Hello Everyone,

We’re back with our second installment in our four part online bookstore series. In this installment, we talk about your contract with your publishing house and how this applies to your book re-sales.

Lesson 2: Don’t Violate Your Contract

As part of their contract with an author, most publishing houses provide a limited number of free book copies. The publisher also allows authors to purchase books directly from them at discounted rates, specifically for use as giveaways and for re-sale at speaking events.

According to literary agent Janet Grant, most contracts have restrictions about where and when you can re-sell these books. If you’re selling them directly on your web site, you could be competing with your publisher’s sales, and could be considered in breach of contract.

Here’s what Janet has to say:

“Authors need to check their publishing contracts before rushing to sell books on their web sites. A standard contract is likely to place restrictions on where you have permission to sell your book. For example, this statement appears in a contract that’s on my desk right now to be reviewed: “The Author shall have the right to purchase, on a nonreturnable basis, additional copies of the Work at 50% off the catalog price plus any shipping or freight charges, for personal use only and not for resale…[italics mine].”

Now, in the past with this publisher, I’ve negotiated an addendum to give the author an opportunity to do some selling of the book. This is what the publisher has agreed to: “The Author may purchase quantities of the Work if available from the Publisher’s inventory, to sell and promote at the venue of Author’s speaking engagements and conferences only, at the following discounts off the cover price: [discounts are listed]. These copies shall be sold under the following conditions: Copies are non-returnable. No royalties shall be paid for such copies. The Author may not sell the Work to any account serviced by the Publisher or any of its distributors or which competes with any such account or distributor…” [italics mine].

What is the publisher saying? That it doesn’t want its authors to compete with any venues through which the publisher might want to sell the book. So, when you sell your book on your web site, you’re competing with Amazon, Christian bookstores, CBD, etc. The publisher isn’t putting this qualifier into the contract because it’s trying to grab every book sale from authors, but because the publisher wants authors to support the avenues by driving business to the avenues that are selling significant copies so those avenues succeed and can sell more books for more authors.

Bottom line: You need to keep your word, which you gave when you signed your contract.

So check your contract. If you don’t understand the restrictions placed on your ability to sell your book, have a conversation with your publisher. Some publishers might not mind web site sales, but others care a great deal–their contracts say so.”

If you’d like more information about the reasons selling books from your web site could work against you, click here to read Part 3!

And, in the meantime, remember:

Sell your work…not your soul

Posted on December 4th, 2007 by admin
Filed under: Web Wisdom