Wednesday 15 May 2013

Contracts (and the mystery that goes with them.)
 

What does a contract do for us writers? With DC Thomson, it seems to be an acceptance of the book followed by a remittance advice. With large print buyers, there is a contract that spells out the payment, the length of licence to publish and the number of copies they plan to publish. As they are a charity, Ulverscroft also state their plan for publication in large print and details of the writers name and where it will appear.

With other companies, contracts can be extremely long and detailed, running into numerous pages. The details include such things as guarantee that the work does not contain anything that can cause problems to anyone ... nothing libellous or obscene and a whole lot more besides. Reading through the fine print is important before signing but I must admit, reading it once was enough for me! With this company, I now give it a quick glance and then sign. One important detail however was a list of countries in which they intend to publish. As I wanted to publish in USA, it was important not to sign away those rights.

Some companies are happy with electronic contracts, with the facility to sign digitally. It certainly is very easy but once more, these contracts may hide something you don’t want to sign away.
 

There is a great deal of discussion about changes that may be made in our contract by DC Thomson. It may be just rumour but it is now looking more certain. They are forbidding us to sell our actual pocket novels on for large print. As the large print publishers don’t seem to have editors on their staff, it looks a bit like the end for us. I can sort of understand DCT not wanting their work to be sold on but it puts us in a difficult position for the future. They do not pay enough for this to be the only income we get from our sales and large print and subsequent PLR make it much more worthwhile. It may well be that large print companies will take manuscripts directly but we shall have to wait and see.

Watch this space!

12 comments:

  1. It is a worrying time for us all, Chrissie. I've heard today that one large print publisher (I'd rather not name names at the moment) who I contacted with my own concerns, is looking into this issue, so things may not be as dark as they appear. I will share information, of course, when I have it. Meanwhile I'd suggest anyone receiving a new contract from DCT gets legal advice about it, before signing.

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    1. You are right Sally. I suspect the large print folks will have to look into the subject carefully. I also suspect that DCT will be damaging their own writer base.

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  2. Hi I belong to the Society of Authors who provide a service looking over contracts but I agree they can be horribly complicated and almost unreadable. Actually, they fill me with terror and are one of the few reasons I would get an agent. Up till now I haven't needed one but if things get any more complicated I may well consider searching a bit harder for one! These are indeed worrying times. Cara

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  3. Interesting post, Chrissie. Contracts are a minefield and we need to tread carefully through and around them! I tend to agree DCT will find themselves losing many of their prolific writers if they follow through on these rumored changes.

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    1. I was going to join the Society of authors but have never done so. Maybe it will soon be time!
      I do think there is a lot of extra stuff in some contracts but as long as I can read them and make some sort of sense, maybe I'll continue!

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  4. Has anyone yet received a new contract from DCT? I haven't and I haven't heard of anyone who has. I'm still waiting to hear from Tracey Steel on my latest submission. I do have an MW pocket novel out on 23rd, Night Music. I'm not sure whether to send it to Sarah Quirk or not. Perhaps there will be developments this week.

    Margaret

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    1. I'd have thought you should send it to Sarah. If you haven't had a new contract, you've probably been paid? then it hasn't affected you yet!
      I'm also waiting for Tracey to accept or refuse a novella. She isn't usually this long but she says she's been busy on the magazine, whatever that means.

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  5. I got copies of my novella today, Chrissie, so I'm sending it off to Sarah early next week. I hope she accepts it. Glad to learn I'm not the only one having to wait to hear from Tracey. I was 'spammed' which was frustrating so now I have to telephone her every time I send something. At least she knows my name!

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  6. Good luck Margaret! Maybe we're all worrying unnecessarily and the sun will come out tomorrow ... sorry. Awful song!

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  7. A very worrying time for writers of pocket novels. Thank you for highlighting it, Chrissie.
    If future DCT contracts no longer allow authors to sell work on to large print publishers I doubt if I would write any more of them. It's that extra fee from large prints and the subsequent PLR income that makes writing the pockets financially viable for me.
    Yes, we can still kindle the novels, but if my experience is anything to go by, these gentle DHT romances don't really sell well on Amazon. I have nine novels in my self-published ebook portfolio, and the slightly more graphic murder mysteries seem to be what my readers want.
    Like the rest of us, I'll be watching this situation with interest. x

    PS: I'm also waiting to hear from Tracey about my latest submission. It 's comforting to know that I'm not alone.

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  8. I think some folks have written about it on their blogs too. I hope the editors realise what we're doing in holding back on sending in more stuff. I'm currently writing for two other publishers, having left the one I was doing for them. Maggie already asked for loads more changes and I was fed up with that.

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  9. Just squeezing in before Carol puts up her new post to mention that there is an excellent, comprehensive account of those new DCT contracts, plus a response from Shirley Blair, on the wonderful Womagwriter blog.
    Sadly it is still not looking good for those of us who sell on our pocket novels to large print publishers.

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