Holly Root on Negotiating Publishing Contracts
Today, Holly Root with the Waxman Literary Agency chats with us about an important part of the writing business: contract negotiation. I certainly learned both new terms and concepts through this lecture. Holly will try to stop by today to answer questions. If she doesn’t drop in, we’ll assume she’s busy negotiating a wonderful contract for one of her authors!
Welcome, Holly.
Kelsey: What are the primary parts of a publishing contract?
Holly: Definition of the work (how many books and what those books are), rights granted (territory and subsidiary), operating instructions (who delivers what to whom, and when, and what happens next), advance (including payout), royalties, accounting details (when and how will you be paid), warranties and indemnities, option, and provisions for termination.
Kelsey: What items are generally negotiable for a debut author? How does this change for an established author?
Holly: There are no hard and fast rules on this—there isn’t one form for debuts and another for established authors. It’s true that the more successful you are, the more demonstrated value you’re bringing to the house and therefore you have more leverage when it comes to certain terms. That said, I’ve seen plenty of contracts for debut authors that were every bit as good as ones for midcareer authors. Plus in many instances the special modifications that come into play for A-listers (specific dates and mode of travel for promotional appearances, certain kinds of bestseller incentives, etc.) simply don’t apply for the debut novelist.
Kelsey: If an author writes recurring characters, does the publishing house own all the characters in a particular book? In other words, if the author changes houses, can he/she use characters from a previous book?
Holly: There are certain very specific circumstances & publishers where character rights would be specifically included as part of the deal but in most cases for general single-title trade contracts, this is not something we’d give up.
In practice, it is very difficult to move a series, but contractually you always want to have the freedom to do so.
Kelsey: Do authors sign new contracts with each book deal or is there normally a contract clause about subsequent books?
Holly: The number of books per contracts varies—you could have a one book deal, two book deal, or three or more. But more isn’t always better if it means being locked in to the same terms—if your series takes off in book 2, for example, it’s possible you could’ve gotten better terms on Book 3 if it were the first book of a new contract rather than the last book of the first contract. It’s different every time. (Are you seeing a theme here?) But even if the new deal is just the book that was under option in the first deal, a new contract will be generated and there will be room for some renegotiation.
Kelsey: Do most publishers ask for first right of refusal?
Holly: Most publishers ask for an option—the first look at the next work (and an agent can narrow the definition of what’s considered next work, the amount of material that’s submitted, the time frame the publisher has to consider the work, etc.). After you submit your next work according to the terms, if you and the publisher can’t come to terms you’re free to look elsewhere.
Kelsey: Do you always include foreign rights in contracts?
Holly: They’re always mentioned, to clarify who controls them, author or publisher. The territory—North American, World English, and World are the three most common alternatives—is one of the basic deal points and will be negotiated with the editor before contracts are drafted. Deciding what territory to grant depends on many outside factors: the level of competition for the project here, the international marketability of the work, the terms of the publisher’s offer, the agent’s success in placing similar projects internationally, even the publisher’s ability to successfully exercise the rights it retains. There are a ton of variables and no one right answer.
Kelsey: What areas of the contract can an agent normally negotiate to the benefit of the author?
Holly: Publishers are willing to at least hear any reasonable, well-thought-out request from a reputable agent. It doesn’t mean you’ll always get exactly the answer you were hoping, but a good agent will have an open line of communication with both the editor and the contracts department, and know what terms are worth spending time on and on which ones the boilerplate will suffice. Agents will specifically negotiate the deal points with the editor: territory, # of books, advance, payout, basic royalties, option, etc.; then when the contract arrives, we’ll verify all those elements as well as vetting the remaining contract language (all the tricky stuff like high-discount royalties and out-of-print reversions and ensuring any breach language includes the right to cure). I find it’s best to discuss any potentially contentious deal points in the negotiation stage, when there’s more room to find a middle ground.
Kelsey: Do your clients normally see all iterations of a contract you’re negotiating, or do you wait to discuss the contract with the author until after you have most of the details worked out?
Holly: In most instances I’ll fully negotiate the contract then send to the client and answer any and all of their questions.
For our RU readers, Holly will try to stop by today to answer questions. If she doesn’t drop in, we’ll assume she’s busy negotiating a wonderful contract for one of her authors!
Be sure to drop by on Monday when mystery author Hank Phillippi Ryan will teach us about using TV techniques to write a killer novel – not to be missed!
Holly’s Bio:
Holly Root is a literary agent who began her publishing career as an editor in Nashville, TN before coming to New York and joining the William Morris Agency’s agent trainee program. She then moved to Trident Media Group, where she sold audio right for the agency’s clients, before joining The Waxman Literary Agency in 2007 and starting her own list. She is actively seeking commercial fiction, including mystery, romance, YA, and women’s fiction, as well as nonfiction projects, with particular areas of interest in lifestyle & relationship projects, narrative nonfiction of all sorts, and pop culture.
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...
Holly -
Thanks so much for guest lecturing at RU. This will definitely be in my “re-read” post list.
Best,
Kelsey
Very informative.
Thanks for posting.
Holly, thanks for the information.
How much can the contracts be adjusted to cover promotional and advertising cost assuming you have plans to hire your own outside public relations firm, etc.
Promotional costs are almost never specifically addressed at contract stage because they are ever-shifting.
Welcome to RU, Holly!
Thank you for the fabulous post. I’m copying it to a file for future reference.
Take care,
Tracey
Morning Holly!
Excellent post…I’m saving it to a file as well….important reading for when the time comes. =)
carrie
Thank you , Holly! Your post was very informative.
Wendy Marcus
Holly, thanks for coming and telling it like it is. That’s always good to know. I’m assuming that an agent has a good idea of what a publishing house will go for in a contract and how much you can deviate from the boiler-plate?
I went over to look at your agency site, and it looks like you are the point (wo)man for romance and women’s fiction. Would be out of line to ask here for you to mention any of your clients?
Your bio doesn’t mention, but how long would you say you’ve been in the agenting business in New York, all counting.
Thanks. Susan
I am more and more impressed with the level and quality of information RU is providing to authors (and would-be authors). I am in the design profession, and continuing education and networking opportunities are a vital part of our career lives. But my avocation of writing has always left me feeling alone in the forest without a map. RU is empowering me to understand the landscape of successful authorship, publishing, and publicity. Thanks!!!
Thank you, Diane. You just made my day. In my opinion, you have summed up what we aim for here at RU. This is a tough business and it’s wonderful that our visiting professors are so willing to give of their time and expertise. We couldn’t do it without them.
Thank you for the feedback.
Diane –
We hope RU will, at minimum, give you a few bread crumbs to take into the forest with you. Adrienne, Tracey & I are all businesswomen who believe information, generosity and networking are the cornerstones of success.
Please always feel free to ask questions, or drop one of us a note if you’d like to see a certain topic covered at RU.
Best,
Kelsey
Holly, thanks for the information. One more question: We all have heard about publishers offering lower advances, but not too much about the timing of the advances. In the current market, is it better to get the payments earlier or is it better to wait for a larger payment in the form of a higher royalty percentage?
Advances are always broken out into pieces, at least 2, as many as 5.
The profit sharing structures, at least at the Big Six, that have gotten ink still do follow that structure (a piece on signing, a piece on acceptance, etc). Typically these offers are being made for nonfiction authors with significant platform and ability to move copies–thus, profit sharing has an upside for all involved. Not seeing them so much for debut novelists yet. But if and when that does occur, the decision about what sort of deal to accept will depend on many factors, which will differ author to author and situation to situation.
Hi Holly,
Thanks for taking time to answer these excellent questions. I’m keeping them for that wonderful day I will be able check points in my own contract–whenever that day may be!
The information that out-of-print reversions are (or may be) included in contracts is encouraging.
And thanks, again, to RU for continuing its exceptional topics and guests.
Hi, Holly and thank you for being here. Is there a typical timeframe for negotiating a contract once the editor decides they want the book?
Great post! I will also be keeping it for future reference.
Hi Adrienne, it’s different every time (shocker!). It can take a while for an editor to put together and get approval for an offer, or it can happen in a few hours. The deal points (which the agent negotiates with the editor) happen quickly–a week or two at the absolute most. The detail work on the contract can take longer because of delays in drafting it, the number of people who have input, etc.
Thanks so much for a very informative post. I’ve got it bookmarked.
Holly, great information about contracts. RU seems like a great place to get much needed information about publishing and the writing world.
Hey Kelsey, what a great interview! Holly is smart, savvy, funny and terrific to work with. She really knows the marketplace and is a great advocate for writers. I’m thrilled to say that she’s my agent.
Mary -
Thanks for stopping by RU today. Adrienne, Tracey & I have all heard wonderful things about Holly as a person and as an agent. She was certainly gracious in accepting our invitation to guest lecture.
I hope I’m fortunate enough to have such a fantastic agent one day soon!
Best,
Kelsey
Thanks for the informative post, Holly.
Can you expand on what exactly boilerplate means?
Thanks RU for a great interview!
Boilerplate is the template contract. If you’re unagented, the contract will be exactly what a publisher hopes to get (understandably this will not be everything you’d want in a contract). When I talk about “our boilerplate” I mean the version of a given house’s contract my agency and that publisher have negotiated as a baseline. Some points change of course based on the specific deal but it saves us time to not reinvent the wheel every time.
Excellent article. Very informative.
Very useful info. One question, if I’m not too late: if you fully negotiate the contract prior to the author having a look at it, but then the author wants to ask for a change, is it difficult to go back then to the publisher?