What do you want out of your writing contract?

Andrew Zack is an agent who keeps a blog with a load of great advice. One entry I read and enjoyed lately, Are you the weakest link? talks about writers sabotaging their own careers via bad contracts. Granted, he gives some of the blame to the publishing houses who offer the bad contracts, but he also cites what I would call desperation on the part of the author to have a contract, any contract, please.

Well, he’s probably right – he’s an agent, I’m not, so of course he’s the expert here. But coming from my background of being an accountant for, um, 12 or 14 years, I can understand completely that there are a lot of people in business who don’t know the first thing about running a business.

Make no mistake, if you want to be a professional writer, not just a hobbyist, you better know that it’s a business. Being a professional writer is a lot more than just churning out the pages. It’s meeting deadlines, consistently (early, if possible). It’s understanding what your contract says – before you sign it – and abiding by those terms. It’s educating yourself about the ins and outs of the business so you understand what is usual and ordinary and what’s expected of you. It’s communicating clearly and concisely without ranting, whining, or otherwise tossing in unnecessary emotion. It’s understanding that rejection will happen, and it’s not personal. Not everyone is going to love your book, but then, not everyone will hate it either. It’s about not being the prima donna – no one, in any industry, likes those, and a lot of us (most?) have hated putting up with those people. Don’t be one, no matter how good you think your writing is.

Andy says:

I have often said, ‘You are worse off being published poorly, than not being published at all.’

I think he’s right. A bad contract can ruin future chances. You get a bad contract, the publisher puts little effort into improving your book or promoting it, you sell very few copies. Your next contract? It probably isn’t going to be great either – your sales record isn’t good.

He further goes on to say:

The publisher who acts as though it is doing you a favor in publishing your book is not, in fact, doing you a favor at all. You might want to consider authors like Dan Brown or John Grisham, who took one or even four books to become successful. Maybe you should politely thank that publisher for its $5,000 offer, but say that you are not comfortable with the terms of the contract, but you will be happy to speak with them again, perhaps on your next book, or the one after that, or at the point where you have achieved a level of success that makes them more willing to negotiate an author-friendly contract. As an agent, I might not be happy to lose that commission, but I’ll respect you a hell of a lot for having the self-respect and confidence to walk away.

I’d rather have a good contract that maximizes on effective promotion to maximize on my career as an author than a one book deal that won’t get me anywhere. I’m in this for the long haul.

What about you?

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