What would you give up to be published? (Publishing Scenario)?
** This is long, so bear with me ** I want to know what you would do in this publishing scenario. How much are you willing to give up to realize your publishing dream?
Lets say that you wrote a book. That book was somewhat unique and the writing was passable. A major publisher, lets say Random House – they’re the largest in the industry – offered you a book deal. Now, they’re offering to publish your book if you give them all rights (not copyright, obviously). They want global rights (most USA authors give up North American rights. Global means they can publish it around the world and this isn’t in the author’s best interest), Lifetime rights (they own publishing rights until you die), ebook rights, audio rights, merchandise rights, film/tv rights, (most of these rights the author usually keep). You also give them first rights of refusal for the next two books (this means they get to offer before another publisher, this is in some pub contracts and you can reject the offer). They’re also offering you a $1,000 advance for the book and 8% royalties.
So, you might be thinking this is enough. Now, lets say that you’ve been trying to break into publishing for the last 8 years. You’ve written a total of 10 books. The first 3 were so bad that you didn’t even submit them. The last 7 you’ve submitted but were rejected at every turn. You’ve submitted your last book and this is the only publisher that is offering you a deal because all the other publishers rejected you and you don’t stand a chance with a literary agent. The editor lets you know that they’re taking a HUGE risk on your book and she had to convince the committee to buy it and these are the terms of the contract and they’re non-negotiable.
And, for the sake of argument, lets say that you met the Random House editor on the elevator at a writer’s conference and you did a one minute pitch for you book and she invited you to send her the full manuscript and that’s how you were made the offer. (It really does happen, lol, it’s called the Elevator Pitch).
So, what would you do? Would you accept this contract that is obviously not in your best interest? Would you tell them no thanks even if it means that it might take you another 10 years before you next offer? – and there’s the possibility that that offer will never come. Do you take the deal so that you can at least break into publishing and hope that you become super successful and that might make it worth it – I mean, you can always forget about that bad book deal and focus on all the new books you plan to write and get a standard contract for them, right?
What say you? Remember, being a published author is your dream.
Just a side note: by giving up all these rights, you’re still getting royalties. You’re giving the publisher the right to negotiate on your half and you get royalties on the deal – including TV/movie and foreign rights – but you have no say in the actual negotiations – some publishers aren’t equipped to negotiate these kinds of rights so they might reject all offers or make a bad deal on your behalf, and this is why authors keep most of those rights, so they can negotiate them themselves.
Isaac
Kayla
Oh dear lord…
That really bites.
I think I’d reject the offer. As much as I’d like my work to be published (and trust me, I know how it feels), I’d want more credit than that.
Madison
lol
Austin
You just got REJECTED, Random House.
Hunter
Is this book the last one I will ever write? Or will the sales of this book be large enough to convince Random House (or another publisher) that my next book is a safer bet? (I’ve heard that publishers often lose money on an author’s first book, and see it as a way to build recognition of the author’s name.)
To be honest, I don’t see that I have much of a choice, if being published is what I want. This is the first time in eight years that someone has said yes, and if I don’t grab this chance, who knows how long it’ll be before another one turns up – if one ever does? I might not be getting as much as I wanted or hoped for, but I’m getting more than I have now.
As long as the unfavourable terms apply only to this one book, and I’m free to try to get something better for the next book, I would sign – and immediately start writing the next book.
EDIT: Didn’t see the bit about right of first refusal on the next two books. I thought that sort of thing was fairly standard. Are there any other conditions attached to those two books? If not, I would sign. If there are any other onerous conditions, I would think long and hard, and then probably sign anyway. The contract doesn’t say those two books have to be any good, does it? And if Random House decline to publish them, I don’t *have* to send them to anyone else, do I?
Kevin
Well, if/when I get my work published I’d only do it for fun, not really for the money. I’m only 15, but I know I won’t finish anything until I’m older, so I’d feel more comfortable if someone who knew what they were doing was in control of my writing, provided I still had copyright so it belonged to me. Besides, I’m still getting royalties, so I’m still earning money from it. If someone offered to make my novel into a movie or tv show, I’d be honored.
Considering how anything I’m likely to write would be a series, I’d definitely want an offer that gave me a guaranteed contract for two or three more books.
It’s always kind of a dream of mine to be an author, but I have other ambitions besides writing that take priority. I’m trying to finish my novel before I’m 18 because I want it all done before I go to university so it doesn’t interfere.
If I got any deal, I would definitely accept it, but if I got one from a relatively small publishing company and a major one, I would accept the one from the major company because they’re more well known.