The Vine: September 24, 2014
I’m looking for advice and/or maybe links to websites with advice on how to negotiate writing my first book.
The tricky thing is that the book is not my idea, so I’m not sure how much ownership and payment I should expect or demand to have over it.
So a woman I know somewhat socially released a documentary a couple years ago. Let’s call it Tomato Nation: The History of Tomatoes in New Jersey. It’s an excellent documentary that I’ve favourably previewed and reviewed in an independent magazine on tomatoes that I publish. She wants someone to write a book as a companion to the doc, following the premise of the film but expanding on everything in it, including more graphics, fleshing out the interviews, that sort of thing.
I’m not the first person she approached to write it, but her first two choices fell through since one couldn’t commit the time, and the other was enthusiastic after the initial meeting she had with him but then flaked and it’s been five months since she’s heard from him. (As an aside, her first two choices would have also been my first two choices so no hard feelings there at all.) She approached me to write it because she very much likes the work I do on my magazine, including my graphic design and layout. She’s provided me with an outline, all her transcripts, access to all her contacts, and pretty much any guidance I could want. She’s had what she says are positive meetings with two publishers but no one has committed to the project at this time. She wants something to show them before going back to publisher-hunting. I was expecting a proper proposal plus sample chapters but she mentioned that she might want the manuscript finished completely before she continues to look for a publisher. Oh, also: There will be no advance, my compensation will be royalties (how much was not discussed).
So right now I have an idea, source material, and a promise of publication for a book. The lack of payment is actually fine for me, I have the time right now to work on this project, I’m very excited about it, I’m obviously very interested in tomatoes, and I think I can do a really good job of this book. Not to mention, it’ll give me a lot of cred in the tomato community. I’ve already started gathering reference material and expect to take at least the next few months researching and getting ideas. I have her outline, but I was told to make this book my own and I intend on being as thorough as possible in my research, which means going beyond her provided interviews, etc.
Okay, so here’s the problem then: before I dedicate a year or more of my life to this project (which I can and want to do), what type of agreement should I come to with her? Off the top of my head, I want an assurance that if the second guy she approached suddenly reappears and is interested again, I won’t be dropped. I want to know how much of this book is mine (the idea and the title are hers, but other than that she’s said she’s not planning on providing input unless asked, but still). Also: I want to know whether I can shop this book myself if she fails to secure a publisher for it. Is there something else you or your readers can think of that I should get down in writing before I start my research?
Thank you!
H
Dear H,
This book sounds buh-rilliant. Hee.
It’s not uncommon for movies or TV docs to do companion volumes; I have to think a boilerplate, or at least standardized, contract exists to protect both the author and the holder of the copyright on the original property, so you might check LegalZoom or a similar online legal-document service to see if anything there fits the bill. You do need something in writing, because everyone’s all happy-land “it’s not about the money”/”I’m eager to see what you do with the project” at the beginning. After 18 months, when nobody’s gotten a dime and the producer’s “contacts” turn out to be kind of bullshit? Then it gets ugly, unless you have a piece of paper codifying expectations.
You may not find anything online that looks right, but even if you do, I’d urge you to look for either a literary agent or a lawyer specializing in contracts/IP law. Yes, they take their chunk — because they’re professionals who have dealt with dozens or hundreds of these set-ups and know what you need to specify.
It might turn out to be something as simple as a deal memo you and the producer both sign and have notarized; that’s better than nothing. Again, though, I’m sure a standard letter of intent or similar for these deals exists. Once you find it or retain counsel to do it, you’ll want to plug in remuneration (and while I’m up, I think you should require either a kill fee if the project goes nowhere, or a baseline regular stipend to cover expenses and your time; the thing about royalties is, nobody but Clancy and King ever sees any); the general time frame of the work and of her work, and any deadlines or minimums within that; the exclusivity of the work; who retains the rights to which parts of the original property and of the companion work; foreign rights, whose name goes first on the cover, blah blah blah.
It can feel uncomfortable and like “lawyering up,” but professional, ethical people never object to this part of it; they want clarity on the deal so everyone can get down to the business at hand.
Readers, any lit-agent blogs, other resources, or firsthand experience welcome.
Tags: workplace
Congrats on this awesome-sounding project! I’m not well versed in the contract end of things, but I do know a fair amount about publishing, and it sounds a little hinky to me that she wants you to write the whole thing before sending to her contacts. Because, publishing wisdom goes, for a novel, newbies generally must submit a full manuscript for review. For non-fiction, it’s much more popular to submit a proposal, outline, etc.. Because the thing that really matters in non-fiction is the author’s platform — we buy Giada’s cookbooks specifically because she is Giada and we saw her on the Today Show batting her fake eyelashes at Lauer (No shame, Giada, your biscotti is legit). So I would wonder if this woman’s platform is going to make it happen — or maybe yours can, as you yourself have a standing in the industry. Or maybe this book will help your platform down the line, so it is worth it to put in the grunt work. I just would hate for you to do unnecessary work for these publishing contacts, who change jobs like every 10 minutes. You could self-publish, come back and ask a question about that and, oh, I will have thoughts. Also, co-sign on the royalties, you’ll want something more than that for all your hard work. Publishing is a strange industry, but people do make it happen. Good luck!
How do I get a subscription to that independent magazine on tomatoes? Very interested.
I’m a little sad there isn’t a documentary on tomatoes in New Jersey. There should be!
I think it’s fine for you not to get an advance from the commissioning person right now, but you should definitely get, in addition to an agreement to reimburse expenses and a kill fee if the project does not sell (or, as you mention, the rights to try to sell the book yourself if the original person can’t) either an agreed-upon flat fee when the book sells, or a percentage of whatever advance she winds up getting at the sale time, as well as a royalty share. Sars is right that a royalty share only does not present you with a great chance of seeing any money (with the possible exception of a deal more like what you would normally see in self-publishing or digital-only publishing, with a smaller or no advance and a higher royalty share). This blog post also has some useful advice on such agreements: http://www.copylaw.org/p/drafting-negotiating-collaboration_07.html
A thing I know about! As elissa says, most nonfiction book deals are done on a proposal and samples. There are many reasons for this, but one of them is we on the publisher side often say “love the idea, but it needs a new writer”. Not to say your writing isn’t great, but I’d hate to see you write a whole book only to get nothing out of it at the end.
I second Sars on finding a literary lawyer to help you through the details of this. When I’ve worked on non-fiction and/or celebrity books in the past, the ghostwriter will often be paid by the “author” from their advance (but often don’t receive royalties). Since you don’t get royalties until the advance money has been earned back, I’d hate to see this book make a successful sale and you still not see any money. Also, make sure you’re specific about what royalties you receive–is it a percentage of the whole, or a percentage of her cut? Keep in mind, even in a best case scenario, no money is coming your way from this project for at least three years. So I’m a bit leery about her not paying you anything for your time.
I have no pertinent legal advice to add, but Sars, I would watch the shit out of Clancy & King. I’m assuming it would be kind of a Military-Murder-She-Wrote, plus vampires and crap? Draw up some contracts with NBC, girl.
Lawyer here, though not of the variety you want. Not a specialist in your field, but I emphatically second Sars’s point about getting a lawyer who’s done this before and working out all of the issues beforehand. While it may feel weird doing so beforehand, it’ll feel way worse if you get screwed over later and end up wondering if you should sue or let it go. If she’s not okay with making everything up front, there’s something suspicious. Plus, you will need to work out ownership of the copyrights and that requires things in writing.
Go forth and lawyer up. :-)
I ditto getting a lawyer. There’s something about the idea of having an entire manuscript before you look for a publisher when you’ve already been looking that makes me feel sort of hesitant. Not that I think she’d try to screw you over, but it seems like a lot of work for an uncertain outcome.
Definitely get a lawyer – they’ll know the best way to secure everyone’s participation.
It’s rare to shop a finished manuscript. If your person doesn’t already have an agent and an interested publisher, you’re going to need a proposal, because the days of over-the-transom submissions are long gone.
Also- royalties are paid quarterly, at best (and many publishers only pay twice a year), and only after the advance has been earned back. If you’re working on a percentage of the royalties alone, it could be years before you see any money, if ever (not every book earns out). I strongly suggest a contract spelling out exactly what is expected of you and the compensation you’ll getting, so there are no surprises down the road.
*you’re getting*… sigh
Cannot support the recommendations for getting a lawyer strongly enough – it’s easy to get one to look things over and make sure that everything’s in writing beforehand. It’s…kinda harder to fix things when something’s already gone wrong and there’s nothing concrete written down about who has the rights to what.
Also – and I suspect the lawyer you contact may back this up – I would really strongly recommend getting an advance or SOME form of compensation besides just royalties (which may never materialize, if the book doesn’t sell). Yes, you say you’ve got the time to work on it – but that’s not the point. The point is, your time is *worth* something! Your contacts and standing are worth something! The time you end up spending on this book could be time you could’ve spent doing other things, like eating cookies and looking at pictures of cute animals – or stuff that pays you money so that you can get cookies and internet.
I’m not sure of their geographic reach, but there is an organization in Chicago called Lawyers for the Creative Arts that provides pro bono legal services to artists in all fields. Might be something to check out.
http://www.law-arts.org/index.html