Royalties, print vs ebook, print runs, covers, ISBNs, launches, audiobooks and rights — type your question and get a straight answer in seconds. The full detailed report costs less than a cup of coffee: $2.95.
A publishing contract is a bundle of decisions disguised as boilerplate, and the clauses that shape an author's career are usually the ones nobody explains at signing. The core questions are few but decisive: what rights are you granting (print, ebook, audio, translation, film) and for which territories; what percentage are you paid and is it calculated on retail price or the publisher's net; how long does the deal run and when do rights revert if the book stops selling; and what does the option clause commit you to for your next book. Each answer changes the value of the deal more than the headline advance. This guide walks those clauses in plain English — the rights-grab warning signs, the net-versus-retail trap, and the reversion triggers that keep your work from being locked away.
Every publishing deal is a bundle of rights — print, ebook, audio, film, translation, and more — and contracts decide who owns them and for how long. A plain-English guide to the clauses that matter.
Retail royalty pays a percentage of the book's cover price; net royalty pays a percentage of what the publisher actually receives after their discounts and deductions. Because those deductions are often 50% or more, a '10% of net' deal can pay half of a '10% of retail' deal — always ask which base is being used.
A rights grab is a contract clause asking for rights beyond what the publisher will actually exploit — film, merchandise, audio, translation — 'just in case'. Grant narrowly: license the rights the publisher genuinely works (typically print and ebook), and let them negotiate separately for anything else.
Reversion is how your rights come back when the book goes out of print or stops earning. Without clear reversion triggers, a publisher can hold your rights indefinitely while selling nothing — and you cannot take the book elsewhere. Good contracts tie reversion to real availability and sales thresholds.
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