Publishing Rights Return to Submissions Guidelines
AUTHOR agrees to grant to PUBLISHER exclusive worldwide English language rights to publish, distribute, and sell the WORK in:
Either E-book format, print format or both. (This would be specified in a real contract).
Ownership of Characters
Except as allowed under the sections of this agreement governing promotion of the work, AUTHOR owns the characters and controls their use in sequels or series books, whether published by PUBLISHER or another publisher. PUBLISHER will have a non-exclusive right to use the title, and all material, including characters in the WORK, for the purpose of advertising, publishing and promoting the WORK.
If the AUTHOR writes another WORK that is a sequel to the WORK covered in this agreement, using an identical theme and/or major characters from the contracted WORK, PUBLISHER retains a right of first refusal for the subsequent work.
WORK shall be at least 45,000 words in length before and after editing process for print publishing. If WORK does not meet minimum word length, PUBLISHER shall have the right to terminate contract with respect to the print portion thereof.
Length of Contract
This Agreement shall be for a minimum of two (2) years from the date of publication, with automatic monthly renewal at the end of the two-year period.
Termination of Contract
PUBLISHER Termination
At any time prior, during or after the WORK is published, PUBLISHER may, at its discretion, cancel this contract and remove the WORK from publication or distribution for reasons of poor sales, excessive returns, or any other reasons. PUBLISHER shall give 30 days prior written notice to AUTHOR of requested removal from distribution by certified mail or other receipted delivery. When the PUBLISHER removes the WORK from sale, this contract shall terminate and all rights granted shall revert to the AUTHOR. AUTHOR understands that books that have already been purchased and are stocked by bookstores or other third parties may continue to be sold until stock is exhausted. PUBLISHER will make certain that no additional books will be printed, distributed, or sold after the end of the 30-day notice period.
AUTHOR Termination
At any time during the initial contract period as stipulated in the Length of Contract, this contract may be terminated by the AUTHOR with a 90-day written, certified mail notice or other receipted delivery, and all rights granted the PUBLISHER will revert to AUTHOR at the time of the termination.
At any time after the initial two year contract period, this contract may be terminated by the AUTHOR with a 30-day written, certified mail notice or other receipted delivery, and all rights granted the PUBLISHER will revert to AUTHOR at the time of the termination.
Upon termination, PUBLISHER will remove listing of the WORK from its website and all download-based distributors. AUTHOR shall have the right to purchase any remaining copies of the WORK stocked by the PUBLISHER at the AUTHOR's discount specified below; however, any copies of the WORK not purchased by the AUTHOR may be sold or disposed of at the PUBLISHER’s discretion. Applicable royalties will be paid on any sold books.
AUTHOR Warrantees
AUTHOR warrants that AUTHOR is the author and sole owner of the WORK; that it is original and contains no matter unlawful in its content, nor does it violate the rights of any third party; that the WORK is not in the public domain. AUTHOR also warrants that these rights are owned or controlled by AUTHOR without encumbrance and that AUTHOR has full power to grant the listed rights to PUBLISHER. If the WORK has been previously published in any form, AUTHOR warrants that the rights granted herein have reverted to the AUTHOR. AUTHOR shall present some written memorandum documenting the reversion of the rights (if applicable) granted by any publishing company that may have held rights to the WORK. If a judgment is obtained against PUBLISHER for usurping rights still controlled by another publisher or other entity than PUBLISHER or AUTHOR, the AUTHOR agrees to hold PUBLISHER harmless and to indemnify PUBLISHER for reasonable damages and costs.
ISBN
PUBLISHER will obtain and assign an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) for the WORK where applicable. PUBLISHER will assign as many ISBN designations as required by the publication formats listed in Publishing Rights section. PUBLISHER will notify the relevant authority of the ISBN of the WORK and where required deposit any central library copies, within the country designated by the publisher.
Copyright Ownership and Registration
The AUTHOR is the owner of the copyright of the WORK. AUTHOR is responsible for registering the copyright with the relevant Copyright Office, including payment of any fees and the costs of preparing printed and/or electronic documentation of the work as required by the relevant Copyright office. PUBLISHER shall be listed as the publisher of the WORK in all formats indicated in Publishing Rights section. AUTHOR may choose not to register the copyright with the relevant Copyright office, therefore limiting damages that could be awarded in court if there is a copyright violation.
Selling Price
PUBLISHER will set the retail price of the WORK, based on length, similar works and format. PUBLISHER reserves the right to raise or reduce the price at any time before or after publication.
Royalty Commissions
For the purposes of this contract the term NET SALES is defined as being the net amount received from the retailer, customer or web site by the PUBLISHER, less any applicable currency conversion charges deducted at source by the retailer, customer or web site payment processor. Royalties will be amassed at the applicable currency conversion rate applied on the receipt of the payment.
PUBLISHER agrees to pay AUTHOR the following Royalty Commissions:
40% of Net Sales from the sale of all electronic editions of the WORK sold from PUBLISHER’S website and 20% of Net Sales from third party download websites or retailers.
In the case of co-authored books, or anthologies, royalties will be divided equally.
15% of Net Sales from the sale of all bound printed editions of the WORK.
Net sales are further defined as the dollar amount received by the PUBLISHER from the wholesale or retail sale of the WORK minus the amount of any returns of the WORK. Wholesale amounts do not include wholesale purchases made by the AUTHOR. In this case, AUTHOR will receive no royalties. Consignment placements are not considered sales until PUBLISHER receives payment. AUTHOR will receive no royalties on copies of WORK distributed for review or promotional purposes.
Royalty Payment Schedule and Statements
Royalty statements will be produced and forwarded to AUTHOR quarterly. They will be mailed out usually one (1) month after the end of the calendar quarter (Quarters end: March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31). PUBISHER will not be held responsible for delays in this process due to late receipt of information from third-party retailers.
Royalties earned for the quarter shall be paid with issuance of the royalty statement except as noted below. Payments will be made by PayPal in New Zealand dollars or United States Dollars, the choice being made by the AUTOHOR and notified in advance to the PUBLISHER. AUTHOR understands that royalties will be paid only on those books where the PUBLISHER has received payment. If there are any delays in payment to PUBLISHER (by vendors, distributors, consumers, etc.), PUBLISHER is not obligated to pay the royalty until it has been paid to the PUBLISHER. Once paid, royalties will be included according to the payment schedule.
Royalty amounts that do not exceed US$10.00 or equivalent for the quarter will not be paid that quarter, but will be accumulated until an amount of US$10.00 or greater in royalties is met. At that time royalties will be paid with the next quarterly payment, so long as the combined amount is greater than US$10.00.
AUTHOR will receive a quarterly royalty statement whether a royalty check is issued or not.
AUTHOR may use AUTHOR's royalty statements as proof of income. Payment of taxes on royalties is the sole responsibility of the AUTHOR. If the AUTHOR dies before all royalties have been paid, PUBLISHER will pay royalties to AUTHOR's beneficiaries. This contract shall transfer in force and in full to the AUTHOR's beneficiaries.
AUTHOR is responsible for communicating to PUBLISHER any change in taxpayer identification number or social security number, mailing address, telephone number, or email address. If AUTHOR fails to advise PUBLISHER of any changes in the above that prevent the timely payment of royalties, PUBLISHER is authorized to hold, without penalty, payment of royalties until current information is received.
If additional WORK(s) by the same AUTHOR are currently being marketed by the PUBLISHER, royalty accounts from all titles will be combined with that for this WORK.
Editing
PUBLISHER has the right of final approval of AUTHOR's manuscript. PUBLISHER will assign an editor to coordinate with AUTHOR in making edits and revisions. The AUTHOR will not be required to pay for editing services. Editor and AUTHOR will work together to bring the WORK to PUBLISHER’s acceptable standards within an agreed upon time. If the edits are not complete or the AUTHOR refuses enough changes that the PUBLISHER does not deem the WORK acceptable, PUBLISHER has the right to delay release of WORK or terminate the agreement. PUBLISHER may make corrections of typographical or grammatical errors without AUTHOR's consent.
Edits must be processed in a timely fashion by the AUTHOR usually within 21 days of the receipt by the AUTHOR, except by advance agreement. In this respect it is the AUTHOR’s responsibility to notify the PUBLISHER in advance of holiday arrangements so that these may be taken into account.
The AUTHOR further warrants that they are in possession of software that is compatible with processing edits using Microsoft Word “Track Changes”, that the AUTHOR is either conversant with this technology or will be by the time edits are sent to be processed.
Except in the case of previously professionally published works edits will normally follow a two pass process with the first pass being the main edits and the second pass proof edits. In the case of print works a further “Errata” may be requested from the AUTHOR to be completed within a similar timescale to the above.
Cover Art
PUBLISHER shall provide cover art at its own expense. PUBLISHER will give credit in the published WORK to the cover artist.
The AUTHOR will work in a timely fashion with the cover artist to ensure acceptable professional cover art is produced within a time span the PUBLISHER can reasonably find acceptable. Normally this will be before the first set of edits are completed.
Appendix III contains the necessary form for this process and forms a substantive part of the contract.
Title
PUBLISHER has final approval of release title of the WORK. PUBLISHER has the option to change the release title if the AUTHOR's suggested title is too similar to any books already in release by PUBLISHER or recent releases from any other PUBLISHER or if PUBLISHER deems that a more appropriate title is necessary. AUTHOR will be given an opportunity to suggest other titles.
AUTHOR's Name or Pen Name
The AUTHOR has the exclusive right to the use of AUTHOR's name or pen name listed as the AUTHOR in connection with this WORK. PUBLISHER cannot prevent AUTHOR from using the same name or pen name for any other PUBLISHER or for any other book genre. PUBLISHER will have a right to use AUTHOR's name, and biographical material for the purposes of advertising, publishing and promoting the WORK and the AUTHOR.
PUBLISHER's Name, Logo, and Slogan.
The AUTHOR will not have rights to use PUBLISHER’S name, logo or slogan, unless given permission by PUBLISHER in writing. AUTHOR may use the cover art in AUTHOR's promotional material.
AUTHOR's Biographical Information and Book Cover Blurb.
AUTHOR must provide PUBLISHER with biography, and suggested blurbs for use on book cover, website, and promotional literature. PUBLISHER reserves the right to edit or rewrite blurbs as necessary for length or content.
Appendices I & II attached to this contract contain the forms for these processes and from a substantive portion of this contract.
AUTHOR Purchased Copies
AUTHOR is not required to purchase any copies of WORK, but may elect to purchase an unlimited number of eBook copies or print copies at a discount of 40%. AUTHOR will not receive royalties on any copies that AUTHOR purchases using discount. AUTHOR will pay all shipping charges for purchased print copies.
AUTHOR may purchase unlimited number of copies in any format at full retail price. Regular royalties will be paid on these purchases. AUTHOR will pay all shipping charges for purchased copies.
AUTHOR may resell copies of the WORK that AUTHOR has purchased with discount from PUBLISHER. AUTHOR royalties will be difference between discounted purchase price and retail price AUTHOR has set. AUTHOR will be responsible for reporting earnings for tax purposes and PUBLISHER will be held harmless for AUTHOR's failure to report earnings.
Promotion and Promotional materials
AUTHOR has permission from the PUBLISHER to duplicate WORK, at no royalty, exact text copies in digital or print formats for the purpose of obtaining book reviews, or entering competitions or contests, unless the WORK is already in print format. If WORK is in print format, AUTHOR must purchase print copies for this purpose at the 40% discount aforementioned.
PUBLISHER and AUTHOR agree to supply each other with copies of any professional reviews, either digital or print copies. AUTHOR and PUBLISHER are not required to provide copies of "Reader Reviews".
strong>Bankruptcy of PUBLISHER, Sale of PUBLISHER
If the PUBLISHER files for protection under the Bankruptcy Laws, all rights delineated in Publishing Rights section shall immediately revert to the AUTHOR. If the PUBLISHER suspends operations, other than a temporary suspension for technical difficulties such as a loss of web server, all rights delineated in Publishing Rights section shall immediately revert to the AUTHOR.
If the PUBLISHER sells it’s assets to another PUBLISHER, who does or plans to market and promote books of the type and genre of the WORK, the successor PUBLISHER will be bound to the same terms delineated in this agreement. If the successor PUBLISHER does not plan to market and promote books of the type and genre of the WORK, all rights delineated in Publishing Rights section shall revert to the AUTHOR.
Copyright Infringement
PUBLISHER is not obligated to initiate legal proceedings should a claim arise regarding a third party infringing the AUTHOR's or PUBLISHER's rights. PUBLISHER shall not be held liable for not taking action on a claim.
Understanding of Parties
This agreement contains the understanding of both AUTHOR and PUBLISHER with regard to the subject matter herein and no warranties; promises or agreements have been made outside what is expressed herein. This agreement supersedes any previous agreement or understanding with respect to the WORK and cannot be modified except in writing by both parties. Upon execution, this Agreement shall be absolutely binding and fully enforceable.
The attached Appendices:
Appendix I - Author Biography Form
Appendix II - Book Cover Blurb Form
Appendix III - Cover Art Form
Together and severally form substantive parts of this contract.
The contract is only deemed signed and in force when all three have been fully completed by the AUTHOR to a standard acceptable to the publisher. Such acceptance will be sent by e-mail within a reasonable timescale.
