PUBLISHER FEE'S FOR BREECH?

I had to take a look at my own contract with RH to be sure, but here's the gist of it: if I breech my contract by not turning in a manuscript on its due date (non-delivery), and still don't turn it in after a specified period of time after the due date, RH has the right to terminate the contract and I must repay them everything they've paid me already.

Also, if I do turn in a manuscript, but even after revisions, I can't turn in a draft that is editorially acceptable after a reasonable period of time, then RH reserves the right to terminate the contract. In this instance, I must return half of monies advanced so far, and get to keep the other half.

Both of these clauses protect the publisher.

There's also a clause in case RH fails to publish the book within a certain, specified time period that protects me, as the author.

Kill fees seem to be more common with small presses, though. If your roommate is certain they want to go with this particular publisher, and have zero doubts about potentially wanting out of the contract with them...well...it's their choice.

Sydewinder said:

What is standard punishment for an author who breeches their contract? Are monetary fees the norm? What does the publisher do to protect themselves from difficult authors?

My roommate is in contract neg. with a publisher that has a kill fee. He's directed them to Victoria's blog post on the issue, but they insist it's for author/publisher protection and it's not going to be removed. Is there EVER any monetary charges in publisher contracts? if so under what terms?

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I hate calling this a kill fee because kill fees are supposed to send money to the writer, not to the publisher. This said:

A contract is legally binding, and even without a fee clause, the publisher can take you to court and can be awarded large sums of money for breach of contract. Often much more than this clause usually charges. If you sign any contract, you're agreeing to do whatever the contract says you should do, and there can be large penalties for breech.

My feeling, however, is that a judge or jury should decide whether you've breached a contract, and how much that breach is worth.

But it's always an individual decision.

In the end, I think it always comes down to never sign a contract thinking you can breach it and walk away free. One you sign, you're obligated to follow the contract to the letter, and there should be a penalty if you fail to do so.

As I said, I simply think a judge or jury should decide whether a contract has been breached, and what that penalty should, not the publisher. At the same time, putting such a clause in a contract is not unusual, not a scam, and each individual must decide whether it bothers them. But there or not, breach of contract can be extremely costly.

Sydewinder said:

Thanks for replying. That's exactly what I thought.

Just out of curiosity, not that you'd ever want to leave RH, but if you wanted out of your contract, could you get out? Is there an exit clause? I'm trying to figure out if authors are routinely offered a clause that let them get their rights back after book goes to print. My roommate was told that clause was there for his protection, but I see it as a backdoor to charge him if they want to drop him.

Maybe it's all innocent and I'm just too paranoid.

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Unless it's hidden deep in jargon I don't understand, no. I don't think there's a clause that gives me an out. But if I wanted out, for whatever reason, it's something that my agent would handle for me.

As JAR said, a 'kill fee' is used when a publisher kills a project and pays the writer for a portion of the contracted fee. You're talking about a 'termination fee', which a publisher would charge a writer for terminating a contract before its term is reached.

Continually using the wrong terminology causes confusion. A kill fee is in a writer's best interest; a termination fee is in a publisher's best interest.

Besides, haven't we had this same conversation before? Like, yanno, here?