Who's sold?! :D

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gingerwoman

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How about being careful with your assumptions about the authors who take those contracts? I have signed contracts on the long end (though no life of copyright, which your agent will tell you is QUITE common in the industry), and it wasn't out of naivete or a fear of pissing off the publishers. I've negotiated my own contracts from the start, and have no qualms about asking for what I want and walking when I don't get it. However, if it's a solid publisher with a good reputation, I'll sign a longer contract than I will with a younger house. Under certain circumstances, I'll sign life of copyright, but that hasn't been an issue yet.

One of my publishers has 5 year contracts, the other has 7 year. The oldest book I have with the 7-year contract is in its 6th year, and still brings in about $1,000 in royalties every year. I have over two dozen books with them, and am contracted to write several more between now and the end of 2017. Considering my books remain in print during the entire contract term, rather than going out of print the second their sales begin to flag, I have the opportunity to boost those sales through renewed promotion, sequels, tie-ins with other books, etc. And yes, I have had books that got a second wind in their second, third, even fourth years. One book sold 100 copies its first year and something like 3,000 the second. Another book sold moderately well its first year, and tripled in sales in the six months after its sequel was released the second year.

Yes, it's a gamble to sign a longer contract. It's a gamble to sign any contract. But please don't assume that those of us willing to accept longer contracts are just doing it because we're afraid to ask for what we want, or because we don't have agents to hold our hands. I've signed over 100 contracts, and I've negotiated (for various reasons) releases from contracts with four different publishers without getting my ass handed to me or being forced to stay in a contract longer than I wanted to. Pretty sure I know what I'm doing.

So glad you posted that, because this thread was beginning to make me feel like an idiot for signing two 7 year contracts. lol But yeah Samhain asks for 7 years.

I've never tried to get an agent, because the two full length novels I've written were menage, which is generally more suited to the digital first market.
 
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brainstorm77

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With a publisher like Samhain and I don't think that 7 years is bad.

I have a new release coming out this month. So, that's a sale :)
 

Fruitbat

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All right, Fil, you made it! I recall you saying you had sent that story in to them. :partyguy:
 

Filigree

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...And now the story's expanded, per editor's very nice request, to just over 16K. Editor likes it, and it's off to the NineStar art department to get a cover for an upcoming Valentine's theme release. Just one of several bits of Really Good News I got today, but the only one pertinent to this forum.
 

LJD

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I sold a contemporary romance to Samhain recently. It's a story I pitched at RWA. This is my first acceptance from them after 4 rejections.
 

Viridian

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Congrats, Filigree! I'm interested to see how your experience with Ninestar goes.

And congrats, Laura! It must be a good one. Samhain's always so solid.
 

Becky Black

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Just sold a 14k story (long short story? Novelette? Whatever you want to call it. :D) to JMS Books to be part of a themed series to come out next year. That's my third F/F sale.
 

Pterofan

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Forgot to mention: Evernight accepted another 15K M/M story from me the other day. Again, quick turnaround, this one overnight. The first one had two painless editing passes and seems to have done okay on the market. I like these people.
 

Eve Irving

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Hi I'm a newbie have bagged a contract with Start Media with my first book chuffed to bits . Nutty Smutty book 🎉😉
 

Deb Kinnard

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Not sure if this is the right place to post a release...

My SEASONS IN THE MIST, a reissue, was just released by Desert Breeze Publishing. In its former incarnation, it won the Grace Award in 2010 for speculative fiction. A time travel romance, it tells what happens when a 21st century historian stumbles back in time to 1353 Cornwall.

Celebrate with me!
 

haunted

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Omnium Gatherum has just offered me a two book deal. Hear lots of good things about them from us dark/horror fiction writers.
 

CEtchison

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It's kinda crazy that I remember when Cathy C started this thread and now I finally get to add my own sale since it was officially announced last week.

I sold my debut in a three book deal to Avon Impulse. The first book in The Brotherhood Series, ONCE AND FOR ALL, releases May 24, 2016.
 

LJD

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It's kinda crazy that I remember when Cathy C started this thread and now I finally get to add my own sale since it was officially announced last week.

I sold my debut in a three book deal to Avon Impulse. The first book in The Brotherhood Series, ONCE AND FOR ALL, releases May 24, 2016.

congrats :)
 

Vanayssa

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In 2015 I sold two novels to Solstice Publishing, SACRED TRUST, and THE BOY SCOUT. The Boy Scout has just become available on Amazon. Last year I did not have any idea how to promote my books except to use FB, LInked In and Twitter every day. Recently I discovered Copromote and World Lit Cafe, with its Retweet Teams, which are fun to use and easy. Copromote takes very little time and effort. And I bought a great book called How To Sell Your Book Like Wildfire by Rob Eagar, and I am reading it slowly and working some his suggestions as I go. Using Forums is difficult as each forum is different and I have no skills in using forums, so it's a learning curve on each different forum. My editor tells us all that it takes five years of patient, consistent daily posting and guest blogging, etc., to begin to sell well. So that's what I am expecting, I have only just over a year under my belt so quite a ways to go. I love it when I get a royalty check. And I love it when someone local tells me they like my book and they want a sequel please, and they tell me a friend is reading my book and they like it, there is hardly a better feeling than that.
 

Becky Black

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It's kinda crazy that I remember when Cathy C started this thread and now I finally get to add my own sale since it was officially announced last week.

I sold my debut in a three book deal to Avon Impulse. The first book in The Brotherhood Series, ONCE AND FOR ALL, releases May 24, 2016.
That's epic! Congratulations.

- - - Updated - - -

In 2015 I sold two novels to Solstice Publishing, SACRED TRUST, and THE BOY SCOUT. The Boy Scout has just become available on Amazon. ...

Congratulations!
 

Becky Black

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I just sold a short story to JMS Books, to be part of their Men at Work series. It's only a little story, a hair under 10k, but it marks my 20th sale, so I'm feeling very chuffed about it. ;)
 
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