Sample Book Publishing Contract (Courtesy of Allworth Press)
Agreement, entered into as of this ______ day of ____________, 20__,
between ________________________________________, located at
________________________________ (hereinafter referred to as the
“Publisher”), and __________________________________, located at
____________________________ (hereinafter referred to as the “Author”).
Whereas, the Author wishes to create a book on the subject of
______________________________ (hereinafter referred to as the “Work”)
Whereas, the Publisher is familiar with the authorship of the Author and
wishes to distribute such a work; and
Whereas, the parties wish to have said distribution performed subject to the
mutual obligations, covenants and conditions herein.
Now, Therefore, in consideration of the foregoing premises and the mutual
covenants hereinafter set forth and other valuable considerations, the
parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Grant of Rights. The Author grants, conveys and transfers to the
Publisher in that unpublished Work titled __________________
_________________________________, certain limited rights as follows:
(A) To publish the Work in the form of a _______________ book;
(B) In the territory of ________________________________;
(C) In the _______________________language; and
(D) For a term of ________________years.
2. Reservation and Reversion of Rights. All rights not specifically
granted to the Publisher are reserved to the Author, including but not
limited to electronic rights which are defined as rights in the digitized
form of works that can be encoded, stored, and retrieved from such media as
computer disks, CD-ROM, computer databases, and network servers.
3. Delivery of Manuscript. On or before the ________ day of ___________,
19______, the Author shall deliver to the Publisher a complete manuscript of
approximately _______ words, which shall be reasonably satisfactory in form
and content to the Publisher and in conformity with any outline or
description attached hereto and made part hereof. The manuscript shall be
in the following form: [] double-spaced hard copy [] computer files (specify
format____________). The manuscript shall include the additional materials
listed in Paragraph 4 (except that if an index is to be provided by the
Author, it shall be delivered to the Publisher within 30 days of Author’s
receipt of paginated galleys). If the Author fails to deliver the complete
manuscript within 90 days after receiving notice from the Publisher of
failure to deliver on time, the Publisher shall have the right to terminate
this Agreement and receive back from the Author all monies advanced to the
Author pursuant to Paragraphs 4, 5, and 9. If the Author delivers a
manuscript which, after being given detailed instructions for revisions by
the Publisher and _____ days to complete such revisions, is not reasonably
acceptable to the Publisher, then monies advanced to the Author pursuant to
Paragraphs 4, 5, and 9 shall be [] retained by the Author [] repaid to the
Publisher [] repaid to the Publisher only in the event the Author
subsequently signs a contract with another Publisher for the Work.
4. Additional Materials. The following materials shall be provided by the
Author: ____________________________________
____________________________________________________________
The cost of providing these additional materials shall be borne by the
Author, provided, however, that the Publisher at the time of signing this
Agreement shall give a nonrefundable payment of $_____________ to assist the
Author in defraying these costs, which payment shall not be deemed an
advance to the Author and shall not be recouped as such.
5. Permissions. The Author agrees to obtain all permissions that are
necessary for the use of materials copyrighted by others. The cost of
providing these permissions shall be borne by the Author, provided, however,
that the Publisher at the time of signing this Agreement shall give a
nonrefundable payment of $_______ to assist the Author in defraying these
costs, which payment shall not be deemed an advance to the Author and shall
not be recouped as such. Permissions shall be obtained in writing and
copies shall be provided to the Publisher when the manuscript is delivered.
6. Duty to Publish. The Publisher shall publish the Work within
____________ months of the delivery of the complete manuscript. Failure to
so publish shall give the Author the right to terminate this Agreement
ninety days after giving written notice to the Publisher of the failure to
make timely publication. In the event of such termination, the Author shall
have no obligation to return monies received pursuant to Paragraphs 4, 5 and 9.
7. Royalties. The Publisher shall pay the Author the following royalties:
____ percent of the suggested retail price on the first 5,000 copies sold;
____ percent of the suggested retail price on the next 5,000 copies sold;
and ____ percent of the suggested retail price on all copies sold thereafter.
These royalty rates shall be discounted only in the following circumstances:
____________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
All copies sold shall be cumulated for purposes of escalations in the
royalty rates, including revised editions, except for editions in a
different form (such as a paperback reprint of a hardcover original) which
shall be cumulated separately. Copies sold shall be reduced by copies
returned in the same royalty category in which the copies were originally
reported as sold.
In the event the Publisher has the right pursuant to Paragraph 1(A) to
publish the Work in more than one form, the royalty rates specified above
shall apply to publication in the form of a ________________ book and the
royalty rates for other forms shall be specified here:
______________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
8. Subsidiary Rights. The following subsidiary rights may be licensed by
the party indicated and the proceeds divided as specified herein:
Subsidiary Right Right to License Division of Proceeds
Author Publisher Author Publisher
________________ _____ _____ _____ _____
________________ _____ _____ _____ _____
________________ _____ _____ _____ _____
________________ _____ _____ _____ _____
________________ _____ _____ _____ _____
________________ _____ _____ _____ _____
If the division of proceeds for any subsidiary right changes after the sale
of a certain number of copies, indicate which right, the number of copies
required to be sold, and the new division of proceeds:
_______________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
The right to license any subsidiary right not set forth in this Paragraph is
retained by the Author.
Licensing income shall be divided as specified herein without any reductions
for expenses of any kind. Licensing income shall be collected by the party
authorized to license the right and the appropriate percentage remitted by
that party to the other party within ten days of receipt. Copies of all
licenses shall be provided to both parties immediately upon receipt.
9. Advances. The Publisher shall, at the time of signing this Agreement,
pay to the Author a nonrefundable advance of $_________, which advance shall
be recouped by the Publisher from payments due to the Author pursuant to
Paragraph 11 of this Agreement.
10. Accountings. Commencing as of the date of publication, the Publisher
shall report every ____ months to the Author, showing for that period and
cumulatively to date the number of copies printed and bound, the number of
copies sold and returned for each royalty rate, the number of copies
distributed free for publicity purposes, the number of copies remaindered,
destroyed, or lost, and the royalties paid to and owed to the Author. If
the Publisher sets up a reserve against returns of books, the reserve may
only be set up for the four accounting periods following the first
publication of the Work and shall in no event exceed 15 percent of royalties
due to the Author in any period.
11. Payments. The Publisher shall pay the Author all monies due Author
pursuant to Paragraph 10 within thirty days of the close of each accounting
period.
12. Right of Inspection. The Author shall, upon the giving of written
notice, have the right to inspect the Publisher’s books of account to verify
the accountings. If errors in any such accounting are found to be to the
Author’s disadvantage and represent more than 5 percent of the payment to
the Author pursuant to the said accounting, the cost of inspection shall be
paid by the Publisher.
13. Copyright and Authorship Credit. The Publisher shall, as an express
condition of receiving the grant of rights specified in Paragraph 1, take
the necessary steps to register the copyright on behalf of the Author and in
the Author’s name and shall place copyright notice in the Author’s name on
all copies of the Work. The Author shall receive authorship credit as
follows: _________ _____________________________.
14. Warranty and Indemnity. The Author warrants and represents that he or
she is the sole creator of the Work and owns all rights granted under this
Agreement, that the Work is an original creation and has not previously been
published (indicate any parts that have been previously published), that the
Work does not infringe any other person’s copyrights or rights of literary
property, nor, to his or her knowledge, does it violate the rights of
privacy of, or libel, other persons. The Author agrees to indemnify the
Publisher against any final judgment for damages (after all appeals have
been exhausted) in any lawsuit based on an actual breach of the foregoing
warranties. In addition, the Author shall pay the Publisher’s reasonable
costs and attorney’s fees incurred in defending such a lawsuit, unless the
Author chooses to retain his or her own attorney to defend such lawsuit.
The Author makes no warranties and shall have no obligation to indemnify the
Publisher with respect to materials inserted in the Work at the Publisher’s
request. Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, in no event shall the
Author’s liability under this Paragraph exceed $________ or ________ percent
of sums payable to the Author under this Agreement, whichever is the lesser.
In the event a lawsuit is brought which may result in the Author having
breached his or her warranties under this Paragraph, the Publisher shall
have the right to withhold and place in an escrow account ______ percent of
sums payable to the Author pursuant to Paragraph 11, but in no event may
said withholding exceed the damages alleged in the complaint.
15. Artistic Control. The Author and Publisher shall consult with one
another with respect to the title of the Work, the price of the Work, the
method and means of advertising and selling the Work, the number and
destination of free copies, the number of copies to be printed, the method
of printing and other publishing processes, the exact date of publication,
the form, style, size, type, paper to be used, and like details, how long
the plates or type shall be preserved and when they shall be destroyed and
when new printings of the Work shall be made. In the event of disagreement
after consultation, the Publisher shall have final power of decision over
all the foregoing matters except the following, which shall be controlled by
the Author:____________ ______________________________________.
No changes shall be made in the complete manuscript of the Work by persons
other than the Author, except for reasonable copyediting, unless the Author
consents to such changes. Publisher shall provide the Author with galleys
and proofs which the Author shall review and return to the Publisher within
thirty (30) days of receipt. If the cost of the Author’s alterations (other
than for typesetting errors or unavoidable updating) exceeds _____ percent
of the cost of the typography, the Publisher shall have the right to deduct
such excess from royalties due Author hereunder.
16. Original Materials. Within thirty days after publication, the
Publisher shall return the original manuscript and all additional materials
to the Author. The Publisher shall provide the Author with a copy of the
page proofs, if the Author requests them prior to the date of publication.
17. Free Copies. The Author shall receive ten free copies of the Work as
published, after which the Author shall have the right to purchase
additional copies at a ____ percent discount from the retail price.
18. Revisions. The Author agrees to revise the Work on request by the
Publisher. If the Author cannot revise the Work or refuses to do so absent
good cause, the Publisher shall have the right to have the Work revised by a
person competent to do so and shall charge the costs of said revision
against payments due the Author under Paragraph 11 for such revised edition.
19. Successors and Assigns. This Agreement may not be assigned by either
party without the written consent of the other party hereto. The Author,
however, shall retain the right to assign payments due hereunder without
obtaining the Publisher’s consent. This Agreement shall be binding on the
parties and their respective heirs, administrators, successors and assigns.
20. Infringement. In the event of an infringement of the rights granted
under this Agreement to the Publisher, the Publisher and the Author shall
have the right to sue jointly for the infringement and, after deducting the
expenses of bringing suit, to share equally in any recovery. If either
party chooses not to join in the suit, the other party may proceed and,
after deducting all the expenses of bringing the suit, any recovery shall be
shared equally between the parties.
21. Termination. The Author shall have the right to terminate this
Agreement by written notice if: (1) the Work goes out-of-print and the
Publisher, within ninety days of receiving notice from the Author that the
Work is out-of-print, does not place the Work in print again. Out-of-print
shall mean that the work is not available for sale in normal trade
channels.; (2) if the Publisher fails to provide statements of account
pursuant to Paragraph 10; (3) if the Publisher fails to make payments
pursuant to Paragraphs 4, 5, 9, or 11; or (4) if the Publisher fails to
publish in a timely manner pursuant to Paragraph 6. The Publisher shall
have the right to terminate this Agreement as provided in Paragraph 3. This
Agreement shall automatically terminate in the event of the Publisher’s
insolvency, bankruptcy, or assignment of assets for the benefit of
creditors. In the event of termination of the Agreement, the Publisher
shall grant, convey, and transfer all rights in the Work back to the Author.
22. Production Materials and Unbound Copies. Upon any termination, the
Author may, within sixty days of notification of such termination, purchase
the plates, offset negatives or computer drive tapes (if any) at their scrap
value and any remaining copies at the lesser of cost or remainder value.
23. Promotion. The Author consents to the use of his or her name,
portrait, or picture in connection with the promotion and advertising of the
Work, provided such use is dignified and consistent with the Author’s
reputation.
24. Arbitration. All disputes arising under this Agreement shall be
submitted to binding arbitration before _____________ _______________ in the
following location ____________________ and shall be settled in accordance
with the rules of the American Arbitration Association. Judgment upon the
arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
25. Notice. Where written notice is required hereunder, it may be given by
use of first class mail addressed to the Author or Publisher at the
addresses given at the beginning of this Agreement and shall be deemed
received 5 days after mailing. Said addresses for notice may be changed by
giving written notice of any new address to the other party.
26. Modifications in Writing. All modifications of this Agreement must be
in writing and signed by both parties.
27. Waivers and Defaults. Any waiver of a breach or default hereunder
shall not be deemed a waiver of a subsequent breach or default of either the
same provision or any other provision of this Agreement.
28. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of
________________ State.
____________________________ ____________________________
Author Publisher
____________________________ By:__________________________
Social Security Number Authorized Signatory, Title
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