Typical academic book contract

Guest post by jody rein today, i am running a guest post by jody rein, a book publishing consultant, literary agent and former executive editor with big 10, big 6, big 5 publishers in new york. While the careful crafting of the manuscript itself is the key step in a books. The book contract establishes a schedule for when the accounting is done and payments are made. 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. Publishing contract negotiating book contracts, legal forms. For me it was a good move to hire a lawyer to look over my. A publishing contract may offer you some prestige, but its no guarantee that your book will survive past its 90day tenure in bookstores if it makes it to stores at alland thats after the typical 1824 month delay between the day your contract is. The academics i have met who write books seem to assume one of two things. Getting published by a university press perspectives on. 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. 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. Landing an academic book contract laura portwoodstacer.

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. Essay on how academics should negotiate with publishers. Why and how to negotiate with academic book publishers helen. Karens rules of the academic cv the professor is in. They found that average royalties for print books ranged from 914%, and. Book contracts typically give the publisher not the author the right to determine the title of the work. In fact, academicpress editors rarely ask to see more than one or two sample chapters in addition to your proposal. I can also tell you that, in the uk, academic writers earn the lowest annual averages from their books of any type of writer. Alternatively, the society of authors see the society of authors and the writers guild of great britain see the writers guild of great britain will both check publishing agreements for their members.

Nov 05, 2012 in academic publishing, clean and clear generally trumps frippery, irony, and cuttingedge in the designers mind coolness. For big trade publishers, including larger independents, royalties paid on list price is standard for domestic sales. An agent will ensure that the contract gives you the best possible chance of maximising your income from a book. 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. So at this point, polish your introduction and strongest. They found that average royalties for print books ranged from 914%, and the highest royalty reported was 30%. Perhaps its most typical product is english contract law, which developed at the close of the 14th century, assumed many of its characteristic doctrines in the 16th and 17th centuries, and evolved into its modern form in the. May 31, 2011 the ideal royalty is paid on list or cover pricethe actual retail price of the book. It is not intended as legal advice first, my advice to all commercial authors is, get a good lawyer with book contract experience. Part of that process is learning how to write book proposals for academic publishers. There is a much lower overhead cost in ebooks, and the savings can be passed down to the author. Jul 19, 2017 hardcover or trade books are paid on a slightly higher scale, ranging from 10 to 15 percent. Going with a big publisher is a way to get as many eyes as possible looking at your book and hope that they adopt it.

I once signed a contract that, in publishers gobbledegook, meant id agreed. 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. The typical royalty an author receives is 15 percent of the retail price for a hardcover, and 25 percent for an e book. The common law is one of the two major and successful legal systems developed in western europe and now in force, in one form or another, in america and great britain. A book contract is a legally binding agreement between an author and their book publisher that dictates assignment of rights, obligations, and money earned. Its helpful to have an agent, of course, but not everyone has that luxury. A typical publishing contract is negotiated in two phases. The work the nuts and bolts of the manuscript to be delivered. Yes, i had a contract in hand, but it was with a hybrid academic commercial press continuum, which became bloomsbury academic, on a list outside of my field my book is on bloomsburys. Even allowing for an allocation of all of the publishers overhead, total costs shouldnt hit the cited.

Negotiating book contract terms and royalties warning. First, the major deal points are agreed upon before the contract is even drafted. Its a brutal lesson, and i hate being the bearer of bad news, but i have to go back and tell them even they cant do anything with the book because its not their property. If the book is an extension or outgrowth of the authors existing business e. 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. This varies substantially, depending on the sort of book, how well the author negotiated each book involves an individually negotiated contract, the price of the book, etc. Authors are contractually prevented from discussing their own royalty rates. I signed a contract with a large academic publisher to produce sort of a lab manual and i may be the only person who ever uses it unless i get really lucky.

But the prices for e books are less than half the retail price for a hardcover, reducing the cash payment to the author. Thats a typical price for a lawyer, but there are also other options like volunteer lawyers for the arts, which provides pro bono legal representation. Quarterly royalty payments are normal, though they will lag the actual sales period by a month or two. A normal range for the percopy manufacturing cost of a text is 1525 percent of the selling price. Home how to negotiate a publishing contract ulibraries. If you are new to academic publishing, simply gaining good experience of. Oct 22, 2019 an advance academic book contract, which signals a presss interest in a project, can carry some weight for fellowship applications to research and write said book. 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. Further, college textbook authors who write with forprofit publishers are generally not asked to contribute capital or invest in a books publication up front. The publisher shall credit the authors account with a royalty equal to 50% of all net revenues actually received by the publisher for the. Basic outline of a book contract the balance careers. Jan 21, 2019 what follows is a list of the typical clauses of a book contract, along with brief descriptions as to their purpose.

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. Mar 06, 2014 it involves blood, sweat and tears, and the experience is most frequently likened to childbirth. Its helpful to have an agent, of course, but not everyone. Author initials publisher initials maven house press book publishing agreement 060112 page 3 of 11 6. The second is that the royalties offered are a set figure. More than one person has sent me a contract in which they signed away the rights to their book for less than it cost them to make the book in the first place. However, i can tell you that the textbook and academic authors association conducted an anonymous survey of academic authors in 2015. This book publishing contract represents the entire agreement between the author and publisher. Aug 16, 2018 the primary advantage of a typical royalty rate is unlimited upside for an author if the book is successful. For me it was a good move to hire a lawyer to look over my book publishing contract, for these two reasons. Its a brutal lesson, and i hate being the bearer of bad news, but i have to go back and tell. Royalty rates for ebooks are higher than print books, and can range from 25 to 50 percent.

In a traditional book publishing agreement, the author retains the and the book publisher purchases. Should either party cancel this book publishing contract, all rights granted to the publisher shall revert to the author. Negotiating book contract terms and royalties foner books. Academic publishers, devoted to advice on publishing an academic monograph solicited. The first assumption is that publishers are doing authors a favour by publishing their books. It will usually also dictate terms such as authors deadlines and word count. 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.

Why you should take your book publishing contracts to a lawyer. Authors dont earn a salary for a book, be it one book or several. Also, some people writing scholarly books are not in any academic role, but are independent researchers, unemployed, retired and so on. Some publishers still push semiannual payments, with royalties for the january 1st through june 30th period being due before september 30th. This section of the template includes general terms common to business contracts. Jul 01, 2018 authors dont earn a salary for a book, be it one book or several. Im a historian, but i think these suggestions translate across disciplinary boundaries. Once you agree the royalty figures, the publisher will issue a draft contract. Why and how to negotiate with academic book publishers. Sep 20, 2009 usually, this is about 400 for a standard academic book but only about 350 if the page size is demy octavo. Keep in mind, though, that signing an advance contract typically commits you to submitting your full manuscript to the publisher once it is complete.

Can you get an advance contract for your first academic book. The academics i have met who write books seem to assume one of two. 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. Check the books produced by publishers in your field. In academic publishing, clean and clear generally trumps frippery, irony, and cuttingedge in the designers mind coolness. This information is based on my personal experiences and confidential communications from others. If youve never published a book before, you might feel a little inthedark about how to work with an acquisitions editor to land a contract with an academic press. Guest post by jody rein today, i am running a guest post by jody rein, a book publishing consultant, literary agent and former executive editor with big 10, big. How much revenue do academic authors make on their published. U of u faculty, by means of u policy 7003, own the in traditional scholarly works. Sep 15, 2016 a publishing contract may offer you some prestige, but its no guarantee that your book will survive past its 90day tenure in bookstores if it makes it to stores at alland thats after the typical 1824 month delay between the day your contract is signed and the time your book is released.

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. What follows is a list of the typical clauses of a book contract, along with brief descriptions as to their purpose. In other words, the financials on a net contract are completely different than on a traditional retail sales contract. Based on one springer contract im familiar with, heres a first approximation. Book authors are selfemployed contractors who receive payments in the form of advances based on anticipated sales, and royalties from percentage of actual sales. Typically, an advance academic book contract or a prepublication book contract is a contract that a press issues to an author based on a. In some cases, writers are hired under contract to assist or ghost write for a lead author. Guide to textbook publishing contracts memberclicks. Usually, this is about 400 for a standard academic book but only about 350 if the page size is demy octavo. How a successful book contract led to an academic careers end.