A Bad Publishing Contract Deconstructed, Part 3 – The Uglier Facts

See other posts in this series: Part 1 | Part 2 We are going to finish deconstructing THIS contract. (If you haven’t read parts one and two, linked above, you’ll want to start there.) When last we left, my head was exploding. For those who need a quick reminder, this contract is publicly available on a … Read More

A Bad Publishing Contract Deconstructed, Part 2 – The Ugly Truth

See other posts in the series: Part 1 | Part 3 Okay, so we’re deconstructing THIS contract from a Maine university site. Apparently, several small start-up publishers have latched on to it and are using it as their “standard” contract for digital-first presses. Ugh. I’m using it as-is from the website. Some of the publishers made … Read More

A Bad Publishing Contract Deconstructed, Part 1

Writer Beware in red text.

Other parts in the series: Part 2 | Part 3 This is a follow-up to my post the other day, the pop quiz about red flags in publishing contracts. Apparently, several new start-up publishers have stumbled upon this contract and have actually decided to use it for their own. Since it’s readily available on the … Read More

Pop Quiz: Contracts

Pop Quiz: Which of these are HUGE red flags in a publishing contract? a) Charging for editing. b) “Life of copyright” contract length terms. c) Asking for rights other than ebook and print formats. d) “Net” not clearly specified. e) Taking ownership of copyright for length of contract. f) Nebulous “editing” clauses that allow the … Read More