same deal and sometimes you have to pass on the sunroof to get the deal done. Mar 06, 2014 it involves blood, sweat and tears, and the experience is most frequently likened to childbirth. By all accounts, the arrival of the book contract in the spring of 20 from a major academic publishing house should have been a moment of celebration, with my wifecoauthorbusiness partner and i opening a bottle of prosecco and sending gleeful emails to all of our friends. Typically, an advance academic book contract or a prepublication book contract is a contract that a press issues to an author based on a. Jan 11, 20 negotiating a book contract is a lot like buying a cartheres some give and take, not everyone will get the same deal and sometimes you have to pass on the sunroof to get the deal done. Theres no real standard for domestic royalties, which is the most profitable segment of sales for most authors. This agreement is set forth this date of month, year i. Landing an academic book contract laura portwoodstacer.

When you publish a book or journal article, your publisher likely will require you to sign a publication agreement that transfers the in your work to the publisher. Nov 11, 2011 all standard publishing contracts are enormously lopsided in favor of the publisher. Payment can be expected to arrive anywhere from two weeks to five months following the end of the accounting period. May 11, 2009 hello, ive just received a contract for an academic book at 110,000 words with what looks like a 5 per cent capacity to go over, which is supposed to include the index. However, i can tell you that the textbook and academic authors association conducted an anonymous survey of academic authors in 2015. This is usually the longest section in the book contract, and describes the division of the money, provided the author hasnt written the book for a onetime payment in a workforhire arrangement. Another option for regaining rights that have been transferred to a publisher is through rights reversion many publishing contracts, particularly for books, contain a reversion clause allowing the author to request that rights be reverted back to him once the book has been out of print or otherwise unavailable on the market for a period of time. Nearly all of these standard contracts have language that favors the publisher, so its up to you to haggle out a better deal. Apr 08, 2010 how to read a publishing contract 1 publishing contracts can be long and scary documents. Essay on how academics should negotiate with publishers. In textbook contracts there is no such thing as standard royalty provisions. Hello, ive just received a contract for an academic book at 110,000 words with what looks like a 5 per cent capacity to go over, which is supposed to include the index.

If you want to do a palgrave book in cultural anthropology, do. In other words, the financials on a net contract are completely different than on a traditional retail sales contract. However, the offer or contract may also state other forms, for example serial newspaper and magazine rights or audio rights. Jan 21, 2019 in addition to the specific terms the author and publisher have agreed upon for such items as the type of book, the advance against royalty amount, and the delivery date, the standard book contract encompasses a lengthy number of clauses covering important points in a book s life cycle and an authors compensation. What to look for in a book contract with an academic.

Just because it is perhaps that publishers everyday contract, does not mean it is in accordance with the broad industry standards that authors should expect to receive. Without obtaining this right from you, the publisher would not be able to distribute your work electronically or in print. Oct 17, 2016 securing a book contract for promotion and tenure is a goal in itself for academic authors. Why and how to negotiate with academic book publishers helen. Steve gillens guide to textbook publishing contracts is not just reading material, it is an indispensable reference, whether you are a firsttime or experienced author. They found that average royalties for print books ranged from 914%. Book contracts typically give the publisher not the author the right to determine the title of the work. How a successful book contract led to an academic careers end. Book authors are selfemployed contractors who receive payments in the form of advances based on anticipated sales, and royalties from percentage of actual sales.

Im soon about to receive a book contract proposal from a prestigious university press. May 24, 2017 by all accounts, the arrival of the book contract in the spring of 20 from a major academic publishing house should have been a moment of celebration, with my wifecoauthorbusiness partner and i opening a bottle of prosecco and sending gleeful emails to all of our friends. Book contracts author royalties, advances and rights in. My position has always been, based on my years at two r1 universities in a total of four departments due to joint appointments in anthropology and east asian languages and cultures. I knew a couple of people who networked their way into a book contract without actually filling out a proposal.

How to read a publishing contract 1 publishing contracts can be long and scary documents. Home how to negotiate a publishing contract ulibraries. Why and how to negotiate with academic book publishers. Should either party cancel this book publishing contract, all rights granted to the publisher shall revert to the author. Can you get an advance contract for your first academic book. Even if the publisher tells you it is a standard contract, they a might be fibbing, but also b might be wrong. Sep 14, 2014 like writing grant applications and journal articles, a book proposal is its own genre in academic writing. I once signed a contract that, in publishers gobbledegook, meant id. How to break a publishing contract with a traditional book publisher here we are. How a successful book contract led to an academic careers. A national agreement reached in 1990 provided for an agreed contract of employment and national staff handbook text to be in place in each post92 institution for all fulltime and fractional lecturing staff lecturers, senior lecturers and principal lecturers by 31 august 1992. How is the process different from getting a contract for a collegelevel or k12 textbook. By all accounts, the arrival of the book contract in the spring of 20 from a major academic publishing house should have been a moment of.

Sure, some parts of psychology and economics and other fields are not bookbased, but continue reading. Royalty rates for ebooks are higher than print books, and can range from 25 to 50 percent. But with the right support and guidance, the process of publishing an academic book a key step in most scholarly careers need not be too excruciating. I knew a couple of people who networked their way into a book contract without actually filling out a. The standard grant is of volume form, which means all book forms hardback, paperback, other formats. A debate has simmered on the comment thread to my post, does the status of the press matter, in recent weeks, on the question. Mar 21, 2018 this is an incredibly unfortunate but common position to be intaking steps to break a publishing contract with a traditional book publisher because, among other reasons, your hard work and dreams of book publishing arent going as expected. Ip reserves the right to reject any work for any reasonat any time. Nov 28, 2014 i guess there are a bunch of important things here.

The standard book contract basics encompass a number of clauses covering important manuscript, legal and financial points in a manuscript life cycle. Like writing grant applications and journal articles, a book proposal is its own genre in academic writing. Negotiating a good advance is an important step in the negotiation of any textbook contract regardless of academic level. Scholarly book contracts tend to favor the publisher, however, and the terms often work against the author over the long term. Unless you are work for hire, giving up all the standard publishing agreement will provide that the author licenses or assigns all print rights to the publisher, plus subsidiary rights. If youve read through the entirety of this post, and have still found yourself wanting to take action to break your contract with your traditional book publisher, this action plan will help you take next steps. However, as i understand it, the index isnt done until the final proofs are in place so as to get the page numbers right, and so im not sure how much buffer to leave. The book shall be considered to be out of print when conditions under which the book will be named out of print by the publisher.

You all know that the book proposal is the cornerstone to a successful tenure track career in most areas of the humanities and social sciences. Ip will not be held responsible for errors in the book, including, but not limited to, spelling errors, grammar, punctuation, style of work, corrupted files, computer formatting errors, and missing fonts. Hardcover or trade books are paid on a slightly higher scale, ranging from 10 to 15 percent. Jun 17, 2015 in standard contracts, whether a manuscript is acceptable or satisfactory is often in the publishers sole judgment. How to read a publishing contract 1 stroppy author. A typical book contract specifies a royalty rate ranging from 5% to 10% of the net price of the book it could be more or less depending on a number of factors.

Contract definition in the cambridge english dictionary. Most companies have a standard contract, or boilerplate that they use. Textbook contracts vary significantly based on curricular level. Five book contract terms authors should know career authors. There are contracts and agreements for many home and business arrangements, including home maintenance services, modeling and photography contracts, rental contracts, event contacts and more.