I recently had a offer rescinded because I tried to negotiate the contract terms - which were very skewed to the publisher. Wrote a Twitter thread on what sort of clauses a writer should watch out for (I’m also an attorney)
About 18 months ago, a small indie book publisher expressed serious interest in my WIP: poems based on real ghost encounters that I had and my family members had had.
I had secured some top-flight advance acclaim, mentioned in my pitch letter.
Additionally, in order to combat the foolish impression Hollywood has given of ghosts -- by having spirits flying around wearing a bedsheet -- I hired artists to illustrate the encounters.
The b/w drawings cost more than a thousand dollars.
This indie press asked to see sample art and expressed much admiration for the sketches. There was no mention ever of reimbursement, which I accepted, thinking I'd use some of the art in my other books.
However, when I finally saw their contract, I realized it was filled with terms that no one should sign . . . even though they insisted all the authors they had published did in fact sign this document, thereby signing away all rights AND all derivative rights in perpetuity.
They claimed to be open to amending the wording but, ultimately, we parted company.
I believe them when they insisted others had signed their predatory author's agreement -- but I refuse to let myself be treated unfairly just because a ravaging wolf calls itself a "publisher."
Not sure the comparison to Dolly is entirely apt. She had already profited handsomely from that song. Now it was a question not so much of principle, but of weighing the possibilities: which is bigger, half of a potentially large pie if Elvis records the song, leading to other singers recording it, or all of a known small pie.
Another comparison might be to Shakespeare. Several of his plays and likely also his sonnets were published during his lifetime in unauthorized editions, meaning he would not have profited from them. But these editions would have helped maintain interest in his plays, which he monetized via his part ownership of a theater company, which would have owned all rights to plays they purchased. Without the publication of the sonnets in a single, probably unauthorized volume, there’s a chance we wouldn’t even have them. And then what would we use at weddings?
For me, the more interesting part of the Dolly story is that she wrote “I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene” on the same day, evidence that lightning really can strike twice, although I think “Jolene” is the better song, with its timeless love triangle (and iambic meter):
I ALWAYS read contracts. And it has been my practice for many years now never to write for exposure only. No pay, no story. I'm not so hungry to have my name in print that I'll do it for nothing. Now that ChatGPT is stealing online work, I have decided never to submit to an online market again. My SOLE exception id the newspaper that I've written for for twenty years. They, of course, pay me, and I retain my rights.
Its been hard for me to look at a publications contract and say "No, I'm not going to sign this." or "They are on my permabanned list for submitting", but I've been pushing myself to stand more firmly on that. Even though I feel little and they feel big, or I feel little and they feel little and struggling so I don't want to cause conflict, lit mags should not be using unfair terms just because they can. I also am afraid of conflict. I don't want to cause problems, I don't want to upset people and I don't want to get a bad reputation. But I also have had to remind myself - if they say one thing about rights but won't modify the actual terms of the contract, and we all know that what is in writing is what is being held to - then its not the magazine for me.
Its honestly not easy, so I'm trying to keep it at the forefront of my mind. But I appreciate voices that take magazines to task for this or encourage mags to downgrade their clauses to what is reasonable.
I would also like to add that literary translators need to pay close attention to this. We are often underpaid (or not paid at all), not infrequently do not get royalties, and yet our translation often attract licensing deals that can be quite lucrative, inspire translations into other languages (bridge translations), and our words are sometimes used in actual movie scripts (See Ann Goldstein and The Lost Daughter).
Mariana, thank you for this smart and important essay. I, too, would like to know who Big Publication is. I will be speaking at UNAM at the FilUni this year on a related topic and it would be useful to be able to out them. I would not mention your name if you don't want me to. Cheers! You can write to me via dpsnyder.us.
Yes, writers should not sign any contract that gives away all of their rights to their work, especially for no payment! You are also right that the language in the problematic clause is very vague and confusing. I'm glad that you got a better deal with another publication! Best wishes!
Thank you. Please identify the Big Publication--it’s the only way they’ll ever even consider changing.
Excellent article (and as a fellow attorney, I'm so glad you shared this info)! Thank you.
Bravo! Thank you for sharing your story, your values, clarity of purpose as an author, and encouragement to have Dolly-like self-worth!
Please tell us the name of this journal, as you have identified unfair or scam publishers in the past.
I recently had a offer rescinded because I tried to negotiate the contract terms - which were very skewed to the publisher. Wrote a Twitter thread on what sort of clauses a writer should watch out for (I’m also an attorney)
About 18 months ago, a small indie book publisher expressed serious interest in my WIP: poems based on real ghost encounters that I had and my family members had had.
I had secured some top-flight advance acclaim, mentioned in my pitch letter.
Additionally, in order to combat the foolish impression Hollywood has given of ghosts -- by having spirits flying around wearing a bedsheet -- I hired artists to illustrate the encounters.
The b/w drawings cost more than a thousand dollars.
This indie press asked to see sample art and expressed much admiration for the sketches. There was no mention ever of reimbursement, which I accepted, thinking I'd use some of the art in my other books.
However, when I finally saw their contract, I realized it was filled with terms that no one should sign . . . even though they insisted all the authors they had published did in fact sign this document, thereby signing away all rights AND all derivative rights in perpetuity.
They claimed to be open to amending the wording but, ultimately, we parted company.
I believe them when they insisted others had signed their predatory author's agreement -- but I refuse to let myself be treated unfairly just because a ravaging wolf calls itself a "publisher."
Not sure the comparison to Dolly is entirely apt. She had already profited handsomely from that song. Now it was a question not so much of principle, but of weighing the possibilities: which is bigger, half of a potentially large pie if Elvis records the song, leading to other singers recording it, or all of a known small pie.
Another comparison might be to Shakespeare. Several of his plays and likely also his sonnets were published during his lifetime in unauthorized editions, meaning he would not have profited from them. But these editions would have helped maintain interest in his plays, which he monetized via his part ownership of a theater company, which would have owned all rights to plays they purchased. Without the publication of the sonnets in a single, probably unauthorized volume, there’s a chance we wouldn’t even have them. And then what would we use at weddings?
For me, the more interesting part of the Dolly story is that she wrote “I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene” on the same day, evidence that lightning really can strike twice, although I think “Jolene” is the better song, with its timeless love triangle (and iambic meter):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOwblaKmyVw
I ALWAYS read contracts. And it has been my practice for many years now never to write for exposure only. No pay, no story. I'm not so hungry to have my name in print that I'll do it for nothing. Now that ChatGPT is stealing online work, I have decided never to submit to an online market again. My SOLE exception id the newspaper that I've written for for twenty years. They, of course, pay me, and I retain my rights.
CHEERS!!!!!!!
Its been hard for me to look at a publications contract and say "No, I'm not going to sign this." or "They are on my permabanned list for submitting", but I've been pushing myself to stand more firmly on that. Even though I feel little and they feel big, or I feel little and they feel little and struggling so I don't want to cause conflict, lit mags should not be using unfair terms just because they can. I also am afraid of conflict. I don't want to cause problems, I don't want to upset people and I don't want to get a bad reputation. But I also have had to remind myself - if they say one thing about rights but won't modify the actual terms of the contract, and we all know that what is in writing is what is being held to - then its not the magazine for me.
Its honestly not easy, so I'm trying to keep it at the forefront of my mind. But I appreciate voices that take magazines to task for this or encourage mags to downgrade their clauses to what is reasonable.
I would also like to add that literary translators need to pay close attention to this. We are often underpaid (or not paid at all), not infrequently do not get royalties, and yet our translation often attract licensing deals that can be quite lucrative, inspire translations into other languages (bridge translations), and our words are sometimes used in actual movie scripts (See Ann Goldstein and The Lost Daughter).
Mariana, thank you for this smart and important essay. I, too, would like to know who Big Publication is. I will be speaking at UNAM at the FilUni this year on a related topic and it would be useful to be able to out them. I would not mention your name if you don't want me to. Cheers! You can write to me via dpsnyder.us.
I wish someone with sufficient clout would organize a writers' boycott of such magazines. The New Yorker, for example...
Thank you.
Yes, writers should not sign any contract that gives away all of their rights to their work, especially for no payment! You are also right that the language in the problematic clause is very vague and confusing. I'm glad that you got a better deal with another publication! Best wishes!
Thank you for sharing this story, and brava to you for standing up for yourself and your work’s worth.