Comments on: Holly Root on Negotiating Publishing Contracts

By: PatriciaW

PatriciaW — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:50:31 +0000

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?

By: Holly Root

Holly Root — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:31:57 +0000

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.

By: Holly Root

Holly Root — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:25:48 +0000

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.

By: Holly Root

Holly Root — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:21:03 +0000

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.

By: E-pubs, Agents, Editors and More | RWA-WF

E-pubs, Agents, Editors and More | RWA-WF — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:48:09 +0000

[...] Holly Root talks to Romance University about negotiating publishing [...]

By: Mary Marvella

Mary Marvella — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:22:19 +0000

Excellent article. Very informative.

By: Kelsey Browning

Kelsey Browning — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:38:44 +0000

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

By: Kelsey Browning

Kelsey Browning — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:34:15 +0000

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

By: Marian Pearson Stevens

Marian Pearson Stevens — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:31:47 +0000

Thanks for the informative post, Holly.

Can you expand on what exactly boilerplate means?

Thanks RU for a great interview!

By: Mary Kennedy

Mary Kennedy — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:08:41 +0000

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.