Welcome back to our Tuesday segment, where we’ll be revisiting some of our most popular posts from the last few years. What’s stayed the same? And what’s changed? We’ll be updating you on the facts, and taking a new (and hopefully refreshing) angle on a few timeless classics of Self Publishing Advisor.
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[ Originally posted: September 12, 2008 ]
As we discussed previously, property rights in book publishing is one important consideration in finding the path that best meets your goals.
In all forms of art—painting, woodwork, sculpture, writing—ownership exists. At many levels. A painter paints a picture. Owns the picture. Sells the picture. A sculptor molds a bust. Owns the bust. Sells the bust.
Ownership changes but the picture does not. The bust does not.
In the Traditional sense, authors sell their work to publishing houses for an advance on royalties. Those publishers then, owning the material, can do whatever they want with your writing—cut paragraphs, chapters, change the title even.
Imagine crafting a beautiful landscape only to have someone paint over it.
The good news is many custom self publishing options currently offer non-exclusive contracts now. The non-exclusive part keeps authors the driver’s seat and preserves the essence and origination of the writing. It’s your work, thoughts, ideas, and stories, after all.
Have fun and keep writing!
– by Karl Schroeder
So what is a non-exclusive contract, anyway? And what are the pros and cons?
A lot of my friends are great authors who really pour their hearts and souls into their work and I am truly lucky. Why? Because having worked in the industry for so long on both ends of the self-publishing process–author and publisher–and focused both on strict marketing and sales to careful copyright consideration, I have learned a great deal and get to help these, my friends, out.
In short, non-exclusivity means you are not locked into an exclusive contract; you are free to cancel or publish your book elsewhere at the same time.
Here’s an example: say you have been publishing your book with any given self-publishing company for a while, and you have an opportunity to get thousands of copies of your book printed cheaply by a different publisher or printer, either a traditional publishing house or another self-publishing company with better rates. You still want to keep selling your book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble using your existing book distribution system–one ought not to waste an effective system, or already printed books–but you just don’t want to pass up the opportunity to sell thousands more for a better price. Luckily, you can do both–that’s the point of non-exclusive contracts!
Now, if a traditional publishing house discovers your book after you’ve already self-published, what happens next? Very likely, your new publishers will want you to sell your book to them in return for exclusive rights. They would want to make sure that no other publisher or printer would be able to sell or print your book. You won’t violate their contract if you already have a non-exclusive contract, but you won’t be able to sign yourself onto a new one once you’ve committed to the traditional publisher.
Generally speaking, though, you won’t have to worry about the timing. Most self-published books are not picked up by traditional publishers … but nothing is impossible, and you ought to be prepared for anything!
Thanks for reading. If you have any other ideas, I’d love to hear them. Drop me a line in the comments section below and I’ll respond as quickly as I can. ♠
Self Publishing Advisor 