Question about "terms of agreement"

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The term of agreement is simply the date the agreement is signed (unless another beginning date is specified) until the expiration date, normally a given number of years.

What is the expiration date, though? I don't have any date explicitly called that. I have due dates for different stages of manuscript submittal and an estimated date of publication.

Unless an exact expiration date is specified, you make your own calculation based on the beginning date (signing) and the number of years. If there is a question, it is best to request clarification especially if the length of contract is based on date of publication.

There is often another part of agreements easily overlooked. Some agreements will state that the contract will automatically be renewed unless you notify them in writing "x" number of days before the expiration date. Although there are standard clauses with agreements, they do vary as indicated.

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"without the prior written consent of the Publisher"

Just ask for permission.

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Before signing the agreement, make any changes you want. If no expiration date is specified, specify one. Or associate it with the date the book goes "out of print." Or "out of stock," which can be sooner. Or at the time you enter into a new agreement for a new edition.

Publishers expect authors to modify contracts. It's a naive author who signs the first thing the publisher sends. Unless there's nothing there you need changed. I've never seen that.

Dear LC,
When I signed the contract with PublishAmerica, I was so wet behind the ears. I imagine that most everyone who does sign a first pubishing contract is. You have the knowledge to look at any contract closely and consider the contract is in the favor of the publisher who sent it to you. I would say, find out the exactness of the term. Hire some one to do that if you do not want to do it your own self. It is important and descries what you will accept. It is your work, your expertise that has been submitted to people who have a small conception of what has come from your brain and imagination. I would say that you must remember that you are the author. They are the marketing persons.

I wonder about art of any kind. How the artist is left behind. What the brain concieves no longer belongs to the the person who was the creator of the work.

People who never enjoyed a glimpse of the vision that the artist's saw are willing to sell it for nothing.

I know, I know. It is "business" but I wonder about such business.

How did it come about that people who write need bow down before the publisher.

I have many books, hard bound, that were self published sermons. I found them in old church thrift stores. I wondered about that. Linen bound sermons that were nothing more than the religious zealots own expoundings. Yet, here they are these 200 +years later, with notations in the margins.

My publisher feels no compunction about being very rude to me. That is because they never read a word anyone ever sent to them for publishing. We are cattle.

Wouldn't it be nice if there really was some hope?

Love,
Betty

LC wrote:

As I said, I prefer not to discuss anything with them. Can't imagine they'd grant it, anyhow.

Do it the way someone very close to me did. Write and tell them that you intend using some of the material in another book that does not compete with the existing text.

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LC wrote:

Quote :

How did it come about that people who write need bow down before the publisher.

Because we want very badly to be published ...

... and our work ends up very badly published.

Somewhere in your contract it should say something to the effect that this contract is valid from the day both parties have signed it until it is ended by mutual agreement in writing or until specified terms of the contract have been violated by either party. Those are the usual terms of a publishing contract. I've never signed one with a stated expiration date. They entered an agreement with a clause that implies an expiration date but that specified no expiration date. That might be a loophole. Ask a contracts lawyer.

It isn't about length of term of contract; it is about prior written consent from the publisher. Preferring not to discuss with the publisher use of material in a book already published makes the author look unprofessional, not the publisher.

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Another author and I had a work an organization desired the rights. They were willing to pay each of us a reasonable amount. After looking this over I realized we had already used some of the material in other works. So we changed the wording. It isn't quite the same as your situation, but we needed to address it.

LC wrote:

Where did I say I wanted to make use of material in a different book? My question was about writing a whole different book that contains some similar material. The presence of that material might make the publisher think it's a competitor book. If that happened, and it was determined that the contract did indeed forbid writing competitor books, what would realistically happen?

Where did I say make use of all material in a different book? You signed a contract with a clause that required you to inform the publisher if you wrote on the same subject as that in the published book. You also agreed to inform the publisher that any new book containing said material would not be in direct competition with the published work.

Shelagh wrote:

You signed a contract with a clause that required you to inform the publisher if you wrote on the same subject as that in the published book. You also agreed to inform the publisher that any new book containing said material would not be in direct competition with the published work.

It's a little tighter than requiring her to inform the publisher. She has to get written consent from the publisher.

I can only tell you what I would do. First, I'd offer the new title to the existing publisher, assuming that previous experiences do not rule that out. If the publisher declined, I'd go ahead and publish elsewhere. I would not use any content verbatim from the existing book. No cut and paste. Rewrite it.

If they decide to aggressively pursue the matter, they will become known as the publisher who sues authors. No publisher wants to be so branded. I think the worst I'd see would be a couple of irate letters on lawyer stationery.

I've butted heads with publishers in the past. They are easy to work with.

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LC wrote:

To anyone who has signed a contract, did you have the following paragraph (or similar) in it:

The Author agrees that during the term of this Agreement he/she will not, without the prior written consent of the Publisher, participate in the preparation or publication of, or be otherwise interested in or connected with, or allow his/her name to be used in connection with, any work on the same subject that many conflict or compete with the sale of this Work.

You have to ask for consent in order for it to be given.

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If you write a professional letter, then you can expect to be treated in a professional manner. Send a request by registered mail and, if you receive no reply, phone the publisher to ask for an explanation and a response. The nicer you are, the better you will be treated.

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You have no choice.

LC wrote:

To anyone who has signed a contract, did you have the following paragraph (or similar) in it:

The Author agrees that during the term of this Agreement he/she will not, without the prior written consent of the Publisher, participate in the preparation or publication of, or be otherwise interested in or connected with, or allow his/her name to be used in connection with, any work on the same subject that many conflict or compete with the sale of this Work.

What, specifically, is the "term of this Agreement?" The time between signing the contract and publication of the book? Or the whole time the book is in print?

I'm wondering what would be the consequences of doing a book with a different publisher that has some content overlap, but is not a direct competitor due to a lot of different content covered? (even though a few schools may consider it a direct competitor, depending on how they teach the target class)

The closest thing I have to an agreement like that in my contract is the following paragraph:

"N. The Publisher has first right of refusal on any manuscripts thirty
thousand words or longer written by the Author that feature one or more
characters or original settings from said work. Should the Publisher find any
manuscript below expected standards, the Author and Publisher will work in good faith to revise the manuscript.
If despite their joint efforts the Publisher rejects a manuscript, the Author
is free to submit the manuscript elsewhere and this paragraph is then void for
all future manuscripts. The Publisher does not reserve the right to review, match or better offers
received."


As far as Terms of Agreement go. My contract was dated and then began as follows:


Agreement of Publication
Fiction


By signing below XYZ Publisher of 1234 This Street Address, This City, STATE, 12345, hereinafter called the “Publisher,” and
Miss JoElle, hereinafter called the “Author” signify that they have read,
understand and agree to the following eight terms and paragraphs A through R.

1. The Author has written or is writing for
publication a work tentatively titled My Novel's Title.
The Author hereby grants the Publisher a twelve-month exclusive option from December
1, 2007, to publish the book in print form throughout the world in the English
language by December 1, 2008.


This is followed by the seven other terms and 18 paragraphs.

When I received my contract, I hired a lawyer to review it to ensure that is was standard and fair. My lawyer made several revisions and suggested I negotiate on a couple of items. My publisher was agreeable to most changes and those that they didn't change weren't significant.