Author contract

What is the name of your state? GEorgia

I signed a contract with a publisher that stated they were a traditional publisher. After signing I found out that they were indeed a Print on demand publisher and don't offer the same services that traditional publishers offer. There are a ton of complaints against them AND they have made false statements to their authors. I am trying to get out of this sketchy contract and they are not allowing it.

Where do I go for help? What can I do since there are so many other dissatisfied authors?

Gwen

Perhaps you should let lawyer look over the contract to see if there are any loopholes or clauses left to interpretation. When contractual items are left to interpretation things can become complex. For example, in your post you mentioned that the contract stated that the publisher was a "Traditional Publisher". Now I'm not a proffessional in the field of law but I'm not sure if there is a strict definition for the term "traditional publisher". I would suggest considering a class action suit if there are many authors who feel they have been deceived. Perhaps a court would see the contract as having the intent to decieve. If the intent to deceive was not there than there would not be so many complaints. As well, it would be a good idea from now on to stay away from any contracts in which even one word can be interpreted in more than one way. For example "The abovementioned will provide ample services for blah blah blah" : what degree of service is considered ample? The point of a good contract is to specify terms that are completely definitive in their own right and terms that can be taken very literally. If te terms of a contract don't follow these criteria than the contract is not well written and it is not a contract that you want to be involved with.

I hope this information is of use to you. As an artist and writer myself, it pains me to see a fellow author get "screwed". Good luck and happy writing...

by the way... just in case you haven't already, it will definitely be of good use to study up on the different types of publishing rights in the industry (first North American rights, one time publishing rights, etc) and what they all entail. There are a number of good resources on the internet that can provide this information.

Thanks

thanks for your reply. I appreciate the tips. As for rights, I have a little experience with that area as an editor of a magazine. My problem with the book was in being overly anxious in wanting to see it in print. This particular publisher, and I am sure many others, prey on that fact. I am going to have to have a lawyer look at it to see if there are any loopholes.

Thanks again. Currently I have an agent interested in representing my work so I really do need to get myself out of this one.

Gwen

How much did you give them? You also need to file a complaint with your state attorney general's office so that other authors will not be deceived in the future.

If you have an agent who is willing to look at your work perhaps they might be able to help you, too. Maybe that 15 percent will be motivation enough for the agent to help you get out of that contract. I understand how agents can be, but you never know. Maybe just explaining the situation to the agent will help. They may have even seen something like this before. Best of luck.