Publishing Contract Law: books?

I'm no lawyer, but I'd guess that publishing contracts fall under the general heading of contracts, a complicated subject.

But I have a suggestion: The Authors Guild has put out an excellent guide to publishing contracts. I don't know whether you have to be a member before they'll send you one, but if you've published anything, you might qualify. I've found my membership well worth while, and this guide alone is worth the price of admission. If you don't qualify for membership, I'd get in touch with them anyway and see what it would take to get a copy. The guide not only analyzes each section of a typical contract in detail; it suggests what's acceptable, what isnt, what's common for the multitudes, and what kind of changes only the best-selling writers can command.

I commend your intent on learning this crucial aspect of the business, in a dedicated and serious manner. I presume you're referring to copyright.

Being a full-time non-fiction writer (journalist), I can not make the assumption that the only ones who visit this forum are novelists. Are you a novelist? an independent journalist? Contracts governing material produced by the one or the other possess distinct differences.

I am surprised that Amazon.com doesn't list any relatively detailed books for the writer. You might also try the ASJA (American Society of Journalists and Authors) at www.asja.org for some guidance.

I'm a law student in Australia. Depends which country you are looking at. Either you are thinking IP law, which is copyright etc. or you want information about contracts. Butterworths and LexisNexis International are two sites to go through.

P.S. If you are interested check with your local writers guild they have info about contracts and that sort of thing.

I just had a thought. Check out the website for Nolo Press. (Google those words, but I think it's nolopress.com. Might be Nolo Publishing). They do a lot of books on the law for laypersons, but I'll confess that they're useful for lawyers who are researching outside their own expertise and just need an overview. They might have a relevant book.

And I can't recall who it was, but one of the major NY agents has had a book out for several years, on being your own agent. I haven't read it, but I believe it goes into publishing contract terminology. Drat. I wish I could remember names.

JD (See? Initials are all I can remember with any regularity.)