As directed by the SFWA Board, the purpose of the Contracts Committee is to:
- Update and maintain the existing SFWA contract templates;
- Work to develop and maintain a repository of sample contracts and contract-related information;
- Work to educate members about contract language and recommendations;
- Work to help SFWA and its members answer contract related questions and issues.
The Contracts Committee leads SFWA discussion regarding contract terms. The committee prepares and updates annotated model publishing contracts that provide an explanation of contract clauses and what to watch out for. It issues alerts about dangerous contract terms and provides publishing contract analysis. Committee members have a vast experience with contracts of all types and will privately review contracts either with or without personal information redacted. Email contracts@sfwa.org for more information or with questions or issues.
Model Contracts and Contract Information
SFWA has produced model contracts since it was created in 1965. The first, a Model Author-Agent Agreement written by SFWA founder Damon Knight, appeared in the first issue of the SFWA Bulletin in July, 1965. The model contracts are intended to help writers understand publishing contracts and to help them negotiate better contracts. They are not intended to be and should bnot e understood to be legal advice. For legal advice, you should consult a competent attorney familiar with the business of publishing as well as the law of the applicable jurisdiction.
Versions and Formatting of Model Contracts
SFWA’s model contract are arranged with the text of the contract on the left with the Contracts Committee’s notes explaining the contract on the right. By including detailed notes, the Committee is working to increase the educational value of the model contracts.
The contracts will be modified from time to time, with most changes being minor changes in wording as work on later contracts leads to language that will improve earlier contacts. Minor changes will be identified by the version number following the decimal point. (e.g. 3.0 followed by 3.1 and then by 3.2)