Negotiating contracts with Publishers Members  

All book deals should have a written agreement between the publisher and illustrator (or author/illustrator) in place before any work is started on the book content. It should not be a case of agreeing to any contract put before you, but assessing the details of the agreement and discussing them with the publisher ? negotiation is completely normal. You should also be comfortable that you understand the type of book deal that is being proposed. There are a number of different business models in the publishing industry, many of which have evolved in recent years due to ebooks and modern print-on-demand technologies. This article deals with the traditional publishing model under which an established publishing company pays you an advance and royalties (these terms are discussed below). Other publishing models include self-publishing, minimal investment publishing (where the publisher incurs very expense but yet still gets rights to your work and a share of income), and paid publishing (where the illustrator pays for services such as editing).

The Negotiation Process

Traditional publishing contracts grant the publisher a licence, and it is usual for the licence to be wide-ranging. The publisher usually acquires an exclusive licence to publish the work as a physical and digital book, and to sub-license others to publish the work, (often throughout the world), for many years or even the full period of copyright. You should be wary of granting rights which will not realistically be used by the publisher. See "Rights" below. Agreeing a price with publishers depends on certain variables ? the size of the publisher, the type of the book, the territories it will be sold in. The fee will be informed by the type of contract you agree ? and knowing what is negotiable and what is not is key to this process. Some publishers won?t negotiate at all ? many others will. Some will have clauses that are deal breakers for them ? others will be more flexible. This applies to advance on royalties agreements and flat fees (single payment) for books. No publisher should mind you asking well informed questions, and it is for you to decide if you are happy to proceed with the commission based on the final negotiated agreement. Please note that this brief introductory guide does not cover every scenario, nor every clause that you are likely to see in a publishing agreement. Book publishing agreements are usually very long-term agreements and you should seek specialist advice before signing.

Rights

Rights. These are what the publisher is paying you for. The exclusive right to publish the artwork (plus text if rele