The Author shall in no way infringe upon this exclusive right of the publisher by authorizing other parties to utilize any portion of the Work in any form.

Note: The above is in the best possible terms for the publisher. In this electronic, e-book age, an author should work against automatically signing away all rights by negotiating to only give First North American Print Rights to publishers, or to have them provide for compensation for other uses of your material. If you can't retain the electronic rights, or if you can't get compensation tied to database use, negotiate for a higher print fee. You should also try to negotiate different types of electronic rights, for example, Lexis-Nexis, CD-ROMS, and various website uses.  Web rights are separate from print rights and should be licensed separately.

[ELECTRONIC RIGHTS]

[The author should request a clause clearly spelling out the electronic rights in all its forms. Major publishing houses may have added this clause to their contracts. The terms should be more favorable than the traditional 10-15% royalty.]

AUTHOR ROYALTIES

2.  In consideration and compensation for this grant of rights in item 1. above, the Publisher hereby agrees to pay the Author a royalty as set forth below:

a. For copies distributed and marketed pursuant to paragraph 1a, ______ percent, (0.0%) of net receipts (after refunds or credits for return of merchandise are deducted) on all copies sold of its own edition of said Work.

b. For the rights granted to license third parties pursuant to paragraph 1, _____ percent (0.0%) of any royalties received by said Publisher from other parties licensed to utilize this Work in written (printed or electronically reproduced) form.

c. For the rights granted to license the Medium in paragraph 1b, ______ percent (0.00%) of any royalties received from other parties licensed to adapt all or part of the Work to the Medium. These said royalties shall be determined after deducting any cost incurred by the Publisher in negotiating and administering such use or license.

Note: The majority of publishers base the royalties they pay authors on their net receipts (after discounts and returns) from sales of their edition(s). (Ideally, you want a publisher who is using gross receipts (or income) to calculate your royalties.) Royalties are usually between 10%-14% for paragraph 2a, 50% for 2b, and 80% for 2c. An author can often negotiate a sliding scale for their royalties. For example, 10% up to 10,000 copies, 12-1/2% for 10,001-25,000 copies, 14% over 25,000 copies. Royalties for e-books are usually higher, from 20% to 50%.  But usually the sale price per e-book is much lower.

CASH ADVANCE FOR WORK

3.  In consideration and compensation for this grant of rights in paragraph 1 above, the Publisher hereby agrees to pay the Author a cash advance as set forth below:

a. ______ thousand US dollars ($0.000.00) to be deducted from subsequent royalties earned by the Work.  One-half of total advance,  ______ US dollars ($0,000.00), shall be paid when the Author returns a signed copy of this contract to the Publisher. A second ______ US dollars ($0,000.00) shall be paid when the Author has completed revisions of said manuscript in a manner satisfactory to the Publisher. No portion of this advance will be refundable in the event that this contract is legally and properly abrogated by the Publisher, or in the event that, the advance is never equaled by future royalty earnings.

Note: Usually cash advances never exceed the expected first-year royalties. Advance payments to help support authors as they write are normally deducted from the initial royalties a book earns.

RIGHT TO REFUSE PUBLISHING THE WORK

4. If this Work is not published and offered for sale to the public, or licensed for publication and/or adaptation by another party, within ____ years following submission of the completed first-draft manuscript to the Publisher, all rights herein conveyed shall revert to the Author.

ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE FOR AUTHOR ROYALTIES

5.  The Author shall be entitled to an accurate accounting of receipts from sales and licensing of this Work by the Publisher at any time more than ____ days after the previous such accounting. Publisher shall mail statements of account and pay royalties on ______[Date] and ______[Date] for the semiannual fiscal periods closing on the preceding ______ [Date] and ______ [Date]. The publisher will pay all royalties due the Author, less a reserve of not more than ______ percent (0.0%) of royalties earned in the most recent semiannual fiscal period to take credit for overpayment resulting from the return of books and for other amounts due to the Publisher or chargeable against the royalties of the Author. Or Publisher may handle said credit in subsequent accounting statements.

6. In the event that additional works by the same Author are currently being marketed by the Publisher, royalty accounts from all such titles shall be combined with that for this title, for the purpose of calculating recovery of royalty advances, reserves against returns, amounts due the Author, etc.

7. The Publisher shall grant the Author the right to audit the Publisher's books for the sole purpose of reviewing the royalties. This audit shall be at the Author's expense and cannot to be performed more than one time in any ____ year(s) period after the publication of the Work.

[ADDITIONAL CHARGES AGAINST ROYALTIES

Note: This clause may not be in a typical contract, but I provide it here for the convenience of the reader since there are usually numerous charges against author royalties spread throughout the contract.

8.  The following additional fees shall be charged against the Author's royalties:

a. The cost or portion of the cost for creating the Art Package (see paragraph 9).

b. For fees, royalties, and other charges for use of copyrighted material (see paragraph 10).

c. The cost for any changes or additions made by the Author to the typeset proofs other than to correct factual errors and typos (see paragraph 14).

d. For the cost of an index (see paragraph 15).

e. No royalties will be paid for books purchased at a discount by the Author. If the Author sells these discounted books without the consent of the Publisher, future royalties will be deducted.  (see paragraph 22).

f.  If the Author fails to provide the Publisher with a requested revision of the Work, the Author will forego a certain percent of royalties from the revised edition (see paragraph 24.) .]

DELIVERY AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE WORK

9.  The Author shall deliver the Work satisfactorily to the Publisher in a double-spaced word-processed hard copy with a diskette and/or as an electronic upload to Publisher using a compatible word processing program, or otherwise in a format as agreed upon by the parties, no later than ____ months/year from the effective date of this Agreement.  The Work shall cover the subject matter previously agreed upon by the parties, and be approximately ______ words in length and shall include approximately ____% of illustrations, tables, photographs, drawings, maps, chart, (collectively, the "art Package"), as well as such other material as the Publisher may reasonably specify for the Work. The Author shall provide said Art Package and supplemental materials necessary to the completion of the Work for professional preparation by the Publisher. The cost or portion of the cost for creating the Art Package shall be charged against the Author's royalties as agreed upon by the parties of this Agreement.

PERMISSIONS FOR COPYRIGHTED MATERIALS

10.  The Author shall be responsible for obtaining the necessary written permission(s) from the owner(s) for use of all copyrighted materials or material from the Art Package incorporated in the Work, and to furnish copies of said permission(s) to the Publisher at the same time the Work is delivered. The Author is responsible for fees, royalties, and other charges for the use of copyrighted materials.  In the event the Publisher has to obtain said permission(s) after the Work has been delivered to the Publisher and during the production of the Work, the cost for such permission(s) will be deducted from the Author's royalties.

REJECTION OF WORK AND TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT

11. In the event the Author does not provide the Work or the Work is not acceptable to the Publisher, as described in paragraph 9, the Publisher may exercise the option of terminating this Agreement, with the provision that if the Agreement is thus terminated the Author shall refund within ___ days any money paid by the Publisher as a cash advance against royalties.

12. The Publisher shall publish the Work no later than ______ months following acceptance of the Work as described in paragraph 9. If the Publisher fails to publish, the Work shall be returned to the Author and the rights described in paragraphs 1 shall revert back to the Author.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORK

13. The Publisher shall be entitled to develop, alter, edit, and proof the content, usage, format, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling of the Work to conform to the Publisher's style, the subject matter, and intended audience previously agreed upon by the parties of this Agreement.

14. The Publisher shall provide the Author with a set of typeset proofs of the Work prior to publication to read and correct. The Author shall submit and return the typeset proofs to the Publisher within ____ days.  Any changes or additions made by the Author to the typeset proofs other than to correct factual errors and typos shall be deducted from the Author's royalties at the rate of _____ US dollars ($0.00) an hour for reproduction corrections made to Author's typeset proofs.

15. If the Work includes an index, the Publisher shall prepare and provide said index and charge the cost against the Author's royalties.

COPYRIGHT

16.  The Publisher shall effect the copyright of the Work in its name as proprietor and shall at its discretion effect any renewal, continuation, or extension of the copyright provided by the controlling law at such time.  The foregoing shall apply to the text, Art Package or any form subject to its copyright.

17.  This Agreement shall be binding on the Author and Publisher, and upon their respective heirs, administrators, successors, and assigns, for as long as a registered copyright to the Work remains in force, unless terminated by written agreement of all parties, or by specific provision elsewhere in this Agreement.

INDEMNIFICATION BY AUTHOR

18.  The Author shall be responsible for infringing upon the rights of authors, organizations, institutions, copyright holders, or others, as a result of plagiarism, libel, slander, or any other misuse of any material included in the original Work.  The Author shall indemnify the Publisher for all damages, costs and expenses, including attorneys' fees, incurred by Publisher as a result of said infringement.

COMPETING WORKS

19.  While this Agreement is in effect the Author shall not, without the prior written consent of the Publisher, write, edit, print, or publish any material that competes with the Work.

20.  The Author agrees to offer the Publisher the right of first refusal to publish under separate agreement any subsequent work in any form.

PROMOTIONAL PARTICIPATION

21. While this Agreement is in effect the Publisher shall apply its best efforts to promote the sale of the Work and the Author shall make a reasonable effort to engage in public expression to promote the sale of the Work whenever appropriate and in coordination with the Publisher's promotional efforts.

AUTHOR'S COPIES AND DISCOUNT PURCHASES

22.  Upon publication of each new edition of the Work, the Publisher shall provide the Author, without cost, _____ finished copies of the Work, and shall sell to the Author additional copies, but not for resale, at______ percent (0.0%) off the announced list price of the edition involved as long as that edition remains in stock. Prior to the original publication of the Work, the Author may purchase bulk quantities of the Work at the special republication prices listed below:

     ___ to ___ copies       List less xx%
     ___ to ___  copies      List less xx%
  [etc. up to so many copies and percent discount]

The Author may use these copies for giveaways, sell them as part of consulting and training services, and for any other purposes to promote his or her services.  The Author shall not sell these  copies directly to book stores, wholesalers, or catalogers and shall not sell them directly to consumers through his or her own direct marketing pieces, without prior consent of the Publisher. If said copies are sold in such a manner and without the consent of the Publisher, the Publisher shall deduct future Author royalties by an amount equal to the number of originally discounted books sold to the Author, or equivalent to the number of books sold in such a manner.

The Publisher must receive the Author's republication order and payment within ____ calendar weeks after the Author has received typeset proofs of the Work, so that the Publisher has the opportunity to include the Author order in the print run.  No royalties will be paid for these books. Shipping charges shall be added to the cost of the books.

Note: The author discount usually begins at forty percent (40%) off the list price.

REVISIONS OF THE WORK

23.  The Publisher may request in writing for the Author to revise the Work to maintain or expand the market for the Work.  If the Author provides the requested revision to the satisfaction of the Publisher, all terms of this Agreement shall apply to the specific revision except that any royalty amounts due to the Publisher by the Author thereunder shall be carried forward against the royalty of the revised edition.  To maintain the accounting procedure for computing royalties, the revised edition shall be treated as a new Work.

24. If the Author fails to respond to Publisher's requested revision of the Work within ____ days/weeks or declines to provide such revision, the Author shall forego up to ____ percent (0.00%) of royalties from the revised edition for purposes of compensating another author selected by the Publisher to accomplish said revising.

DETERMINATION OF OUT-OF-PRINT

25.  The Publisher shall consider the Work to be out-of-print if or when the Work has sold ___  copies during the previous ____ months.

Note: For the rights of the Work to revert back to the author you need to have a clause stating the publisher's definition of  "out-of-print."  Like the clause above, the definition should spell out the minimum number the Work has sold over a certain period of time to determine the moment it is out-of-print. For instance, 25 books over 24 months could deem the book out of print, with the rights then reverting back to the author. Also, make sure a Work in print does not include a publisher electronically storing the Work in a computer or on the Internet, or for POD (Print-on-Demand) use, in which case, the Work would never go out- of-print and the rights would never revert back to the author.

DISCONTINUANCE OF PUBLICATION

26.  If the Publisher determines the Work is out-of-print it shall notify the Author in writing at least ____ days in advance of the date that the Work is declared out-of-print and publication discontinued.  In such event, all rights transferred to the Publisher by this Agreement shall revert to the Author.  Additionally, the Author may, within ____ days of notification to discontinue publication, agree to purchase the Publisher's stock at ____ percent (0.0%) discount of the list price and purchase at cost any existing boards, film, and original Art Package of the Work. If the Author does not make such arrangement within this period of time, the Publisher may proceed to dispose of the remaining stock of the Work and all parts relating to the creation of the Work, in any manner it chooses.

RULES OF BANKRUPTCY