10 Contract Tips for Educational Authors

Here's a quick guide to navigating publishing contracts for educational authors:

Know your rights: Understand exclusive vs. non-exclusive rights
Negotiate royalty rates: Aim for higher rates based on sales and experience
Meet deadlines: Set achievable goals for manuscript delivery
Protect your copyright: Consider licensing instead of transferring ownership
Understand warranties: Know what you're promising about your work
Limit indemnification: Try to cap your financial responsibility
Retain subsidiary rights: Keep control over adaptations and translations
Define "out of print": Set clear sales thresholds for rights reversion
Limit non-compete clauses: Narrow the scope to specific genres or timeframes
Get legal help: Have a lawyer review your contract

Key Contract Areas	What to Watch For
Rights	Exclusive vs. non-exclusive, digital vs. print
Royalties	Rates for different formats, step-up rates
Manuscript	Deadlines, acceptance criteria
Copyright	Ownership, licensing terms
Warranties	What you're promising about your work
Indemnification	Your financial responsibility if sued
Subsidiary Rights	Film, translation, merchandise rights
Contract End	Out-of-print definition, sales thresholds
Non-Compete	Restrictions on writing similar works
Legal Review	Getting expert help to understand terms

Understanding these points helps you protect your work and negotiate better terms.

Know Your Rights

Exclusive vs. Non-Exclusive Rights

Understanding the difference between exclusive and non-exclusive rights is key in publishing contracts:

Type of Rights	What It Means	What You Can Do
Exclusive	Publisher has sole right to publish and distribute your work for a set time	Can't publish or distribute through other channels during this period
Non-Exclusive	You can publish and distribute your work through multiple channels at once	Can sell to different publishers, share on your website, or use in other projects

For example, with exclusive rights, you can't sell your educational book to another publisher or put it on your website until the exclusive period ends. With non-exclusive rights, you can sell the book to many publishers and share it online at the same time.

Digital and Print Rights

When dealing with digital and print rights, consider these points:

Digital Rights	Print Rights
What formats are included? (e.g., e-book, online course)	What types of print materials are included? (e.g., books, workbooks)
Which platforms can the publisher use?	Are there limits on how the publisher can distribute your work?
Are there any limits on how the publisher can use your work digitally?	Can the publisher create other versions, like translations?

Royalty Rates

Common Royalty Rates

Royalty rates are key in publishing contracts. They vary based on the type of material and publisher. Here's a breakdown of typical rates:

Material Type	Royalty Rate
Trade paperbacks	7.5% of retail price
Mass market paperbacks	8% up to 150,000 copies, 10% after
Ebooks	25% of net receipts

Note: These rates can change based on the publisher and author's experience.

How to Get Better Rates

While rates often seem fixed, you can try to get better terms. Here are some tips:

Proven sales: If you've sold well before, ask for higher rates
Step-up rates: Try to get rates that go up as you sell more books
Package deal: If you're writing multiple books, offer them all to one publisher for better rates
Shop around: Look for publishers who offer different rate structures
Make your case: Be ready to show why you deserve higher rates. Bring sales data and marketing info

Manuscript Delivery and Acceptance

Deadlines

Meeting deadlines is key for educational authors. Here's what to keep in mind:

Tip	Description
Set achievable goals	Choose deadlines you can meet based on your writing speed and research needs
Talk to your editor	If you're running late, tell your editor right away
Plan extra time	Add some spare time to your schedule for unexpected delays

Following these tips helps you deliver your manuscript on time and keep a good relationship with your publisher.

Acceptance Criteria

To make sure your manuscript meets the publisher's needs:

Action	Details
Learn the rules	Know the publisher's quality standards for formatting, citations, and content
Follow the agreement	Make sure your manuscript matches the agreed word count, genre, and target audience
Be ready to edit	Expect to make changes based on feedback from editors

Understanding these points helps you create a manuscript that the publisher will accept.

Copyright Ownership

Keeping Your Copyright

As an educational author, it's important to know about copyright ownership. You can choose between work-for-hire and licensed work. You have the right to talk about the terms of your contract, including who owns your work. Some publishers might ask you to give them the copyright, but you don't always have to.

What to Do	Why It Matters
Know your rights	Understand what you can keep and what you can negotiate
Talk to the publisher	Discuss contract terms to keep some or all of your rights
Think about licensing	Let the publisher use your work without giving up ownership

By knowing your rights and talking with the publisher, you can keep control of your work and how it's used.

Copyright Terms

When talking about copyright with publishers, keep these key points in mind:

Term	What It Means
Exclusive rights	Only the publisher can publish and sell your work
Non-exclusive rights	The publisher can use your work, but you can use it elsewhere too
Territory	Where the publisher can sell your work
Duration	How long the publisher can use your work

Understanding these terms helps you make good choices about your contract.

What to Do	How to Do It
Read the contract carefully	Make sure you understand everything in it
Ask questions	If something is unclear, ask the publisher to explain
Get legal help	If you're still not sure, talk to a lawyer

Representations and Warranties

Warranty Clauses

When signing a contract with an educational publisher, you need to understand the warranty clauses. These clauses ask you to promise that your manuscript:

Is your own work
Doesn't copy someone else's work
Doesn't break any laws about copyrights, trademarks, or privacy

Publishers include these warranties to protect themselves from possible lawsuits and money losses.

Warranty Type	What You Promise
Your own work	You wrote the manuscript yourself
No copying	You didn't copy from other sources
No law-breaking	Your work doesn't break copyright or privacy laws
Correct information	Your manuscript has true and correct information

Reducing Your Risk

While warranty clauses are normal in publishing contracts, you can take steps to lower your risk as an author:

What to Do	How It Helps
Use phrases like "as far as I know"	Shows you tried your best to be correct
Ask a lawyer to check the contract	Helps you understand what you're agreeing to
Talk to the publisher	Try to get better terms in the contract

Indemnification

Your Responsibilities

Indemnification is a key part of publishing contracts for educational authors. It's about what you might have to pay if someone sues the publisher because of your work. Here's what you need to know:

What It Means	What Can Happen
You might have to pay	If someone sues the publisher because of your work
Covers different costs	Legal fees, court costs, settlements
Applies even if not your fault	You might pay even for false claims
No need to know about the issue	You can be responsible even if you didn't know about a problem

Fair Terms

While indemnification is common, you can try to make it more fair. Here's what you can do:

Strategy	How It Helps
Set a payment limit	Ask to only pay up to a certain amount
Share the responsibility	Try to split the costs with the publisher
Check for insurance	See if the publisher's insurance covers you
Read and change the contract	Look at the indemnification part carefully and ask for changes

Subsidiary Rights

Types of Rights

Subsidiary rights are key parts of publishing contracts. They cover how your book can be used beyond its main publication. Here are the main types:

Right Type	What It Means
Territorial	Reprinting your book in English in new areas
Film/TV	Making your book into a movie or TV show
Translation	Publishing your book in other languages
Merchandise	Making products based on your book
Audiobook	Creating an audio version of your book
Picturisation	Turning your book into a comic or graphic novel
Format-Specific Reprint	Publishing your book in different formats
Digital Application	Making your book into an app or game

Publishers can sell these rights to others. You and your publisher usually split the money from these sales.

Getting Good Terms

When talking about subsidiary rights, try these tips to get a good deal:

Tip	How It Helps
Set a payment limit	Caps how much you might have to pay
Share costs with publisher	Reduces your financial risk
Check publisher's insurance	Might cover you for some issues
Read contract carefully	Helps you spot and change unfair terms
Focus on key rights	Keeps the rights that matter most to you
Ask for a reversion clause	Lets you get rights back if unused

These steps can help you get better terms for your subsidiary rights.

Ending the Contract

Out-of-Print Books

When signing a publishing contract, it's important to understand the out-of-print clause. This clause says when a book is no longer in print and what happens to the rights when this occurs. A clear out-of-print clause helps authors get their rights back if the publisher stops selling the book.

A good out-of-print clause should:

Link "out of print" to book sales
Let the author end the contract if sales are low
Set a clear number of sales to meet

For example, a contract might say:

Out-of-Print Definition	Action
Less than 250 copies sold in 12 months	Author can end contract

This helps authors know when they can take back their rights.

Sales Thresholds

Sales thresholds are key in deciding when a book is out of print. A sales threshold is the lowest number of books that must be sold in a set time for the book to stay in print. If sales fall below this number, the author can end the contract.

When talking about a contract, authors should make sure:

The sales threshold is fair
Only paid sales count towards the threshold

Example Threshold	Result if Not Met
500 copies per year	Book is out of print, author can end contract

This gives authors a clear way to know when they can get their rights back.

Non-Compete Clauses

What They Mean

Non-compete clauses in publishing contracts limit authors from writing similar works for a set time. These clauses can be too broad, stopping authors from writing in the same genre or topic. Publishers use them to protect their investment, but authors should be careful as these clauses can affect their work and income.

Purpose of Non-Compete Clauses	Potential Issues
Protect publisher's investment	Too broad restrictions
Prevent direct competition	Limit author's work options
Control similar works	Affect author's income

These clauses aim to stop authors from competing with the contracted work. But the wording can be unclear, giving publishers too much power to decide what counts as competing work. This can stop authors from publishing work that isn't really competing but might seem similar to the publisher.

Reducing Restrictions

Authors can try to get better terms in non-compete agreements. Here are some ways to do this:

Strategy	How It Helps
Define "any work" narrowly	Limits the scope to specific sub-genres
Shorten the non-compete time	Allows authors to publish sooner
Limit to specific name/pseudonym	Lets authors publish under different names

For example, a science fiction author could ask for a non-compete clause that only applies to space opera novels, not all science fiction.

Authors can also try to make the non-compete period shorter, like one or two years. After this time, they can publish work on the same topic or in the same genre.

Another option is to make the clause apply only to works published under a specific name. This way, authors can still write and publish using a different name or pen name.

Get Legal Help

Why You Need a Lawyer

Having a lawyer look at your publishing contract is important. A lawyer who knows about publishing can help you understand the contract and make sure you're treated fairly.

How a Lawyer Helps	What They Do
Explain contract terms	Make sure you know what you're agreeing to
Find problems	Point out parts of the contract that might cause issues
Get better deals	Help you ask for changes that benefit you
Give advice	Tell you what to do if you're not sure about something

Where to Find Help

If you need a lawyer to check your contract, here are some places to look:

Where to Look	What They Offer
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts	Free or cheap legal help for writers
Lawyers who focus on publishing	Expert advice on book contracts
Writing groups	Legal help or recommendations for members

You can also search online for "publishing lawyer" or ask other writers who they use.

Conclusion

Dealing with publishing contracts can be tough, but knowing how to get good terms can help your career and earnings. When talking about a contract:

Know what your work is worth
Be ready to discuss terms
Ask questions if something isn't clear

Watch out for contracts that try to last forever. These often have "Perpetual Renewal" clauses. Also, think about:

Important Contract Points
Getting free review copies
Publication dates
How often you get royalty reports
Rights to sell your book in other forms

When you look at your contract, make sure you know:

What rights you're giving the publisher
If the contract is clear
What the publisher will do for you

It's okay to ask a lawyer for help. They can:

How Lawyers Help
Explain what the contract means
Find problems in the contract
Help you ask for better terms
Give advice when you're not sure

By checking your contract carefully, you can:

Keep your rights
Make more money
Have more control over your work

Understanding your contract is key to doing well as a writer. Know your rights and speak up for yourself to set up a good future in writing.

10 Contract Tips for Educational Authors