Question about contract length

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=221640

Seems to be a writer-friendly contract with a 3-year term.

Term of copyright is 70 years after you die. Do you really want to wait that long?

Yes, in one of my contracts there is a clause which states that the rights revert if the publisher does not publish for a set time after the last edition. Though with ebooks and POD this is an awkward one these days. The theory being that if the book is not selling, not making any money for the publisher, they will not produce another edition just to keep the rights.

Is there not a way you can will copyright to someone else so that it extends beyond the 75 years post death? Or have i heard that wrong?

areteus said:

Is there not a way you can will copyright to someone else so that it extends beyond the 75 years post death?

Click to expand...

No.

http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm

There are some publishers that want to keep the ongoing right to publish, but there should be language in the clause that defines 'published' and provides you the opportunity to get your rights back if they don't meet the contract definition of published or if your sales dip below an acceptable margin.

My thought is that if a book is selling well, by all means, let them keep selling it. If it's not selling well, I have a way of getting my rights back. For some others this would be a deal breaker. For me, I don't really care so long as the checks keep coming.

I think every contract has some language that will get someone's panties in a twist, though. Nature of the business. Figure out what you can live with and negotiate what you can't.

If there's something you don't like in a contract, there's always room for negotiation. Most publishers will negotiate. You aren't automatically expected to take boilerplate. It might turn out that it's not something they're willing to budge on, but then you walk away and sub it elsewhere. Negotiation is part of the business.