Contracts: Be Careful

KILLER OF KILLERS is getting published in August, and THE VASE has an opportunity to get published, too. But I’m waiting on THE VASE. Why? Because I’ve been down that road twice, and both times didn’t end well.

Of the two contracts on the table for THE VASE, one is a superior contract, but the other is a more established publisher. But I want to consider all options. There’s a British publisher considering the full right now and three American ones. Of the three American publishers, one is a very prominent publisher, one is a major Christian publisher and the other a well-established mid-sized publisher. I would rank them in that order as to which I would prefer. But really, I would be happy with any of them.

But that could change once I see the contracts. And as I said, I’m not going to be quick to sign a contract. Well, it depends on the contract. And with contracts, there are many different aspects about which you’ll want to be careful. And I guess the most important part of a contract is royalties. (But make no mistake; there are many other very important parts to a contract.)

When it comes to royalties, I’m familiar with the industry standards now for both print and eBooks. But some publishers want royalties for movies, too. That’s not right. It's only a dream at this point, that any of my books will get a movie deal, but sometimes dreams come true. And if an author has the good fortune to get a movie deal for his/her book, the publisher should not be expecting a piece of that pie.

It’s not as if they lose out, though. Publishers will no doubt get the benefit of increased book sales as a result of a movie based on a book they published.

At least there is one positive thing about these contracts I’ve signed. I know which ones were good and which one wasn’t. And that will help me with my next one.

BTW, the Melange contract was pretty good.