Publishing Contract

At a lawyer's or agent's office.

I agree with Lauri, but make sure that the lawyer is one who has experience at looking at publishing contracts as it is a specialised field.

MM

Momento Mori said:

but make sure that the lawyer is one who has experience at looking at publishing contracts as it is a specialised field.

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Absolutely. This is very important. A real estate or personal injury lawyer won't have the necessary expertise to evaluate a publishing contract.

On the Overview page of Writer Beware, there's a section on Legal Recourse that provides links to the American Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (a volunteer organization that specializes in providing legal assistance for people in the arts). Either service will arrange an initial low-cost or pro-bono consultation for you, after which you can decide on what further action to take.

Writer Beware will also look at contracts and make comments--obviously, this will not be legal advice, since we aren't lawyers, but we do know something about publishing contract language and should be able to help you identify any nonstandard clauses or provisions. Contact me at [email protected] .

- Victoria

amora said:

Not sure where to post this question: where is the best place to have a pub. contract looked at?

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If youre in the Uk the Society of Authors will do it, but you can only join once you've been published : (
If you are agented that's your agent's job, if you haven't an agent now is a good time to contact some and say - 'Listen I've done the hard part I have sold my work, would you be prepared to represent me?' Agents usually negotiate better than authors and if you go for a good one it could be the start of a lucrative friendship.

timewaster said:

If youre in the Uk the Society of Authors will do it, but you can only join once you've been published : (

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Not exactly true--you can join as soon as you're offered a contract. That way you can get it checked. It's a free service for members, and well worth the subscription alone.

Ah, didn't know that. I definitely agree that it's useful though. I haven't been to any meetings for a while but they're a good way to meet other writers too.