/publishing

Contract Red Flags

Use this list to read a publishing, audio, translation, or film contract with the author and find the clauses worth questioning. This is not legal advice. Contract law differs by country, and a clause that looks standard can hide a problem. Before signing, the author should have the contract reviewed by their agent, a publishing lawyer, or an author organization's contract-vetting service (for example the Authors Guild in the US or the Society of Authors in the UK, for members). Writer Beware and the Alliance of Independent Authors track predatory publishers and services.

How To Use

1. Read the whole contract, including schedules and anything "incorporated by reference".
2. For each red flag below that matches a clause, record the clause number, the plain-language effect, and the question to ask.
3. Hand the list to the author and their adviser. Do not tell the author to sign or not sign.

Rights Granted

• Rights grab: all rights, in all formats, in all languages, worldwide, "now known or hereafter devised", for the full term of copyright, when the publisher only publishes one or two formats. Ask to limit the grant to formats and territories they will exploit.
• Subsidiary rights (audio, translation, film, merchandise) taken with no obligation to exploit them and no reversion if unused.
• Copyright transferred to the publisher, or the book treated as work for hire, rather than a license.
• Series, characters, or world claimed, so the author cannot write further books in that world elsewhere.

Term, Reversion, And Out Of Print

• No out-of-print clause, or one triggered only when the book is unavailable in every format. Print-on-demand and ebooks never go out of print; ask for a sales or earnings threshold over a set period.
• No reversion process: no written request mechanism, cure period, or automatic reversion.
• Term for the life of copyright in a small-press or service contract, where a fixed term (for example 3-7 years, renewable) is common.

Money

• Payments from the author to the publisher: setup, editing, marketing, or buy-back requirements. A traditional publisher pays the author. This is the mark of a vanity press.
• Royalties on "net" with net undefined, or net after deductions the publisher controls.
• Low or unclear ebook and audio rates compared with the publisher's own peers.
• Joint accounting (cross-collateralization): earnings of one book pay down another book's unearned advance.
• Unlimited reserve against returns, or reserves held with no time limit.
• Infrequent or no statements, no deadline for payment, or no right to audit.
• Deep-discount or high-discount sales paying a much lower rate, with no cap on how much of the sales can fall in that category.

Control

• Non-compete clause that stops the author publishing anything, under any name, in any genre, for a long or undefined period.
• Option clause on the next book (or next several) with no time limit to respond, on the same terms, or covering all future work.
• No consultation on cover, title, or edits, or the publisher may change the text without approval.
• Moral rights waived where the law allows assertion.
• Assignment: the publisher may sell the contract to anyone without notice.

Liability And Termination

• Unlimited indemnity: the author covers every claim, including claims arising from the publisher's changes.
• No termination right if the publisher fails to publish by a date, fails to pay, or goes bankrupt.
• Publication date undefined: no obligation to publish within a set time after delivery.
• Agency clause tying the author to an agent beyond the book the agent sold.

Film, TV, And Audio Specifics

• Option term and extensions far longer than the option payment justifies, or extensions without further payment.
• Purchase price not stated, or only as a percentage of a budget that may never be set.
• Reserved rights (sequels, prequels, stage, print) not reserved to the author.
• Audio: exclusive distribution terms, their length, and whether the author can later move the audiobook.

After Review

Record the outcome in publishing/rights.md: rights granted, term, territory, and reversion terms, plus the contract date and where the signed copy is kept.