Track Changes: Contracts

Track Changes: Contracts

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📑🔍 Contracts! We get into the basic structure of your contract, and all the rights, clauses, provisions, and negotiated terms you need to know to make sure your contracts is right right for this book and beyond.

We catch up with Jennifer de Leon as she prepares for the release of her debut young adult novel, Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From, on August 18. (Hear her First Draft interview here.)

Then Sarah Burnes, literary agent with The Gernert Company, and Jo Volpe, literary agent and President of New Leaf Literary & Media, break down what authors should know to look for in their contracts. And Kate Sullivan, senior content development manager at New Leaf Literary & Media and former senior editor at many Big 5 publishing houses, breaks it down from an editor’s point of view.

Catch up on the series:

Episode 1: Publishing 101

Episode 2: Agents: Who Are They, What Do They Do, And How Do You Get One?

Episode 3: Selling Your Book (Part 1)

Episode 4: Selling Your Book (Part 2)

Episode 5: Advances (Part 1)

Episode 6: Contracts

Episode 7: After the Book Deal

Episode 8: Marketing and Publicity (Part 1)

Episode 9: Marketing and Publicity (Part 2), and Definitions of Success

Bonus Eps

Publishing in the time of COVID

Inequality in Publishing

Panel: The Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From team

Panel: Publishing From Every Angle

Discussed in this episode:

• Territories

• Deal memo

• The Bologna Children’s Book Fair

• The Frankfurt Book Fair

• First serial rights

• Separate or Joint Accounting

• The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature

• National Book Awards

• Competitive Works Clause, or the Non-compete clause

• Amy Lukavics, author of Nightingale, The Ravenous, The Women in the Walls, and Daughters Unto Devils

• Next Works Clause

• Option clause

• Term of copyright in the U.S.

• Proposal

• Matching rights

• Morals clauses: “Why We Oppose Morals Clauses in Book Contracts” by The Authors Guild

• Out of print clause

• Reversion of rights

More Information:

• “The Basic Terms of a Publishing Contract” by Nathan Bransford

• “What to Expect From a Standard Book Contract,” in Poets&Writers

• “The Book Deal: Territorial Rights” by Andy Ross at the Andy Ross Agency

• “Improving Your Book Contract: Ten Book Contract Traps We Can Help You Avoid,” by The Authors Guild

• “Getting a Multi-Book Deal: What Does it Mean?” by Susan Dennard

• “What’s an Option Clause?” by literary agent Kate McKean

• “How a Book Becomes a Movie,” by publishing guru Jane Friedman

• “The Fastest-Growing Format in Publishing: Audiobooks” in The Wall Street Journal

Track Changes is produced by Hayley Hershman. Zan Romanoff is the story editor. The music was composed by Dan Bailey, and the logo was designed by Collin Keith.

Thanks for Listening!

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✍️ Track Changes Learn how the traditional publishing industry works in the Track Changes podcast mini-series.

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