Things to Know Before Signing a Book Contract

You write, maybe, as freelancer. You may have published a few articles here and there and then you have an idea to write a book. It may be a How-to-book or a great novel, whatever, but you know is a good book. Maybe you have been writing it for years, overcoming writer's block and winning all kind of obstacles. Then you got it. The book is ready. Now you have to publish it.

The easiest part of writing a book may be writing it. Then you will have to go out and sell your book, which is another hard step, but after you have done all that it comes what may be the hardiest of all tasks in publishing: signing a book contract. If you have been subjected to the experience of signing a book contract you know what I am talking about. Countless paragraphs of legalese that you do not understand. Why do the lawyer people can't write in plain English? Well this is just a wish. The truth is that you want to have a well-laid legal contract that protects you and that states all the rights that you have.

These are only suggestions or guidelines that I am going to write here so please make sure that you pay a lot of attention to what you sign. I know that you have worked hard to write your book and you should be fairly compensated for that. So, again, pay attention to what you sign.

If your work is accepted and you are being offered a contract the first thing you must do is to seek a Literary Property Lawyer. These are specialized lawyers that work on (you guessed!) with the specifics of a contract in book publishing. Many lawyers could do a simple book publishing contract but a Literary Property Lawyer is an expert in elucidating those clauses, and rewriting them to favor the author. You do not want to be ripped-off, so see this legal advice before you sign a book contract.