Publishing contract

by Julie Dunkley
3rd February 2020

hi

I was offered a book publishing contract but they wanted me to pay between £2000 and £4000 depending on my requirements for the book. This would also allow me to keep the rights to my work. Was this a good deal, I can see the theory behind this. if I went for a traditional publishing contract where I wouldn't have to pay anything towards the costs would I loose the rights to my work.

Julie

Replies

Try amazon publishing if it's still there, it might work out better for you

Who knows you might get lucky

Hope this is helpful

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Ken
Breslin
270 points
Developing your craft
Short stories
Fiction
Ken Breslin
06/02/2020

Hi Neil & Johnathon

thankyou for your answers they are greatly appreciated. Firstly I refused the contract about two years ago and it was with Austin McCauley publishers. If I remember right the basic package was just a paperback. If I'd have gone for the top end deal then I would have got hard back and paperback with 12 illustrations, book markers and a mini video, also so many complimentary books etc. But the bonus in all this would have been them selling my book in Waterstones and WH Smith, as well as on line sellers. I am already self-published and was at the time. But I just don't bring the money in. I started off with CreateSpace and Kindle publishing, which is a great resource. Its completely free apart from buying your proof book, which is obviously is cheaper than buying direct. At the time I published these books I wasn't working, so this was brilliant for me. I mean I made lots of losses but that was down to free kindle downloads that I put on for promotion. I have a few of my books on promo at the moment. I don't see this as a loss at all, but as getting my work out there and being viewed by people, which I love. also it had been a great eye- opener as I have learnt from this experience. I knew nothing about the publishing process apart rom what I had learnt from the Writers and Artists year book. Even then I was still a bit naïve about the whole thing. I'm not an expert, but I do feel more confident now about the whole thing. But the only downside with the self-publishing process is that the big shops don't buy off the, now KDP platform. CreatSpace as closed for the books, but you can do audios for your books and also viedoes on there still.

Thanks again

Julie

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Julie
Dunkley
330 points
Practical publishing
Film, Music, Theatre, TV and Radio
Poetry
Short stories
Fiction
Business, Management and Education
Autobiography, Biography and Memoir
Middle Grade (Children's)
Picture Books (Children's)
Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Speculative Fiction
Adventure
Popular science, Social science, Medical Science
Practical and Self-Help
Romance
Julie Dunkley
03/02/2020

I agree with Neil. A contract where you keep the rights sounds to me like a self-pub deal where you pay for the book to be produced and basically that's all you get. I did this with my first story and it cost me precisely £50, including ISBN, library copies and listing in Gardners and Bertrams catalogues.

This was 12 years ago, though, and prices go up. Plus I had to do everything myself - editing, formatting, cover, blurb etc, etc.

So what are they giving you for the £2-4k? I'd pretty much want the moon for that money :)

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Jonathan
Hopkins
6735 points
Practical publishing
Fiction
Historical
Adventure
The writing process
The publishing process
Self-Publishing
Jonathan Hopkins
03/02/2020