Posted in News on 18/11/22
It is natural for authors to focus on a book contract’s financial terms and overlook other aspects.
Here, I want to highlight five non-financial aspects of a contract.
Your priorities may not be mine, but whatever they are, it’s important to identify them before signing.
My five questions.
Editing a book is like painting a room. First you need to prep the walls, then add an undercoat and only after that the final coats.
In my post Small, Medium or Large, I explain how publishers’ editorial processes vary.
Some publishers use the term ‘edit’ for the final copy-editing process, where a copy editor checks the text for consistency, accuracy, legibility, spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Other publishers subdivide editorial work into consecutive stages: a structural edit, then a line edit and, finally, a copy-edit.
Whatever the process, it’s important to avoid having the same person during all three stages.
This is not just because these processes require different skills.
It is also because if an editor has worked on a typescript from the outset, they risk contracting ‘word-blindness’ and are thus more prone to miss errors and inconsistencies. They might compare the book to its former, rougher state and rest on their laurels, rather than thinking of how much work there is still to do.
Sometimes a publisher uses editorial software like the impressive PerfectIt (www.intelligentediting.com). This software, a trade secret among professional editors, focuses on consistency. Its instant transformation of references or a bibliography is a thing of wonder.
While PerfectIt automates fiddly time-consuming tasks, fact-checking, wordiness or nuances of tone are outside its scope.
It cannot replace a live, human editor.
At Henley Hall Press, we consider editing the most important building block in the publishing process.
To help smooth the editing process:
Where possible, avoid the mixed blessings of being edited by an intern!
‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ is patently nonsense. Readers do. Especially on Amazon.
Most book contracts contain a clause that promises to consult you on covers. This includes the title and blurb as well as design.
You might also see in your contract a phrase such as ‘approval not to be unreasonably withheld’.
This caveat is because cover decisions are taken in tandem with a publisher’s salesforce, who gather feedback from booksellers. If booksellers and salespeople feel a cover does not do a book justice, they are less likely to rally round it. So do try to welcome their feedback.
The best time to secure trade feedback is before your book is published, not afterwards.
A bad title kills sales.
So be guided by your publisher, the salesforce and current marketing trends.
Search the current Amazon bestseller list for books like yours.
Remember that subtitles are your friends when adding the all-essential keywords to help your book be found online and through bibliographic data.
Book contracts rarely include consultation on inside-page design.
As a commissioned author, I was underwhelmed when my proofs arrived. I felt as if the page design had been generated by automated software on an off day.
Negotiations with the publisher having failed, I turned to the contracts expert at the Society of Authors, only to learn that because it is not usual to include consultation on page design in book contracts, nothing could be done.
Does this matter?
A book’s cover may be the most important design element for attracting readers, but page design – particularly for books bought in bookshops – can also determine a sale.
When I spot an ugly font or tiny font size, cramped or unbalanced margins, or the absence of running heads in non-fiction books, I move swiftly on.
I remember the addictive site Web Pages That Suck. I wish we had the same for page design.
At Henley Hall Press I have added a clause giving consultation rights on page design.
Most contracts include an ‘option’ clause giving the publisher first refusal on your next book(s).
But what if this is your first book with a publisher and you don’t know how the process will turn out?
An option clause sometimes makes sense, for example when a book is part of a series.
Or where the publisher invests in an author’s first book and helps launch that author’s career. Publishers may only see financial benefits with the second book.
But automatic option clauses are outdated.
All else being equal, if you have a good relationship with a publisher who has published your book well, you’ll want to work with them again.
Conversely, if you, the author, are unhappy, no option clause is enforceable, contract or no contract.
You have written your book. Surely promoting it is the publisher’s job?
Yes and no. Promotion doesn’t work by committee, so your publisher will need to have overall charge of marketing strategy.
However, in today’s competitive publishing climate, publishers and authors need to work together to give books the oxygen of publicity, and thereby sales. Books do not sell themselves.
Bookshop shelf space is increasingly limited and ‘returns’ – a conveyor-belt process whereby books with low sales are moved swiftly on to make room for more recent books – a constant worry.
Add to that, the space for newspaper print review slots shrinks every year.
It means that we publishers need help from you authors to promote your book.
After we have exchanged contracts, we will probe you on your media or other contacts, publicity experience, and your preferences and ideas for marketing.
We bear in mind that not every author is:
For example, we will not set up killer bookshop events where staff are brought in to boost numbers.
Or social media accounts with nothing to say. No forced ‘author platforms’ for authors who bring out the garlic when they hear of social media.
Instead, we identify the marketing areas you enjoy and that play to your strengths. We focus on these to promote your book.
Ask questions before you sign a book contract. You have nothing to lose – even if you don’t achieve everything you wish for, at least you will have flagged key clauses.
If you have questions, do get in touch.
PS: I’ll cover some arcane but important financial clauses in a future post.