Agreement Between Publisher and Author of a Book to Publish the BookAgreement made on the ___ day of __________, 20___, between and
________________________ , a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the
state of ______________, with its principal office located at ________________________________________________ (street address, city, county,
state, zip code) , referred to herein as Publisher, and ________________________ of
________________________________________________ (street address, city, county,
state, zip code) , referred to herein as Author.
I. Sale of Right to Publish Author hereby grants, sells, and assigns to Publisher the exclusive right to publish
in the English language in book form in the United States the material now entitled ________________________________________________ (title of book), hereinafter
referred to as the Work, which title may be changed only by mutual consent.
II. Copyright Publisher agrees simultaneously with the publication of the Work to copyright it
in the name of Author in the United States. Publisher shall imprint in each copy on the
title page or its reverse side, the notice Copyright _______________ (year of first
publication) by Author .
III. Warranty Author represents that Author is the sole proprietor of the Work; the Work does
not infringe any existing copyright; the Work has not previously been published in book
form; and to the best of Author's knowledge, the Work contains no libelous or other
unlawful matter. Author shall indemnify Publisher against any claim, demand, or
recovery finally sustained in any proceedings brought against Publisher by reason of any
violation of proprietary right or copyright, or any unlawful matter contained in the Work.
Publisher shall notify Author of any such claim, demand, or action and give Author such
reasonable time as the exigencies of the situation will permit, to meet such claim or to
undertake its defense.
IV. Delivery of Manuscript Author shall deliver to Publisher on or before ___________ (date) a complete
copy of the Work. If Author fails to deliver the manuscript on or before the above-
prescribed date, the time for Publisher to publish the Work may be extended by mutual
consent.
V. Proofs
Publisher shall submit proofs of the Work which Author shall read, correct, and
return within ______ days of receipt. The proofs shall conform to Author's final
manuscript except as altered by mutual agreement and shall have been proofread by
Publisher. Any additional expense incurred by reason of changes from or additions to
Author's final manuscript requested by Author, in excess of ____% of the original cost of
composition, shall be charged against the first installments of royalties due under this
agreement; provided that Publisher shall promptly furnish an itemized statement of such
additional expenses and make available at its office the corrected proofs for inspection.
VI. Publication Publisher agrees to publish the work without changes, additions, or eliminations
in or from the text at its own expense in such format as Publisher deems best suited to its
sale, at a catalogue retail price of not less than $_________ per copy, in cloth style, on or
before ___________ (date). Should Publisher fail to publish the work by that date, all
rights granted to Publisher under this agreement shall terminate at the option of Author
and revert to Author. Such option may be exercised by posting a notice to that effect
addressed to Publisher, by certified mail, after the default. In the event of delay caused by
strikes, fires, or other contingencies beyond Publisher's control, the publication may be
postponed accordingly.
VII. Advance and Royalties
A. On the execution of this contract Publisher shall pay Author $________ as
an advance on account of royalties earned by any edition of the Work published by
Publisher under its imprint. No part of such advance shall be repayable in any event.
B. The royalties shall be based on the catalogue retail price of all copies sold,
except as provided in Section VIII. Publisher shall pay Author a royalty of ____% on the
first _________ (number) copies; _____% on the next ________ (number) copies; and
_____% on all copies of the Work over ________ (number) copies actually sold, not
including copies given to Author, travelers' samples, damaged copies, and copies given
away (but not for resale) for the purpose of aiding the sale of the Work and for review.
VIII. Variance in Royalties
A. All countries other than the United States shall be considered an open
market for the distribution and sale of the regular edition of the Work in the English
language only; Publisher may sell the Work in such market and shall pay the Author a
royalty of _____% of its actual charges for sales so made by it, without deduction for
discounts and bad debts.
B. Publisher, with the written consent of Author, may license to recognized
book clubs the right to publish an edition of the Work for distribution to its members, and
shall pay to Author ____% of the net proceeds of the sale.
C. Where the discount to wholesale or retail distributors or booksellers in the
United States is more than _____% on sales of ____________ (number) copies or more,
author shall receive a royalty of _____% less than the rate stated in this agreement; and
with each additional _____% discount, the royalties shall be further reduced by an
additional ________%. In no case, however, shall the royalties be less than ______% of
those stipulated in Section VII.
D. On all copies sold as remainders at a discount of _____% or more from
the retail price, but above the actual cost of manufacture, Author's royalties shall be based
on the price actually received by Publisher; no remaindering, however, shall take place
until ______ months after publication of the Work.
E. Neither Author nor Publisher shall grant permission to publish extracts
from the Work without the consent of the other to the contract terms of such permission.
If consent is given and an extract shall consist of less than ________ words, Author and
Publisher shall share equally the net amount received; if the selection shall be over _____
words Author shall receive ______% of the net amount.
G. On copies sold direct to customers through the media of mail order,
coupon advertising, or by mail circularization, the royalty shall be ____% of the amount of Publisher's charges, with no discount for bad debts.
IX. Soft Cover Edition No edition of the Work to retail at less than $________ shall be issued without the
consent of Author in writing. Should such an edition be issued by Publisher, Publisher
shall pay Author a royalty of _____% of the retail price. Should the right to issue such an
edition be granted to a second publisher, Publisher shall endeavor to arrange terms with
the second publisher that will permit a royalty payment to Author of _____% of the retail
price, and the royalty payment to Author shall in no case be less than _____% of the retail
price.
X. Accounting and Payments
A. Publisher shall, within _____ months after publication, pay to Author all
royalties that shall have accrued on sales made before publication (less advances) and
shall accompany the payment with a statement as provided in this Section.
B. Publisher agrees to render __________________ (e.g., semiannual)
statements on the first day of __________ (e.g. month) and of ___________ (e.g. month)
in each year, showing an account of sales up to the first day of the second month
preceding the accounting dates. Payments then due Author shall be simultaneously made
on those dates. The statements shall show in detail the number of copies printed, the
number bound, the number spoiled, the number given away, the number sold in each
category, and the number on hand.
C. If Publisher shall default in the delivery of statements or in making cash
settlements as required in Paragraph B of this Section and shall neglect or refuse to
deliver the statements or to make the settlements within ______ days after notice and
demand posted by registered mail to Publisher, this agreement may be terminated at the
option of Author on the expiration of ______ days.
D.In the event of any sales or licenses that Publisher may be entitled to make
to another party under the terms of this agreement, Publisher shall pay to Author his
share of the monies resulting from such sales or licenses within ____ days after receipt by
Publisher; Author at his option may demand that such third party, or parties, make
payment directly to him of Author's share, and this clause shall be sufficient authority to
the third party for making the payment.
E. Author or his authorized representative shall have the right, on written
request, to examine Publisher's books of account to the extent they relate to the Work; the
examination shall be at the cost of author unless errors of accounting amounting to ___%
or more of the total sums paid to Author shall be found to his disadvantage, in which case
the cost shall be borne by Publisher.
F. In the event of overpayments other than unearned advances, Publisher
may deduct the amount of the overpayments from any further earnings accruing to
Author on account of the work.
XI. Free Copies Publisher agrees to present to Author _____ free copies of the work immediately
on publication and to permit Author to purchase further copies for his personal use (but
not for resale) at _____% of the retail price.
XII. Rights Reserved to Author All rights in the Work now existing or that may come into existence, except those
specifically granted to Publisher in this agreement, are reserved to Author for Author's
use at all times. If Author shall sell the motion picture or televised motion picture rights
to the work, he shall have the right to grant to the licensee or purchaser of picture rights
the privilege to publish in any form excerpts and summaries of the book, of the
dramatization, and of the motion picture version of the book, to be used for the
advertising and exploitation of the motion picture or televised motion picture based on
the book or dramatization, but in no case shall such excerpts or summary exceed ____%
of the length of the Work.
XIII. Termination A. If Publisher at any time during the existence of this agreement shall fail to
comply with or fulfill any of the terms or conditions of this agreement, Author may at his
option terminate this agreement by posting to Publisher a notice of termination by
certified mail, and then all rights granted by Author to Publisher shall revert to him; in
that event all payments previously made to Author shall remain his property, all,
however, without prejudice to any other remedies that Author may have against
Publisher. These provisions shall not apply to instances in which automatic terminations
of this agreement are elsewhere provided in this agreement. The provisions of this
paragraph are subject, nevertheless, to other termination conditions provided in
Paragraph C of Section X.
B.On the termination of this agreement under any provision, Publisher shall
return to Author all property originally furnished by Author, and Author shall have the
right to purchase from Publisher the plates of the work at their metal value and any
remaining copies or sheets at a price not to exceed ____% of the manufacturing costs. If
Author shall not have so acquired the plates, copies, or sheets within _____ days after the
effective date of such termination, Publisher shall have the right to melt the plates, and to
sell the remaining copies at cost or less without payment to the author of royalties on the
sales. No such sale by Publisher, however, shall transfer the right of publication and sale
of the work to any Purchaser of the remaining copies or sheets. In any event, however,
Publisher's privilege to sell such remaining copies shall expire _____ months after the
effective termination date and then all remaining copies shall be destroyed.
C. If the Work is at any time out of print, except as a result of emergency
conditions beyond Publisher's control, Author may give notice to Publisher that it is out
of print and in that event, if Publisher shall not within ___ months bring out a new
printing of the work, then all rights granted under this agreement shall terminate and
revert to Author automatically and without notice. If, however, the work is on sale in an
inexpensive edition pursuant to the provision of Section IX, it shall not be considered to
be out of print.
D. If a petition in bankruptcy is filed by or against Publisher, or if Publisher
is adjudged insolvent by any court, or if a trustee or a receiver of any property of
Publisher is appointed in any suit or proceeding by or against Publisher, or if Publisher
makes an assignment for the benefit of creditors or takes the benefit of any bankruptcy or
insolvency act, or if Publisher liquidates its business for any cause whatever, Author
may, at Author's option, terminate this agreement, and the termination shall then be
effective as of the date of the filing of the petition, adjudication, appointment, assignment
or declaration, or commencement of liquidation, and all rights granted in this agreement
shall then revert to Author. As a condition of the making of this agreement, Author
acquires the right, on such termination, to purchase at his option the plates, remaining
copies, and sheets, all as provided in Paragraph B of this Section. If Author's option to
purchase the properties is not exercised within ____ days of the occurrence referred to,
Publisher, trustee, receiver, assignee, or other such official may melt the plates and sell
the copies or sheets remaining on hand subject only to payment to author of the royalties
provided in this agreement. If Author desires to purchase the books and sheets, and the
trustee, receiver, or other named official deems the price fixed at ____% of the
manufacturing costs to be below the fair market value, then such value shall be
determined by arbitration.
XIV. Assignment This agreement shall be binding on and inure to the benefit of the executors,
administrators, and assigns of author and the successors and assignees of Publisher; but
no assignment, voluntary or by operation of law, shall be binding on either of the parties
without the written consent of the other party to this agreement; provided, however, that
author may assign or transfer any moneys due or to become due to author under this
agreement.
XV. WaiverA waiver of any breach of this agreement or of any of its terms or conditions shall
not be deemed a waiver of any repetition of the breach or in any way affect any other
term or condition of this agreement; no waiver shall be valid or binding unless the same
shall be in writing and signed by the party so waiving.
XVI. Mandatory Arbitration
Any dispute under this Agreement shall be required to be resolved by binding
arbitration of the parties hereto. If the parties cannot agree on an arbitrator, each party
shall select one arbitrator and both arbitrators shall then select a third. The third
arbitrator so selected shall arbitrate said dispute. The arbitration shall be governed by the
rules of the American Arbitration Association then in force and effect.
XVII. Choice of Law This agreement shall be construed according to the laws of the State of
________________________.
XVIII. NOTICES All notices required under this agreement shall be directed to the respective
parties at the addresses set forth above and shall be deemed delivered when mailed.
WITNESS our signatures as of the day and date first above stated.
________________________
________________________ By___________________________ AUTHOR (Name & Office in Corporation)