http://www.fresh-books.com/blog/archives/2005/06/former_for_dummies_editor_rules_roost_at_rodale.html Literary Agency Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:30:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 http://www.fresh-books.com/blog/archives/2005/06/former_for_dummies_editor_rules_roost_at_rodale.html/comment-page-1#comment-38 Michael C. Thomsett Sat, 18 Jun 2005 02:07:43 +0000 http://blog.fresh-books.com/2005/06/10/former-for-dummies-editor-rules-roost-at-rodale/#comment-38 Matt offers great advice here ... also, I would recommend every author cross out the infamous "cross collateralization clause" - a mouthful, but important stuff. This is usually some reference like, "Author agrees to that any amounts due on this or any other agreements may be withheld from earnings ..." This means that if you write two books and one doesn't earn out its advance, the publisher can apply earnings from the second book to the first - not a good deal for you at all. It allows publishers to transfer their market risk to you, the author. But it's not fair. It is possible the publisher will break even or make a profit even if the author has not "earned out" the advance (meaning royalties meet and exceed your advance payment). So why should you agree to give the publisher more? Just my two cents ... Matt offers great advice here … also, I would recommend every author cross out the infamous “cross collateralization clause” – a mouthful, but important stuff. This is usually some reference like, “Author agrees to that any amounts due on this or any other agreements may be withheld from earnings …” This means that if you write two books and one doesn’t earn out its advance, the publisher can apply earnings from the second book to the first – not a good deal for you at all. It allows publishers to transfer their market risk to you, the author. But it’s not fair. It is possible the publisher will break even or make a profit even if the author has not “earned out” the advance (meaning royalties meet and exceed your advance payment). So why should you agree to give the publisher more? Just my two cents …

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