“Sometimes, the thing you most wish for is not to be touched.” The quote above comes from the musical Into the Woods and offers a caution that doesn’t apply only to fairy tales . . . it’s important advice for publishing too. It took me ten years, and five full-length manuscripts, to find an agent (and get…
Author: Susan Spann
Protecting Your Merchandising Rights in a Publishing Deal
In publishing, “merchandising” refers to the right(s) to create, market, and sell products (merchandise) based on a book or its characters and settings. A good example is Bertie Botts’ Every-Flavor Beans, which appear in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series and also on many convenience and candy store shelves. Since Rowling invented the candy in her…
To Progress, Sometimes You Must Retreat
Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend (and teach at) the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ 2017 Writing Retreat in Colorado Springs. The retreat took place at the lovely Franciscan Retreat Center, a beautiful, serene location surrounded by mountains and inhabited by lots of fuzzy deer. The attendees, fellow presenters Anita Mumm and Susie…
How to Obtain a Reversion of Publishing Rights (At Least, How to Try)
While wearing my publishing lawyer hat, authors often ask me about how to terminate an old (or unprofitable) publishing contract and obtain a reversion of their rights to the relevant works. Obtaining a reversion of rights can be tricky, and is always dependent on the terms of the contract (and/or the author’s relationship with the publisher). Normally, the contract…
How to Identify & Avoid Some Common “Bad” Publishing Deals
Business-savvy authors must learn to recognize and avoid a wide variety of scams and legal but inappropriate publishing deals. Some of the most dangerous ones remind me of my law school contracts professor’s warning that “a person can make as good a deal, or AS BAD A DEAL, as (s)he is able.” Some publishing offers are very bad deals indeed. Not all…