Book Publishing Agreements

You're excited! Your literary baby is done. It's freshly printed and hot off the press. You are ready to get the book in the stores. But before you blindly drop off your books, make sure you employ a few good business ethics.

Contact the book store and ask them if you can submit your book title and who the contact person is. Before dropping off the book, go inside the store, and survey the type of customers they have in the store. Check out the store titles and see if your book title will fit in with the current book catalog. Do you think the customers that are buying books there currently, will be interested in your title as well? Do you see yourself doing a booksigning in this particular store? What about the store manager, what type of vibe do you get from them? When you have surveyed the store and have felt good about the customers and your book title fitting in with the stores current selections, then you should approach the acquisitions manager. Be prepared to ask questions that should help you determine if there's a fit between your title and the store.

Who should receive my book title?
How long will it take to receive notification on my book being selected?
What type of agreement are we entering - co-signment? or Other?
What are the details of the agreement and is it in writing?
How many books do you need from me?
What type of book sales reports will I receive - monthly? Quarterly?

Before you agree to anything, it is always suggested to get an agreement in writing, that way if you do not receive any money from them on any book sales, then you can legally get your money back. Although, you may think that an agreement may turn off a bookseller, it's good business sense to get it in writing. This ensures that both you and the bookseller are on the same page for how the book sales will be paid, what percentage the store will receive, and the money you will receive. When the book sale reports will be distributed and if that will be on a monthly or quarterly basis.

There are smaller chains of stores that do not want to use agreements. It is up to you to decide on whether or not you want to enter such an agreement. I am not saying that you must have an agreement on each case you make an agreement to do book sales, however, more times than not, you might be stiffed if there is not a clear written document with stated objectives for the author and the bookstore. There may be some reputable stores that may tell you that they will pay you a certain percentage on the book sales and they do. But there are others that may not be good with business practices and if you make a verbal agreement, they may forget that they told you a certain thing, and then with no paper trial you do not have the proof to protect your investment. What do you think is going to hold up in court - a verbal agreement or a signed agreement with both your signatures?

Larger chains may want you to have a distributor for your book (Barnes and Nobles, Borders, and Waldenbooks) may want you to submit a vendor application and to have a distributor like Ingram or other suggested distributor who will do the book fulfillment. Check with Ingram, Lightning Source, and other distributors on their specifications for book fulfillment.

After you drop the books off, sign that agreement, you should keep in touch with the book seller. If they agreed to sending you checks by the 10th of the month, gently call them or email them for status. It is your right. Approach this with a business sense. Look for those book sale reports. If you don't receive them, call or write for such a report.

You might wonder what is a traditional cosignment deal with a bookseller? Most will receive between 60% and you as the author will receive 40% on book sales. They obviously receive more because they are selling your book in their book store. This is another reason why many authors opt for direct books sales because the return on the investment is a higher. But do not let that stop you. The bookstore can be a great place to get new readers for your books and that's what you want. The exposure can be priceless.

I know many of you may be thinking you don't have the time to follow up on the book, or whether it has been accepted by the bookseller. Make sure you have prepared a nice press kit with the book, an author's bio, book reviews, your contact information on business card, and any other information such as a book sales sheet. If you cannot personally follow up on the book, designate a person to call the bookstore and find out the book status. Send the bookstore a letter via postal mail or contact them via email.

The best advice I could give is to not blindly drop off books. I can't tell you how much money I have lost personally because I was too excited to be my own advocate. You must be your advocate and be able to protect your work. If you work is important to you, then this is a must. Do not be too excited to not protect your work as it took you time and effort to publish the book. While the book store is selling books and making money off your project, legally, you do have to keep business in mind. Not only because you lose money but you'll have to pay taxes on the book sale itself so why allow someone to make money on the book without getting a return on your investment.

Your book is an investment in your business - you should look at your book as a business and it is! Believe me, those book stores are making their monies, so that's why should you make yours. Written book agreements can save time, heart-ache, and frustration. Verbal agreements are only that, verbal. You may forget, they may forget. Be smart about your product, as its important and you definitely want that to be something valued, so value your book by protecting it with a written and legally binded agreement.

The agreement may be important to those who want to protect their work, avoid any miscommunications, or mishaps in regards to receiving payment for books that have been sold on their behalf. The book publishing business is an investment, and it should be one you want to protect. Only, you as the author, can determine whether or not you want to protect your book.