Copyright graphic courtesy freedigitalphotos.net.

WWW team member Bren McClain forwarded an interesting article from Publisher’s Weekly yesterday: “For Major Publishers, Will Print No Longer Be the Norm?” Although provocative, “…a handful of agents, all of whom spoke to PW on the condition of anonymity, said they’re worried that contracts from print-first imprints will increasingly come with clauses indicating that the publisher makes no guarantee on format” (meaning, no guarantee the publisher would produce a print version of a work), what stood out for us was that literary agents are fulfilling this watchdog role for authors… an advantage most indie authors don’t enjoy.

With so many publishers, including the “big guns” adding self-publishing divisions to their offerings with lots of “packages” to pick from, an author must be ever more aware of what’s a good investment, and what’s just window dressing. They also have to be aware of their rights as authors and if they’re retaining them when sign off on a publishing contract.

Let me stress here: If you don’t have a literary agent negotiating for you, there is no substitute for retaining the services of an intellectual property attorney, most preferably one with experience in the publishing arena. The only time you can protect yourself is before you sign the check and the contract.

And don’t be afraid to ask questions (lots of them) about your contract stipulations; it’s your money, after all. A few of these might include:

• Who retains the rights to my work, including the cover?
• If you’re creating the cover, will the copyright on my cover art (or images used) expire?
• If a publisher wants to “pick up” my self-published work, can I easily exit the current contract?
• Does my contract cover all formats, i.e. print, digital and audio?
• What exactly does my fee cover? (In writing, please!)
• Does the contract cover line editing and proof reading? If I’m displeased with the edit provided, what is my recourse?
• My package includes “publicity.” How is that defined? How many man-hours does this include? Are releases and ARCs sent out and can I get a report of who’s been sent what and when? Is there follow-up to this or am I the author expected to follow up?
• My package includes an “author website.” Who controls that? What will the domain name be and am I able to update it myself?
• How are royalties paid, i.e. how often and accountability of publisher to provide paperwork proving orders/returns.

At the end of the day, we can all cry foul on poor publishers and lousy contracts, but ultimately it’s up to each of us to protect ourselves, and our hard work.

For you existing indie authors out there, please do share what other questions you asked (or wish you’d have asked) about your publishing contract!