Publishing without a contract?

I don't want to walk away from an offer from a very nice publisher, due to my fears, then never get another offer.

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No offense, but this statement sort of smacks of wanting to be validated.

Do you really want to entrust your hard work to a bunch of people who are only willing to use a contract?

I mean, aside from the numerous painful legal scenarios that could arise, not having a contract just screams amateur hour. Contracts are used to protect both/all parties. You'd be essentially entrusting your hard work to people who don't think it's even necessary to agree to certain terms.

DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER PUBLISHING ANYTHING WITHOUT A CONTRACT.

Phew. Now I'm over that, why do they not use contracts? Contracts are helpful and useful things.

I am concerned they're not as good as you think they are, because this is downright wrong.

Anna Iguana said:

One of my goals is validation. I appreciate that what feels like validation to me might not feel that way to another writer, and vice-versa. This is where I'm at, and I'm weighing those feelings against risks you identify.

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Despite what some people/writers say, I don't think it's wrong necessarily to want to feel validated. It's very human, especially when it's related to something creative (and especially so for poetry, I imagine).

But there are times when our desire for validation can push us towards making mistakes. Entrusting your work hard to a group of people who don't see the value of contracts would, IMO, be a mistake.

I mentioned a fair few times on these boards that I'm an advocate for self publishing (and doing it well), but I also believe if you're going to go with a trade publisher (either one of the big ones or a smaller one), they should offer you something you can't do yourself. At this point they're not even offering you reasonable terms or security, because there's no contract.

You've worked hard on your poetry, and if you're going to publish it, it deserves the best possible treatment.

Anna Iguana said:

I don't want to accidentally lose rights to my work forever.

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Which could happen without a contract, I'm afraid. We all know there's publishers out there who will exploit authors with a contract, so the pitfalls of going through a publisher without a contract would trigger hyperventilation on numerous levels. I'm still at loggerheads with a contract, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but at least that contract is there to offer some safety. Please think twice over this unless they can offer a contract.

There is something odd about this. Even 'author-friendly' publishers should have a contract - it's for the protection of both sides.
Yes, why aren't the publishers using a contract to protect themselves? Instead, apparently they want you to propose/design a contract? Either they assume that you are to nice/innocent/shy to take advantage of them, or they are woefully unprepared to run a business. If you must proceed, find the most author-friendly contract (there must be samples and explanations on-line) you can find and send them that. Two purposes a) see how they respond, b) if they leave the door open, walk on in.

Anna Iguana said:

The more I learn about self-publishing, the more I'm drawn to it. I agree that it's a really good option. At the same time, I'm aware of recent discussion, here at AW, where some people shared particularly negative opinions of self-published poetry.

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If you are going to go the self published route, then just make sure you do your research and do it well.

As for negative opinions... well, I'm sure there is plenty of bad self-published poetry out there. But that doesn't mean yours has to be.

Well, the imperfect but possibly appropriate way to approach this might be to write a letter assigning the rights you wish to, e.g. exclusive digital and/or print rights for period of time followed by non-exclusive rights that can be terminated by either party. Or whatever. Then get them to sign that. For a semi-amateur market with a good reputation that is what I would do.

What are the royalties? Are they going to put it in print? Get any copies? Where will it be sold? What if you wanted to terminate it? There's way too many questions that arise without one. And putting the burden on you to do it is wrong. I know they seem nice, but nice ones can turn ugly real fast after you sign your life away.

If you believe in your work, (like I know you do) then strive for better. Don't worry on if this is going to be the only offer. You're a writer, this is not going to be the only thing you write. There could be other offers on other things. Don't put all your eggs in one basket for this. Just keep researching and submitting. The wait can be God long, but it's worth the wait when you feel completely good about it. And that's what publication can do if it meets all your standards.

I remember when I first started submitting stories. I submitted a children's picture book. I got an offer, only had to pay 300 dollars. I did it, because I was completely stupid back then. I had to terminate my contract it was horrible, poor editing, poor illustrations. A year of waiting and waiting to get shit back. You think I got my money back? Nope. But I learned a great lesson, never pay first of all and never jump to the first offer ever. If there is something you don't like and address it to them and you're still on the fence, it's your gut telling you this isn't a good idea. Just don't let that validation get the best of you.

There are any number of publications that don't use contracts. Journals associated with a specific class or school, student newspapers, various blogs with guest posts, etc. But they don't pay royalties, they use (usually) one-time, non-exclusive rights and they have rights statements they publish.

That said, get a contract wherever you can. Like fences make good neighbors, contracts make good business associates.

Jeff