- Joined
- Nov 5, 2006
- Messages
- 17,875
- Reaction score
- 4,669
- Location
- dunking doughnuts at Dunkin' Donuts
http://www.longtalepress.com/
Long story short, this is another press that grew out of somebody's frustration with "the biz". Unfortunately, it also looks like good intentions/bad practices:
First off, the concept of this getting "quality material" out there sounds pretty lopsided. Who's to say I won't have 55 of my friends shotgun votes to force them to publish my book?
Next is the contract. According to what I understand (standard "I'm not a lawyer" provision applies), you're signing over all rights to all licenses, including use of characters and titles for trademark purposes. Royalties pay at 50% of net sales. You receive 50% of sales for first serial, second serial, motion picture, and other rights. You receive 6 free author's copies and may purchase additional copies at a 40% discount.
All illustrations, photos, artwork, tables, etc. used for the book itself and for any promotional materials are provided by the author. The full or a portion of the cost of the production of this "art package" is deducted from royalties.
And here's a tricky part for me.
Here's the rest of the contract: http://www.longtalepress.com/about/authorcontract (It might be a little futzy; according to the front page, they're having server issues, so this and other pages might not load properly.)
I've got a really wrong feeling about this. Not bad, just wrong, and I'd have serious problems signing a contract like this.
Anybody care to take a shot?
Long story short, this is another press that grew out of somebody's frustration with "the biz". Unfortunately, it also looks like good intentions/bad practices:
- You join the site and post excerpts of your manuscript.
- Other members vote on excerpts and the one with the most votes gets published.
First off, the concept of this getting "quality material" out there sounds pretty lopsided. Who's to say I won't have 55 of my friends shotgun votes to force them to publish my book?
Next is the contract. According to what I understand (standard "I'm not a lawyer" provision applies), you're signing over all rights to all licenses, including use of characters and titles for trademark purposes. Royalties pay at 50% of net sales. You receive 50% of sales for first serial, second serial, motion picture, and other rights. You receive 6 free author's copies and may purchase additional copies at a 40% discount.
All illustrations, photos, artwork, tables, etc. used for the book itself and for any promotional materials are provided by the author. The full or a portion of the cost of the production of this "art package" is deducted from royalties.
And here's a tricky part for me.
- From the "About Us" page: At that time, Long Tale Press will register copyright to the work in the author's name.
- From the contract: The Publisher shall register the copyright of the Work in its name as proprietor and shall at its discretion effect any renewal, continuation, or extension of the copyright provided by the controlling law at such time.
Here's the rest of the contract: http://www.longtalepress.com/about/authorcontract (It might be a little futzy; according to the front page, they're having server issues, so this and other pages might not load properly.)
I've got a really wrong feeling about this. Not bad, just wrong, and I'd have serious problems signing a contract like this.
Anybody care to take a shot?
