Thinking about ways to get your video game, book or music out into the world? You need a publishing agreement. What happens when you have one in front of you? We understand that the specifics of publishing agreements are often overwhelming. In this post, we will explore the key considerations that you need to consider before entering into publishing agreements.

What questions do I need to think about?

A good publishing agreement will cover:

  • rights ownership
  • royalties and payment
  • editorial control
  • marketing and promotion
  • termination

Ownership rights in publishing agreements

It’s important to specify who owns the rights to the published work. You need to think about whether you want to grant an exclusive or non-exclusive right to your work. If you define the rights you wish to give to the publisher upfront, you can avoid any potential disputes and make sure that your interests stay protected.

Part of this exercise also includes how you want to protect your intellectual property rights. As an author, you don’t always want to lose the rights to your work entirely. You want to ensure that you have a say in how the publisher uses your work.  You should also be thinking about how you want your work distributed.

Royalties and payment terms

You want to realise the financial fruits of your hard work. It is vital that any publishing agreement that you sign includes clear payment terms and outlines when the publisher pays you and how much the publisher pays you. A good publishing agreement will also clearly outline whether you receive royalties from the sales of your published work and what percentage you receive.

Define who gets editorial control in the publishing agreement

The last thing you want to see is a publisher using your idea in the wrong way. You’ve always had a vision for your video game or book and you want to make sure that you always have a say in its direction. A good publishing agreement balances the editing rights between the author and the publisher.

Define your marketing and promotion requirements

You want your published work to succeed. Without a good marketing and promotional plan, your work won’t go very far. You need to ensure that you clearly define how marketing and promotions will work and who is responsible for it.

Terminating the publishing agreement

All contracts come to an end eventually. A party’s reasons for terminating the publishing agreement might be different but we need to make sure that we know what happens when a contract ends. As an author, you want to make sure that all your rights in the work reverts back to you when the contract ends.

You also want to make sure that you can terminate under the right circumstances. A good termination clause will highlight each circumstance either party can terminate and what happens if a party breaches the agreement.

Actions you can take next

Whether you want to publish the next greatest rock album, the next great detective novel or just create the next interactive adventure, a good publishing agreement will benefit everyone involved. Here are some actions you can take next:

  • protect your rights and make informed decisions on publishing agreements by consulting with us.
  • manage your relationship with publishers by asking us to draft your contracts.
  • ensure that a publishing agreement meets your requirements by asking us to review it.