Archive for the ‘Contracts and Copyrights’ Category

Work-for-Hire in Short Fiction: An Overview

By Rachael K. Jones Work-for-hire writing jobs are common in novel-length work, especially in the world of tie-in fiction, but rarer in short fiction. If you’re primarily a short fiction author, you might be caught off-guard if approached with this kind of work. You may not have an agent who can give you advice. You […]

Legal Affairs Alert on the New Zealand National Library

UPDATE 12/3/2021:  The NZ National Library has announced that they will be reconsidering their plans for this archival deal “in light of concerns raised by the various interested parties, including issues associated with copyright. The National Library will not export any of the OPC until it considered its next steps.” The full press release from […]

Contracts Committee Alert on Reversion Clauses

When you have your first (or next) contract in front of you for a traditionally published book, you are likely thinking primarily about your advance and what rights you want to retain.  But one of the most significant clauses, usually found somewhere toward the end of the contract, may be the most important for you in the long run: the reversion clause. 

Negotiation Tips for Writers

by Dan Brotzel

Many writers find it difficult to talk about money, especially if it means asking for more and potentially risking turning down an offer of publication. But writing is a business as well as a passion, and the more cash you can secure for it, the more time you’ll be able to devote to your craft. Here are a few pointers on how to approach the dark art of negotiation…

SFWA Minimum Pro Rate Now in Effect

The SFWA minimum payment rate for professional short fiction markets is now eight cents  per word. In accordance with our mission to support and empower science fiction and fantasy writers, SFWA periodically reviews and adjusts the minimum payment rate for professional short fiction markets (known colloquially as the SFWA pro rate). On January 16, 2019, […]

Life Plus 70

by Ethan Ellenberg

Now we are in a whole new world. There are different ways to be published and author incomes are coming from a far wider range of sources. The standard book agreement that routinely grants the mainstream book publisher a license for the ‘term of copyright’ has to be re-considered.