If you’re an author who has just been offered your first book deal, congratulations! This is an exciting milestone, but don’t let enthusiasm over your forthcoming publication cause you to rush into signing a publishing contract. As a beginner, it’s essential to educate yourself on standard contract terms, negotiate from a position of knowledge, and secure a deal that truly serves your long-term interests.
With a literary agent guiding you, there is ample opportunity to improve upon a publisher’s initial offer and get the best contract terms possible. Here is a comprehensive guide to optimizing a publishing agreement as a new author:
Before you review your own contract offer, invest time researching standard industry contract terms, royalty rates, rights clauses, and negotiation points. Join a professional writers organization to access contract guides, seminars, and sample contracts in your genre. Studying several real-world contracts gives you an informed perspective on typical standards you can reference when reviewing your own deal.
Never attempt to negotiate your first publishing contract alone without representation. Secure a qualified literary agent to handle negotiations on your behalf. An experienced literary agent knows what contract terms are customary or negotiable, and will fiercely advocate to get you the maximum advance, royalties, rights protections, and other advantages.
They have existing publisher relationships and insight into bargaining levers individual authors lack. The standard 15% commission you pay your agent is extremely worthwhile given the substantially better deal they can negotiate compared to going it alone.
The advance is the upfront amount of money the publisher pays the author upon signing the contract, before any books are sold. It is an advance payment against the royalties you will earn in the future from book sales. The advance is usually paid out in installments, such as one-third upon signing, one-third upon manuscript delivery, and one-third upon publication.
Aim to negotiate the highest justifiable advance amount the publisher will offer. The size of your advance matters because it sets financial expectations for your book, and also gives you more leverage negotiating royalties and other clauses. A larger advance means the publisher has “skin in the game” and will devote more resources to marketing your book effectively to help earn back that higher advance through sales.
Royalties are the contracted percentage of each sale you earn as the author. Standard royalty rates are:
Focus intensely on negotiating the highest royalty rates possible, especially for your ebook sales where the potential upside is greatest. Never accept an ebook royalty below 25% without pushback. Ask your agent to research and benchmark against the royalties earned by authors of similar status in your genre. If merited, push for increments higher than the initial offer.
Since royalties are paid ongoingly over the entire term of copyright, every percentage point makes an immense financial difference over the long run. Initial royalty rate concessions can haunt you for your entire career.
Do not blindly sign away your valuable digital rights, foreign rights, or subsidiary rights to the publisher upfront in your original contract. Your agent should fight to help you retain as many rights as possible, such as audiobook, book club, foreign languages, multimedia adaptations, serialization, etc.
At minimum, ensure you receive a generous percentage (ideally 50% or more) of any licensing revenue the publisher generates by selling your subsidiary rights. As the author, you deserve to equitably benefit from the full commercial potential of your creative work.
Some publishers will seek “non-compete” or “no competing works” clauses in contracts to restrict your ability to release similar books with other publishers for a period of time. When non-competes are required, try to limit the restricted period to 6 months or less, and restrict it as narrowly as possible to apply only to works in the precise same subject matter.
As the author, you want flexibility to continue writing more books in the same general genre or topic field. You don’t want an excessively sweeping non-compete tied to your first book to handcuff you from publishing widely in the future.
Make sure your contract includes appropriate reversion or “out of print” clauses that allow you to regain ownership of your rights in the future if your publisher underperforms, fails to adequately keep your book reasonably available, misses publishing deadlines, goes out of business, or otherwise breaches the agreement.
Standard reversion trigger timeframes to negotiate are 6-12 months after notice of breach. You want options to take your book elsewhere if your current publisher ends up not being the best fit down the road. Don’t lock yourself into a multi-decade association you will later come to regret.
Beyond financial interests, advocate for contract provisions that allow you creative consultation and consent rights over important directional aspects of your book. Negotiate for approvals over your cover design, title, major edits to the text, adaptations, etc. As the author, you know your creative vision for the work best.
Your contract should mandate your publisher make good faith efforts to incorporate your reasonable feedback on key creative choices. You don’t want to be surprised by a cover design or title you dislike with no recourse. Protecting your creative vision should be a priority in contract negotiations.
Avoid taking rigid uncompromising stands over minor provisions with negligible real-world impact. You want to build a collaborative, positive relationship with your publisher. Fighting intensely over inconsequential minutiae threatens that working rapport.
Save your negotiating leverage and energy for provisions that truly matter – advance, royalties, rights, creative approvals, termination options, etc. Be willing to make occasional concessions and pick your battles wisely. Don’t be perceived as stubbornly difficult over trivialities.
When reviewing any contract clause, consider the long-term trajectory of your career beyond just the current book. Will the provision you are debating limit your leverage or flexibility for future negotiations? Will it impact your ability to regain rights or change publishers down the road, if needed?
Try to preserve future renegotiation options where possible. Limit option clauses and rights grabs that tie you to the same publisher for excessively long periods. Think strategically about your long-term interests, not just immediate publication.
Read every word closely so you fully understand all terms, or have an attorney review. You would be surprised what unfavorable concessions can get buried in the fine print boilerplate. Never breezily sign a contract you haven’t scrutinized in depth, even if your agent prepared it.
Publishing contracts are always negotiated, so engage positively. Avoid projecting hostility, frustration or resentfulness. Have your agent play “bad cop” to preserve your rapport. However, don’t hesitate exercising leverage to insist on fair compromises and protections for your interests. While staying cordial, remain firm in advocating for terms that set you up for success.
If your gut tells you an offered deal doesn’t feel right, listen. Unless other competing offers are on the table, you generally hold more leverage prior to signing. Don’t get pressured into accepting a deal you have doubts about. Request a reasonable time for your agent to review options before committing.
If a publisher wants your book enough to offer a deal, then they need you more than vice versa at that stage. Avoid negotiating from a mindset of fear or inferiority about your worth. Have faith in your talent and the value of your work. Be willing to politely walk away and wait for a better opportunity if terms aren’t sufficient.
Recognize that negotiating your first book contract is very much a learning process. Few authors will get everything perfectly right on the first try. As you grow your career, continue connecting with fellow writers, studying industry trends, and educating yourself on publishing contracts.
Each deal you negotiate will get stronger as you gain experience and confidence. Use each book as an opportunity to improve upon the last. Stay passionate about your craft while also learning to skillfully manage the business side.
By taking the time upfront to negotiate a balanced, favorable publishing agreement as a beginner author, you make a wise investment in your lifelong career. Stay patient, know your worth, enlist strong representation, and advocate for fair compensation, creative protections, rights retention, and flexibility. If you educate yourself and negotiate smartly, there’s ample room to craft a book deal that serves your creative and financial interests for years to come.