Working with a Self-Publishing Author Members  

Important clauses for an agreement with an Author Traditionally, publishing commissions are managed by a publisher with limited contact with other parties such as the author. Increasingly, however,  authors are self-publishing on digital platforms or in print, and are turning to illustrators to produce artwork for their books. Because authors often have a limited understanding of the complexities of book publishing, it's important to be clear about the process, time commitment (especially for children?s books), financial arrangements and written agreement (contract) before any artwork is started. The author needs to understand that the artwork created by an illustrator is solely for reproduction in the author?s book; in other words, that the artwork is not ?owned? by the author for them to use how they wish, and that any physical artwork remains the property of the illustrator. This must be outlined in a written agreement. We've produced this resource to advise on the key elements that should be included in any contract with a self-publishing author (note this is not legal advice). It is recommended that you discuss the points included here with the author before finalising the agreement.

Why an agreement is important

Contracts are a very important element of any agreement. It's just as important to have a robust contract in place with an individual self-publishing author, as it is with a major publishing house. A contract should clearly define what you're agreeing to produce for the author and what rights you are licensing to them. An email alone will not be sufficient. Although many children?s book contracts from established publishers can be many pages long and will include subsidiary rights (rights in addition to the right to publish the book, e.g. translation rights, merchandising rights), a self-publishing author is unlikely to be in a position to successfully exploit rights beyond those of producing a book. As such they may not require an agreement that includes Subsidiary rights. Unless an author can demonstrate experience in these areas, we don't recommend that subsidiary rights are granted at the first contract. The terms required will vary for each agreement.

Types of Author

Type of Author (1) : Author seeking a traditional publisher An author may be commissioning illustrations to be able to offer a package of text and images to a publisher as a proposal to secure a book deal. What is required by a publisher? The author may believe that a publisher requires the whole, completed book to make a decision on publishing. However, all publishers need to see is the text, and in terms of visuals, the whole book roughed out in line drawings (rough artwork) - demonstrating consistenc