Why You Need to Know the Basics of a Book Contract If You Want to be Traditionally Published
Even if you have an agent, it’s your responsibility to understand your contract and discuss it
Here’s a word you might have heard — boilerplate. And here’s a term — termination clause. If you don’t know what either of them mean, I’m going to explain — and more.
Warning: I am not a lawyer or an agent, so what I say here is not legal advice. It’s knowledge and experience from 25+ years of book contracts, and too many writers are ignorant of things that could cost them a lot. Or even everything.
It’s astonishing how little is understood about book contracts. Not all of this is the writer’s fault. Some publishers deliberately create 50-page contracts full of jargon to bamboozle you. They don’t want you to ask questions. They want you to sign and shut up. (That’s why good agents are worth their percentage, by the way. Good agents don’t shut up, and they shouldn’t get bamboozled.)
I was incredibly lucky — when I received my very first book contract, another writer with a ton of experience and knowledge took me through it, clause by clause, and explained everything, as well as what I should be asking for. I will be forever grateful to him. I had to negotiate…
