What are: "one-time rights"?

If a journal publishes the chapter with “one-time rights, the rights revert back to author after publication,” is that a problem later on? In other words, will that part of the book be considered previously published by editors down the line? I don’t want to publish an excerpt somewhere and then have to remove it from the book if it gets picked up.

There is no such thing as one time rights.
What there is, is licensing the right to do something with your chapter. What is it?

Rights is used to refer to the bundle of license opportunities associated with publishing a book. Audio rights for example (and unsurprisingly) is granting a license to the publisher to publish an audio version of the book.

This is hugely confusing to writers, and also important to know, it's hugely confusing to a lot of people who are writing contracts.

I review all the contracts my clients sign for short stories and I've seen some stuff that makes me weep with frustration.

Most likely the journal you've queried wants to publish your chapter non-exclusively, in print and electronic form. You want to specify the language (or all languages) and the territory (North America or most likely world)

World English is the right to publish something in English around the world.
World rights is shorthand for the right to publish in any language.

Non-exclusive means someone else can also publish the chapter without infringing the agreement you've entered into with the journal.

Exclusive is generally when the journal can keep you from publishing the chapter with someone else. You want to make sure there's a time frame for the exclusivity. Exclusive for three months, a year, five years. Without a specific end date, you've licensed them in perpetuity and that's not not not what you want to do.

As to the actual question you asked: publishing a chapter before the book is sold isn't a problem for book publishers. You simply make sure they know about it ahead of time. Publishers can and do publish work that has been published before. Jane Austen hasn't been a debut in quite some time.

In fact, interest in your book, as manifested by publishing chapters of it ahead of time, is a selling point. You'd include that information in your query letter.

What you want to make sure the contract with the journal says though is: a non-exclusive license to print the Work (that is the chapter) in English, throughout the world, in print and electronic form for a period of X years.

Hands on or hands off, and no I don't mean that.

On Monday 3-27, you said:

6. Is the agent hands on or hands off?
An agent should know this about him/herself. And his/her clients will know for sure. ASK.

The more you know about an agent's day to day style of working with clients, the better.
------

Will you clarify what you mean by hands on/off? I always thought "hands on" simply meant an agent who gives fairly detailed editorial feedback on the writing. After reading a couple comments on that post, I'm wondering, is there more to the definition than that? Or maybe I'm wrong and it means something entirely different.

I'm hoping "hands off" does NOT mean an agent who never or rarely communicates with clients, but is one who leaves any editing to the publisher. 

Hands on is more than just how to describe an agent who gives fairly detailed editorial feedback.
 
Some agents sell a book, then *poof* they're off to the next sale.
Editors and clients don't hear from them until it's time to re-up.

There are levels of this; some agents will stay in touch a bit more often than that, but their focus is selling the next project not managing this one.

And that is perfectly legit. Some authors want that.  

If, on the other hand, you want or need an agent who is more involved, you want an agent who is more "hands-on."

When people ask me that question, I tell them I'm involved with editing and development right up till we sell it. Then I hand off content to the editor. If there's a problem, I get looped back in, but I'm not an editor and I like to sell to editors who really know their stuff (ie a lot more than me about how to make a book better.)

Of course, I've got my long pointy nose in all the business side of things.  From royalty statements to short story contracts, to helping authors develop their brand, activate their social media presence and build platform, I'm right there in the trenches with them. That's what hands-on means.

One of the things I need to learn about every new client is how much involvement they need and want. It can be two different things, which is interesting.  Generally we find out when we hit some sort of rough spot---which is one of the reasons I have a bar in my office.

And authors need varying levels of handedness through out the year, and throughout their career. A client who needs a lot of coaching will often become a client who doesn't need much by the third or fourth book.

Or, the client who didn't need much on books one through five, suddenly needs a lot when their career is making a left turn they didn't see coming. 

How do you determine if an agent is hands on or off (that does sound weird I know): ask their clients. Ask what their agent works with them on. If it's only the contract, that's hands off. If it's editorial work up till the book is sold, then not till the next book, that's hands off. 

I reiterate: both hands on and hands off are legit choices. One is not better than the other. The trick is to know what you need and sign with an agent who does that.

Questions?   

Subsidiary rights

Monday's blog post elicted a question from Lisa Bodenheim

I'm confused about subsidiary rights. I had thought marketing and sub-rights belonged with the publishing company not the agency.

Who controls subsidiary right is negotiated when the book is sold. Sub rights can be licensed to the publisher. They can be retained by the author/agent. (Sub rights don't have anything to do with marketing.)

We try to retain the subrights cause it means more money for our author.  Here's the breakdown:

Publisher controls translation rights:
Book licensed to French publisher for $1000.00
Royalty statement credited for $500.00 (one-half of the amount) because money received from sub rights controlled by the publisher are split with the publisher.
Domestic agent commission (15%) ($75.00)
Amount remitted to author: $425.00
 

Author/agent retains translation rights:
Book licensed to French publisher for $1000.00
Comm to French sub-agent (10%) ($100.00)
Comm to domestic agent (ie me) (10%) ($100.00)
Amount remitted to author: $800.00


Whether translation rights are licensed to the publisher is negotiated at the time of sale.  You'll see it mentioned in the Publisher's Market deal announcments as:
(1) World (publisher controls translation rights);

(2) World excluding X (publisher controls translation right for everything excluding X);

(3) World English (author/agent has retained translation rights-the deal is for the English language book throughout the world); or

(4) North American English (author retains translation and English language in everything but the North American market)


The trick with retaining sub rights is you must have a way to sell them. Retaining them just to hold on to them isn't usually a good idea.

Questions?

Funds remit clause

A new agent from a very respectable agency offered me rep last week. Like you suggested, I asked for the author/agency agreement and went through it. There's one thing that you suggest is essential in the agreement but is missing from mine: "Time frame in which the agency must remit funds." I know you said that the author should ask to have this put in, but the head of the agency is a member of AAR, and she also acts as a mentor to the new agent who offered. Should I still be insistent on adding this?

Yes.
AAR membership does not have the same force as a contract. It's good the agent is a member, but it's not the same as having this spelled out in a contract.

Our author/agency agreement specifies we remit funds no later than five days after the funds clear the bank. This is an absolutely normal clause in an agreement.

A contract sets out what to expect (or not) in terms of agency performance. Adding this clause does not mean you think they're going to stiff you, or be lax with your payments. Not at all. It simply sets out that they don't have to remit the check instantly but they also can't sit on it till the end of the month for convenience sake. (Some publishers "run checks" once a month which really plays merry hell with advance payments.)

Asking that this be included in the agreement is not a sign you'll be a troublesome client. Quite the contrary. It's a sign you pay attention to detail.

If the agent pushes back on this, watch for how they say it.  If it's akin to "how dare you" that's a problem.  If it's "our bookkeeper only comes in twice a month" then you simply adjust the time frame.

Previously published

*note, contest results will be posted tomorrow.

I would like to inquire what the conditions for a manuscript being 'previously published' are. Specifically, I wrote a short anecdote about a fictional character as an answer to a question on a popular website regarding her precocious intelligence and an event that occurred in her high school days. I am quite vague in it, not even writing the name of the character, but the event is a significant point in the character's backstory.

Does having written this in any way affect my chances of having the book published? It is extremely short compared to the length of the novel (a few paragraphs) and gives no indication of the rest of the plot, but is probably one of its trademark characteristics, and I am worried that either someone may steal the idea (although it is marked as not for reproduction) or that publishers may reject it as it has garnered a large amount of views (20000 at the time of writing). I have put a tremendous amount of effort into that novel, and my friends, family and people I personally know in the literary business have found it to be a well-written piece.

Don't worry.

Previously published specifically means the same work. In other words, a paragraph or two (or even ten) on a website is not a previously published novel.

If anything, the interest readers have shown in your work is a GOOD thing: that many page views would lead me to think your writing does not suck.

This applies to short stories, essays, blog posts and pretty much any other chunk you can dream up.

When I say I don't take on previously published work, or a publisher asks you to sign a publication contract warranting the work has not been previously published, it is understood to mean a book, with an ISBN, made available for sale.

So, if you print out the book (the ENTIRE book) on your trusty home printer, and give it to your beta readers: that is NOT previously published.

If you print up the entire book and give it to your mum for Mother's Day: NOT previously published.

Print it up on CreateSpae or any other self-publishing platform and have a few copies printed for your beta readers and your Mum for Mum's day: that is previously published. CreateSpace assigns an ISBN, and makes the work for sale on Amazon.

Print it up at a regular printer and send a few copies to your beta readers and your Mum: NOT previously published. The difference? No ISBN, no placement on Amazon.

With the explosion of places looking for writing, and the opportunities now available to writers to have their work seen, this kind of question crops up a lot.

What you want to watch for:
1. Does the work in question have an ISBN?
2. Is it registered at the US Copyright office as PUBLISHED?
3. Is it or was it available for sale?

You want all three answers to be NO.

And just one more word of warning: those copies you ran off your own printer, or bought from a webfeed press and gave to Mum and the beta readers: they can put those up for sale on Amazon, and really mess up what you think is NO to question 3. I've seen it happen. 

What does unpublished mean?

I've never been entirely sure what exactly 'unpublished' constitutes. When I first started writing (mainly short stories) I posted all my work on various writing websites like www.deviantart.com   and www.writerscafe.org. 

When I started submitting for publication, I had some publishers who didn't mind me posting to these communities, some who flat-out rejected me because they no longer considered my work unpublished, and some who just wanted them set to 'only viewable to other members' so that it was only posted to a community and not the public. So, at this point I'm rather confused what the industry stance is on this matter. I do like posting to these websites for feedback, but now that I've started writing more seriously do I have to have to worry about them jeopardising my first electronic rights?

Let's start with the fact that there is no such thing as "first electronic rights"

First SERIAL rights describe excerpts you publish before the book is published, be that electronically or in print. 

Second serial rights are excerpts you publish after the book is published.

If you elect to publish excerpts from your novel before it's sold you've licensed first serial rights. Format doesn't matter.

It's entirely possible an author could publish pieces of a novel pre-pubication to several outlets. (A WIP from Katherine Dunne, or Fran Liebowitz would certainly generate that kind of interest.) That's still first serial rights.


When you say "publishers didn't mind me posting to these communities" or "flat out rejected me" it sounds like you're talking about digital only publishers. Their contracts are for  (territory) (languge) and (format).

Thus if you license World English for digital publication to them, they have those rights. First and second don't come in to play here at all. If they fail to publish, or publish and then revert rights to you after a period of time, you can re-sell World English for digital publication again. No "second" needed.


As to whether they want you to publish excerpts or not publish excerpts, it's their call. They run their business the way they see fit.

There is no industry standard on this because every publisher has different standards.

The trick here is to keep VERY detailed records of what you've published or posted and where. Print out the terms you've agreed to (ie don't rely on being able to view them on the site) and make sure you understand the terms.

 

What is "previously published"

I'm following a large group of women writers on Facebook, and enjoy the supportive and interesting posts. Almost every day, someone posts a question regarding placing any part of their WIP online, whether it's for feedback from an online critique group, or an excerpt on their blog, as to whether or not this constitutes "previously published" and hurts their chances of ever getting a publisher. Is this true? I sure hope not, but then, I don't know, and would appreciate your thoughts.

The idea that putting something on the internet hurts your chances of getting published is WRONG.
For proof of that:

As you no doubt know, this book sold so many copies, the publisher gave every single person in the company a year end bonus (and it wasn't $12.50 either.)


There are a couple things that will help you here:

1. A publishing contract template often does say "material has not been previously published" BUT that clause can be changed or deleted as needed. Agents negotiate that stuff ALL the time.

2. Many magazines or contests prohibit previously published material from being submitted. That is DIFFERENT than selling a book in that contest submission guidelines are NOT negotiated. You have to follow them exactly. They will spell out what "previously published means" and it may vary by contest or site.

3. Some agents will not look at previously published material.  I'm one of them. When I say this, I mean books that you've offered for sale, with an ISBN on it. I do not mean books you've posted on your website for free.  If I have any questions about this, I'll ask you.

The problem with posting your work to the internet is that it falls flat. The EL James example I used above did NOT fall flat. It blew up so fast she should have used TNT not EL.

Shorthand for "your book flopped worse than spinach flavored ice cream" is "you've already published it.

And by flopped I mean: no interest, no comments, no sales. No nothing.


If you want to demonstrate your writing chops on your blog, write something for the website: book reviews, essays, odes to librarians, sonnets to booksellers, quatrains to the QueryShark. Leave your novel off your webpage.


Public critique sites can be useful, but I MUCH prefer private groups even if they only meet online. You have much more control over who sees your work, and a much better sense of the value of their input.

Help! My publisher is declaring bankruptcy!

OMG. I just learned that my publisher is filing bankruptcy. The owner is in the process of returning rights to us but is there anything else I need to do? I was positive you answered this question before but in my current state of disappointment and fear I couldn't find it.

I'm assuming this is a small publisher, maybe one or two owners. If they are filing for dissolution of the business, secured creditors will get first dibs.

If the publisher owes you money, you're an unsecured creditor. You're in line with everyone else to get paid from the proceeds of the dissolution.

But, where this gets tricky is that the publishing contract the publisher has with you is an ASSET, not a liability. It's worth money.

In most bankruptcies, a business can't simply return assets before the bankruptcy is resolved.

What they can do is sell, transfer or assign assets to another company who takes on the debt as well as the assets. (When Skyhorse bought Nightshade, this is what they did.)

The first thing you're going to do is make sure that any rights reversion is in writing. Real writing, on paper, not email.

The second thing you're going to do is have your books removed from sale at once.

If you're not going to get paid from these guys, it's smart to make sure they don't get to keep the proceeds from sales any more.

Third: Check Victoria Straus's blog for information about the publisher. If there isn't any, make her aware of this.

Fourth: beware of online hysteria about this. Writers can work themselves into a frenzy over very small things, so you won't be surprised to hear that it's frenzy to the nth power when something like this which really does matter. A lot of terminology gets thrown around by people who are well-meaning, worried, and badly informed. Take most of what you hear with more than a grain of salt.

Depending on where you are in the publishing process you now have a book that has been published but can no longer be offered for sale, or a book that has NOT been published, and the rights have returned to you.

It's easier to resell the second. If you query, you say "this was accepted for publication by SinkSankSuck Publisher who have recently declared bankruptcy and all rights returned to me." You put that at the bottom of the query along with your bio and writing credits. In other words, don't lead with it. It's not a selling point.

If you have actual books for sale, and the rights have been returned, you're better off querying a second book, and then discussing the first (or previous) books with the agent or publisher who is interested in the New Book.

Most important: this will not kill you. It might not make you stronger (god knows I'd be Serena Williams if setbacks really made you stronger) but it's not a death knell for your career or for your books.

Get everything in writing from the publisher. Save EVERYTHING. Be calm in your communications. The publisher is probably hysterical at this point with fear and shame, not to mention in a panic over money. They're not going to be calm about anything most likely. That doesn't mean you respond in kind.

You WILL get through this, and if my experience with publisher's bankruptcies is any indicator, you'll be better off in a year than you are now.

Any questions?

Query Question: YA or adult?

I'm having a hard time determining if my audience should be YA or adult fiction (and, subsequently, which agents to target when querying). I tend to write coming-of-age stories with younger protagonists and an upmarket/literary bent. My current manuscript is about a teenager trying to shape her identity while struggling with a chronic illness in the wake of 9/11. Because of the style, themes, setting, etc, I intended for this book to be for an adult audience. Now I'm not so sure, as the general consensus seems to be that if the main character is a teenager and the book is told from a first-person perspective (which it is), then it's YA. (To be clear, I have no problem if it's YA or adult so long as there's a market for the work, and I know part of determining that is figuring out who to pitch to.)

I know that I'm probably trying to seek out a definitive answer when there isn't one, but the blurred lines between YA and Adult have me so confused as to who I should be targeting for my queries, especially if there's the possibility of crossover later down the road. My concern is that I might be limiting myself when it comes to querying by choosing agents who rep one or the other.

Do you have any advice or additional thoughts on the YA/Adult debate?

If you query someone who rejects you because s/he "doesn't  rep This/That/The Other" what do you fear will happen?

1. You will be strung up in the town square and pelted with tomatoes, wearing a sign that says "I thought my novel was for adults; boy am I stupid!"

2. You will be exiled to Carkoon, there to dwell among the kale plants forever

3. You will be added to the Super Secret Agent Blacklist of Writers Who are Foolish and Stupid and whose queries will be spurned forevermore

4. All of the above

5. None of the above



I'm sure you've figured out that the answer is #5.

What this means for you: Query Everyone.

Since most agents have devolved into "no response means no" you'll just hear more silence.

BUT if you have a good query and great pages, agents are looking for good stuff to sell.

One hint: please do NOT put YA or Adult at the start of your query. You're just increasing the chances that you'll get ignored by an agent skimming her queries.

Engage their eyeballs before you mention the category.

I would venture to guess that at least three out of every ten queries get the category wrong in my incoming query mail.

I don't know whether this is YA or adult and I don't really care. I care about reading a good story. I'm pretty sure most of my ilk are too.


Then, once you've landed a slithery agent, you discuss with her where you'll find readers.  She will have read the book and if she's any good at her job, she'll know the market better than you (and certainly better than I do.)

Your job right now isn't to decide which shelf you'll be on, it's to write a book that's shelf worthy.

Industry question: competition clauses

I read with some amount of trepidation the post about competition clauses in publishing contracts. How does someone deal with a potential offer to publish something when one  (OK, me) has already self published a series of books with the same characters? There might be rioting in the streets (OK, a couple of middle aged women hanging out at the National Zoo panda house) if my other books had to be pulled off the market.

Here's an example of a competition clause in a publishing contract:

the Author will not, without the Publisher’s prior written consent, publish or authorize publication by

anyone other than the Publisher of any text-based edition, adaptation, abridgement, or

condensation of the Work, or of any text-based derivative work based on the Work or bearing

substantially the same title (prequels and sequels shall not be deemed derivative works) (however,

nothing in this subparagraph (i) shall prohibit the Author from disposing of performance rights); (ii)

the Author will not publish or authorize publication of any similar material on the same topic in a

book or article which, in the Publisher’s judgment would directly conflict with the sale of the Work,

provided that, subject to coordination with the Publisher, nothing contained herein shall preclude

the Author from publishing or authorizing the publication of articles to promote or publicize the

Work; 

If I sell your novel "Felix Buttonweezer Goes to Carkoon" to LicketySplit Publishers LLC, you cannot sell an adaptation, abridgement or condensation of the book to another publisher. 

Nor can you sell "Felix Buttonweezer Went to Carkoon but Now He's Home" which is a derivative work.

Which does mean, yes, if you have self-published the novel that I sell to LiSP LLC, you're probably going to have to take it off the market.

However.

Contracts are NEGOTIATED. They are not handed down to supplicants like the ten commandments, no matter how many trumpets and rings of fire the publisher would like you to believe accompany its arrival in your inbox.

If you've got works for sale that are related to the novel for sale, you'll tell me about it ahead of time, and I'll tell the editor and we'll discuss how to handle it.

This clause predates the burgeoning cottage industry of ebooks on Amazon. It was intended mostly for non-fiction books. Editors didn't want to buy "The Bakeries of Carkoon" only to find much of the content of the book repurposed in "The Food Trucks of Carkoon."

This is something you do NOT need to worry about until you have an offer of publication.
It IS something you'll tell your agent about before your work goes out on submission.

You do NOT want to be the author who keeps her agent in the dark such that the editor calls the agent with the very bad news that something that looks a lot like this book on submission is already for sale on Amazon.

Yes, this happened to me.
Yes, I was royally pissed.
Yes, the client is no longer my client.
Yes, you can learn from her tomfoolery.

 

Question: what constitutes a book series?

I've been reading your emails consistently since I subscribed to them. I was hoping to find the answer to my question  "what constitutes a book series?" I've been a Technical Writer/Editor for more than 20 years in the computer field and a story teller/artist since I first held a pencil in the one-room school I attended for one year in Kentucky. While at Ohio University I fell in love with Love Stories and have been writing them since.  Even after joining RWA and attending national and local chapter conferences and classes the definition of a series still eludes me.  I might have a series confused with an anthology.

You're not alone in your confusion. Publishing has a lot of strange terms, and to add to the confusion, uses familiar terms in unfamiliar ways.

A book series is generally understood to be more than two books with the same main character/s, set in approximately the same venue, with a chronology.

An example of this is my client Gary Corby's Athenian mystery series.  

The first book (The Pericles Commission) introduces us to the main characters: Nicolaos; Pericles (a historical figure as well as a character here); Nico's annoying younger brother Socrates; Nico's family; and, Diotima, a priestess who captures Nico's heart.

The book is set in Ancient Athens.

The second book (The Ionia Sanction) expands the world by sending Our Hero to Ionia, but it's still set in the same time period.

The rest of the books follow that pattern.

Readers love these books as much for the characters as the plots.  I'm always a bit melancholy when I finish reading one of them because I love to hang out with Nico and the gang.


You might think of the Jack Reacher books as a series, but they are really connected stand alones, because each one has the same main character (and a few recurring characters over the now many books.)

Each book can be read independently of the others. There is no real narrative arc over the entire set of books.  

This isn't a bad thing. I love the Reacher books with a passion. I'm melancholy when I finish reading one because I love hanging out with Jack Reacher (and because I LOVE how Lee Child writes.)

Kristan Higgins on the other hand writes true stand alones, which always breaks my heart because I love every one of her books, and want to spend more time with every character she's created. 

The books are independent of each other, have no recurring characters, and there is no narrative arc for all of them.


When you're querying a novel, it should be something I can read as a stand alone. That is, it does not depend on reading something else to understand it, and the story and plot should feel complete in this book.

Most editors want to buy series, rather than stand alones.  Thus writers must query a stand alone then quickly figure out how to turn it into a series of some kind. What KIND of series is up in the air. That's something to be discussed with your agent.

Yes, we decided to do that in order to torment you.  One of the many perks of the job.

 

Contract question: speaking of indentured servitude, run of copyright contracts

I know there are authors out there who are dead set against traditional publishing, although that's where they got their start. They're anti-big publishing and anti-agent. I don't normally follow their blogs, but I followed a link to one today. A certain such author is making some pretty big claims about terms in traditional publishing house contracts.

The claim that is causing me pause is: the non-negotiable life-of-copyright clauses that have no or limited reversion clauses. They claim that publishers will own an author's work until copyright runs out, and that there is (or soon will be) no way to get that ownership back. They also claim that the author has no choice in the matter if they want to be published by a traditional publisher.

Are you seeing contracts like this? How do you deal with them? As I understand it, this is the sort of pitfall that agents can protect us from.

This is a case of the blowhard using one piece of information without context.

Yes, most publishing contracts run for the life of the copyright. Here's the Writer's Union on that point:

The customary practice in the United States is to allow the primary publisher to retain exclusive publishing rights for the duration of the work's copyright term (which is currently 70 years from the author's death), as long as the work is kept in print. Sometimes the rights continue even after the primary edition is out of print, if a subsidiary edition is still being sold. See Section IX on termination.

(Side note: subsidiary rights contracts do NOT run for the life of the copyright)

This grant of rights is listed very early in the contract. It's not the only part of the contract. There are pages and pages after that grant, and several of them cover how the contract can be terminated and rights reverted.

First and foremost is the out of print clause. The contract specifies how many books have to be sold, and in what time frame for a book to remain in print. If the book fails to meet that threshold, rights can be reverted upon request.

Second is failure to publish at all. If the publisher doesn't publish the book within a certain time frame, rights revert to the author.

Third is failure to pay or account for royalties. Failure to do so is breach of contract and rights revert to the author.

It's entirely possible to be offered a contract with none of these reversion avenues. Any agent worth his/her salt will negotiate ALL of them in to the contract.

If a client of mine had such a contract offer, and the publisher would not agree to include ALL these clauses, I would advise the client to think long and hard about signing.

About the underlying assumption of the blowhard:  I'm still confounded by advocates of self-publishing who feel the need to trash traditional publishing. This isn't an either/or situation with no do-overs.  Many authors now have traditional deals, and self-publish. There are advantages and disadvantages to both avenues. One is not holy, the other is not foul.

In addition, the idea of setting up a straw man to make a point about the "evils" of traditional publishing is just plain stupid. There are LOTS of things that traditional publishing doesn't do well. If you can't think of any, come to my office at Happy Hour. We have several agents here who will be glad to enlighten you about the frustrations they've experienced that very day.

I'm more than willing to listen to people who have well-reasoned and well-informed criticisms of traditional publishing. That other stuff? Not so much.

Query Question: maps, illustrations and other visuals in novels

My question is inspired by your post on permissions

The Author shall, at the Author's expense, deliver valid written permission from the proprietor (ie the rights holder) for the use of .... all necessary illustrations, maps, charts, and photographs...

Now you have me thinking about all of those wonderful maps in fantasy stories. Is it difficult to have maps & illustrations included in novels? Do publishers in general like them or avoid them? If an author has grand plans for maps, is it more likely to happen if she provides them, or do publishers like to hire illustrators and be part of the design?

Generally "all necessary illustrations, maps, charts, and photographs" apply to non-fiction books. The reason you see that language in contracts for fiction is that most agencies have their own boilerplate contract with publishers and it's used for both fiction and non-fiction. To leave it out for a novel would mean the publisher couldn't just include it on the next contract without having to negotiate it.


Whether a book would benefit from a map or illustrations is something that's discussed at the time of acquisition by the publisher. Whether the author provides it is something that's negotiated, not just assumed.


 I love maps** in books and I'm always glad to see one, even in novels.

(This is probably attributable to reading Agatha Christie novels as a sharkling.)

And the map at the start of the movie Casablanca really is an essential part of the tension and atmosphere of the entire movie.


The problem with maps and illustrations is of course that it adds to the cost of printing the book. We have this discussion with publishers when we have photographs to include in a book as well.

Generally you'll want to save the news that you'd like to include art in a novel until after you've acquired an agent. At the query stage, I'm only interested in the writing, and all too often someone who starts talking to me about illustration intends to have their Great Aunt Beverly Buttonweezer provide it.

However, if you do envision maps as part of the book, you should tell your agent. That's something s/he'll want to discuss with the editor as part of the acquisition process. I can recall that one editor's enthusiasm for maps secured her the deal, when a competing editor wasn't so keen on the maps.

Who pays for maps and illustrations and who provides them is something that can be negotiated. Unless you're a pro, expect that the publisher will want to have someone else do the art. There are exceptions to this; it's not a hard and fast rule.


**And really, how could anyone not love maps?!

This is the Peters projection world map. Not familiar with it? You're not alone:

Query question: permission? we don't need no stinkin permissions!

My question is pretty simple, but I'm also wondering if you could give me some behind-the-scenes info on this as well. I want to include lyrics to a song (written by someone else) in with my manuscript. At what point should I mention this to the agent? What do agents do to secure permissions, and (if stipulated) what's the typical payout for the original author of the song/poem/whatev's? I know the latter is a bit ranging, but I'll settle for an anecdote.

oh boy.
For starters, it's not your agent's job to clear permissions for song lyrics. It's yours. And song lyrics, depending on the song, can be expensive. And the other possibility is you won't get permission at all.

Quoting lyrics is a rat's nest of contradictory information. There's the common internet rule "quote two lines and you're fine" but if the song is only ten lines, you're not fine.

And the liability for permission, or use of any material that's not yours, is on you, not the agent or the publisher. Use it without permission, get caught, and the publisher doesn't have to defend the lawsuit, you do.

When clients of mine want to quote song lyrics, I advise them to keep it to one line, and use it as an epigraph.

When I advise them of the problems that come with getting permissions, they often times find they can do without those quotes very easily.

The good news is OLD songs, pre-1920, are in the public domain.

To answer your question: you don't need to tell anyone you're quoting song lyrics until you have a contract for publication. However, it's a very good idea to let your agent know before she starts the contract negotiatons. She may be able to work some magic here.

At this point you'll need to secure permission to quote the lyrics.  You'll have to pay for it too. (It's hard to secure permission before sale because the rights holder often wants to know the print run, format, and territories covered in the deal)

This is the general clause that covers that:

The Author shall, at the Author's expense, deliver valid written permission from the proprietor (ie the rights holder) for the use of any copyrighted material in the Work (such permission to extend to all rights granted herein, including electronic publication) and all necessary illustrations, maps, charts, and photographs for the Work, on or before the delivery date set forth in subparagraph 2(a). Author is responsible for paying all permissions costs on or before the delivery date set forth in subparagraph 2(a). The Publisher is not responsible for publication delays resulting from Author's negligence in obtaining and paying for permissions, or in presenting valid written permission to the Publisher.

Query question: querying the translated edition of a book

Some questions arose after reading your post on 10 June…


My friend has asked me to translate her memoir and query it. The basics of copyright for translated works exist where she lives, where I live and where I suggest she tries to sell it – the USA.  Apparently, in all of these countries, I am entitled copyright of the translation, considered a derivative work of hers.

Let’s assume that there is a contract between she and I which irons out all the definitions regarding the translation, the work I do querying for her, etc.  (I am not sure if my translation is a work for hire because I’d be paid only if the book is sold and I would be querying my translation—for her).  I imagine any agent would want to know if a contract between the author and the translator was stipulated before taking on the project.

How do I compose a professional query letter regarding the translation of someone else's unpublished manuscript?

Hi There, I’m Faith Buttonweezer, querying my translation of an elderly friend’s memoir. She gave me permission and asked me to query for her. In case the manuscript sells she’ll pay me for the translation. She doesn’t speak English, you could communicate directly with her in languages X,Y,Z. She wants me to be involved in the process to publication, which obviously involves revisions. (Does this make me a co-writer?) . Here’s the story: We/she/I believe her memoir would appeal to an American audience because …

Would an agent have to sign a contract with both of us?

For starters most agents won't touch this because you're not the author.


In fact, you wouldn't even hear back from me if you queried (Query Letter Diagnostics #4) because I don't reply to anyone who writes on behalf of the author.

There's a reason for that: my author/agent agreement is with the author herself. It's certainly not with the translator (no matter how charming.)  

If I can't talk with the author directly, there's ZERO chance I'm going to take her on as a client.  What I might do is take on the project if it came to me through an agent overseas with whom I have a solid working relationship.

That is, in fact, how foreign books mostly get published in the US: an overseas agent pitches the project to an agent or a publisher here (Frankfort and London Book Fairs are where a lot of this happens.)  I know of several editors who acquire books first published elsewhere and that is how they work.

And the idea that the book has already been translated is not the selling point you think it is. Most editors I know prefer to work with translators they know and trust.  They're at the mercy of that translator for a reliable translation (that's an actual clause in the contract) and to work with someone unknown (no matter how charming) is pretty much another non-starter.

I know you want to help your friend. I'm quite certain you want to create a reliable translation.  Your intentions don't matter at all here.  What matters to an editor is how much risk they're taking on. And they're taking a lot on because all the information flows through you.

You'd be better off seeking an agent where you are who can act for you in querying and securing a deal.  

And to answer your question: yes this is a work for hire. Yes you have copyright of any translation you do, but the money accrues to the author, and whoever hires you, pays you.  That will be spelled out in the contract you sign with whoever pays you.  

I know this is much more difficult and confusing than you thought it would be.  

Look at it from my point of view: you say you have permission to do this, but I can't ask the author directly cause she doesn't speak English and my Russian is limited to vodka and curse words from the James Bond movies. I can neither verify nor audit any of this.  This is a lot of perceived risk for a very limited reward.

Remember in the end, there are many more projects that are publishable than I could ever take on. I tend to pick the ones I don't think have "potential lawsuit" written all over them.

Query question: my novel is based on someone's life

 I am trying to determine whether I need a contract with the woman whose coming-of-age story I'm turning into a middle-grade novel. I wish to compensate her for her time and cooperation. But am I also obligated to contract with her for her story?

The woman says she would like me to use her real name in the book, which takes place in a now-defunct culture. However, in crafting the story I've had to fictionalize dialogue and various details surrounding key events (all the while fact-checking). Since I'm not calling this non-fiction, should I also fictionalize her name?

You're missing the one thing you're really going to need from her: permission.

Here's what the National Writers Union says about the warranties and indemnities clause of a publication contract:

 
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VI. WARRANTIES & INDEMNIFICATION

1. General provisions

It is not unreasonable for the publisher to ask that you promise that the work you are submitting is original, that it has not been previously published (unless it is a reprint), that it does not infringe on someone else's copyright, and that you are free to grant the specified publishing rights.

Most standard contracts will also ask the author to promise that the work is not obscene or libelous, that it does not invade anyone's privacy, and that it does not contain recipes, formulas, or instructions that may be"injurious to the user."

All of this is known as the author's warranty, and it is usually presented together with what is known as an indemnification clause, which makes the author responsible for any legal expenses and damages resulting from lawsuits that involve violations of the above promises. 

If you are writing a book, using her name and story, you need her to sign a contract that says she gave you permission to do so, that she won't sue you for payment if the book hits the jackpot financially and that this permission applies to every other use or license deriving from the book (ie film)

In other words, you need an intellectual property lawyer here, and this is something you really do not want to mess around with.

It's not the outcome of a lawsuit that will kill your bank balance, it's the cost of defending one. And for something covered in the warranties and indemniities clause you are ON YOUR OWN for litigtaion insurance coverage. The publisher is not obliged to help you at all.

Get legal advice here. Do NOT rely on an agent or editor's advice.  This can come back to bite you in the asterisk many years later, particularly if your subject dies and her heirs take exception to you cashing checks and not cutting them in.

The lawyer will advise you on other things you'll need in the contract as well.

Please don't mess around with this or think "oh it won't matter" cause this is not a problem you want to find yourself dealing with. 

Query question: agents asking where you're querying

 I have a question about terminology. I received a request for a full along with a detailed synopsis "...and a list of submissions to other agencies or publishers, if any." I wasn't sure if this meant a list of queries sent or just a list of any agencies or publishers who also have the full ms.

It means a list of places that are looking at your manuscript. That's a submission. A query is only a query.


Those kinds of blanket requests bring out my inner curmudgeon too. I'm tempted to say "what the hell business is it of yours?"


On the other hand, if I've read your ms, and liked it, and want to discuss how fabulous I will be for your career, only to discover that other agents have their mitts on the manuscript too; well, then, I DO ask who has it cause if it's Barbara Poelle, I know to deliver a case of vodka to her office to distract her.

Question: pre-empts and auctions

The Publishers Lunch Weekly newsletter often reports deals made "in a pre-empt" or "at auction."

What is a pre-empt? (1)

I find the idea of an auction fascinating. Is there a formal set of rules for holding an auction, or does each agent have their own way of handling them? (2)

Does the author have to accept the highest bid? (3)

If all the offers are seriously below expectations, does the author still have to accept one of them? (4)

What if an agent holds an auction, and nobody bids? (5)

An auction seems like a big risk that could either pay off spectacularly well, or fail terribly, tainting the author, the book, and the agent.

(1) A pre-empt means an editor offers enough money to take the project off the sales block without going to auction, or taking further offers.

(2) Each agent has their own, and auction rules are sent to each editor who's in the scrum.

(3) The author does NOT have to accept the highest bid. If a project goes to auction it's very common for the editor to loop in sales and marketing to show their plans for the book, and have a conversation with the author about their editorial vision, and plans for success

(4) There's usually an established floor in an auction, but sometimes numbers come in that are seriously under what we thought. That's when the agent and the author have a very serious heart to heart.

(5)  That does happen. It's A VERY unhappy day.  You dust off your britches, and get back on the submission pony and send to publishers not in that previous round of submissions. An auction isn't really a risk. It's a way to handle interest from multiple editors. Nobody goes to auction if the editors are snoozing on a book.

And a "failed auction" doesn't taint a book cause no one really knows about it at other publishing houses.