· Prepare, edit, proofread and design your book, create the cover and marketing images, and seek the author’s comments or approval where appropriate.
· Create the Kindle edition, ePub edition, PDF edition (non-fiction only), and at least one print edition.
· Publish your book in paperback print-on-demand, making it available in all markets, to almost all booksellers, worldwide, both online and physical, and to libraries. We may also publish in hardback and large print editions. However, there is no guarantee that individual retailers and libraries will choose to stock the book.
· Publish your book in Kindle and ePub editions and make it available in all markets and to almost all ebook retailers and libraries, worldwide. However, there is no guarantee that individual retailers and libraries will choose to sell the ebook.
· Market your book in the most appropriate ways as determined by the publisher for your particular book. This may include providing review copies to periodicals, review sites and individuals, using advertising and promotions, maintaining the book's presence on retailer sites and Mushroom sites, and so on.
· Twice a year, pay you 10% of the UK retail price of the paperback edition for all print copies sold, and 45% of the revenues received from ebook sales by Mushroom Publishing.
· Provide the completed manuscript by the agreed date.
· Ensure permission has been obtained for any third party in-copyright material in the book.
· Maintain an active social media presence, a blog, or a website, and use them to actively promote the book.
· Consider any reasonable request from Mushroom Publishing to collaborate with marketing, to create additional resources or publications, approve enhancements to the original material, participate in public forums or events, or any other reasonable and appropriate request.
· Update Mushroom Publishing about any relevant changes in circumstances in a timely manner, such as change of address or email address, changes to your author biography, your new publications, media interviews or mentions, awards received, and so on.
AGREEMENT made on [DATE] between [AUTHOR], whose address is [ADDRESS] (hereinafter called the Author), the creator of the work(s) listed in Appendix A (hereinafter called the Work), and Mushroom Publishing of Weston Village, Bath, BA1 4EB, United Kingdom (hereinafter called the Publisher). In consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained, the parties agree as follows:
The Author grants to the Publisher for a term of four (4) years from the date of this contract the sole and exclusive right to publish and sell the Work in all territories in the English language only (World English Language rights) in any printed or digital format deemed suitable by the Publisher (which may include hardback, paperback, print-on-demand, large print, ebook, or any other printed or digital format known or unknown at this time), and to publish excerpts amounting to no more than 40% of the total text in any form for marketing purposes. The Publisher undertakes to publish the Work in electronic formats, both encrypted and unencrypted, with or without “text-to-speech” or equivalent, deemed by the Publisher to be appropriate and suitable at the time of publication, and, at its discretion, to publish in new digital formats as and when they are introduced. The Publisher undertakes not to publish the Work as part of a compilation product, except with the prior written agreement of the Author. This agreement shall be automatically renewed for additional periods of one year each unless terminated by either party by 90 days written notice at any time after the end of the initial term. Upon receiving such 90 days notice to terminate the agreement the Publisher shall have first option to conclude a further agreement with the Author for continued publication rights to the Work on terms to be mutually agreed upon. Should no such agreement be concluded before the expiration of this agreement, all rights to the Work shall automatically revert to the Author on the date of expiration of this agreement.
The Author warrants and represents that this Work is original with the Author and is not currently subject to any other publishing agreement or otherwise available for sale in printed or digital form, that the Author is sole author and proprietor of said Work with full power and right to enter into this agreement and to grant the rights hereby conveyed to the Publisher; that said Work contains no matter which is libellous or defamatory and infringes no right of privacy or copyright; that the Author has not heretofore and will not hereafter during the term of this agreement enter into any agreement or understanding which would conflict with the rights herein granted to the Publisher. It is the author’s responsibility to obtain written permission from previous rights owners as may be required. If the Work includes quotations or illustrations in which the copyright does not belong to the Author then the Author shall obtain written permission for its use from the owners and shall pay any fees or costs involved, and on request the Author will send to the Publisher copies of the permissions obtained and proof of copyright fees paid by the Author. New editions may require permissions to be updated. If the Author shall breach this warranty, the Publisher shall be entitled to injunctive relief in addition to all other remedies which may be available to it. The Author further agrees that the publisher, its distributors, and any retailer will be held harmless against any recovery or penalty finally sustained arising out of this breach of this warranty, and in this event the Author will reimburse the Publisher for all court costs and legal fees incurred. Any out of court settlement of any suit filed jointly against the Author and the Publisher shall be made only by mutual agreement in writing between same.
The Publisher will pay the Author royalties based upon net sales as reported by the Publisher and their distributors as follows: For printed copies: 10% of the paperback retail price. For digital copies: 45% of the proceeds of the sale (revenues) received by Mushroom Publishing through third parties (booksellers, distributors, book clubs, external web sites, etc.) or through direct sales by Mushroom Publishing. No advance will be paid by the Publisher to the Author. The Author will be entitled to purchase print copies at 25% discount off the retail price, plus a £5.00 surcharge for orders of less than 10 books, plus postage and customs fees, if applicable. Royalties will be paid on author copies.
The Author and/or the Author's agent shall retain in full the exclusive right to sell or license the Work for publication in whole or in part, in English or in any foreign language, in any way, shape, edition, or form not in conflict with the rights granted to the Publisher under this agreement. All and any other subsidiary rights including television, film, stage, radio, video, audio, etc., shall remain with the author. Upon mutual agreement between the Publisher and the Author regarding the splitting of the proceeds between the Publisher and the Author, and regarding the extent of the Publishers authority in any subsidiary rights matter, the Publisher may act as the Author's agent in any such matter. However, the legal rights to make agreements for subsidiary rights, licensing or sale shall remain with the Author. Should the Author at any time during the term of this agreement secure a publishing agreement with another publisher, then Mushroom Publishing shall be willing to negotiate fair recompense from the publisher for the termination of this agreement, the withdrawal of the Work from sale, and the transfer of the rights to that publisher.
The Publisher shall forward royalty statements to the Author or to the Author's agent, on or within 30 days of August 1st and February 1st of each year of this agreement, along with any payments due, covering the six month periods to June 30th and December 31st respectively. The Author or the Author's duly appointed representatives shall have the right to examine the accounts of the Publisher at any time after written demand by the Author. In the event that there are discrepancies between the royalty statements and the Publisher's accounts and that those discrepancies shall total more than fifty pounds (£50) to the Author's disadvantage under this and any other agreement between the Author and the Publisher, the Publisher shall tender such monies due to the Author within ten (10) days of notice to do so.
The Author agrees, if so required by the publisher or if not already done so, to deliver to the Publisher and in final revised form an English language manuscript of a length and in a format or formats as agreed, and by a date as agreed. If, in the opinion of the Publisher, the manuscript is unacceptable or unsatisfactory to the Publisher, the Publisher may reject it by written notice within sixty (60) days of delivery, in which case this agreement shall be deemed terminated and there shall be no further obligation upon the Publisher to publish said work or to make any further payment hereunder, and all rights granted to the Publisher under this agreement shall revert to the Author.
Changes, additions, deletions, abridgements, or condensations in the text of the Work or changes of title may only be made by the Publisher, its agents, or employees, with the prior written consent of the Author. Minor typographic errors may be corrected by the Publisher without written consent. The Author will, at any time and on request, have the opportunity to check the available proofs.
The Publisher is hereby authorized and mandated to secure copyright to the Work in the name of the Author, to arrange for sale of said Work, and to fulfil all other obligations necessary to protect copyright to the Work under English law and the International Copyright Convention.
The Publisher agrees to publish and commence distribution of said Work as defined in clause 1 above within twelve (12) months of delivery of the Author's final manuscript, unless prevented by circumstances beyond the Publisher's control, or unless otherwise agreed with the Author. In the event the Publisher fails to publish and distribute the Work by said date, the Author shall have the option to terminate this agreement upon seven days notice from the Author to the Publisher, and all rights hereunder shall revert to the Author. The Author shall retain any payments made under this agreement, without forfeiting the Author's rights to seek further damages from the Publisher. However, this mandated publication date may be extended to any other date, and any number of such extensions may be made, upon mutual agreement between the Publisher and the Author. The Publisher undertakes to design and create the book to a high standard within the technical limitations of the relevant book format at the time of publication, and to take full advantage of any enhancements to the standard book format, such as the use of hyperlinks and colour, where possible and appropriate.
The Publisher agrees to promote the Work on Mushroom Publishing's own web sites and to seek promotion by any and all appropriate means available including listings on book marketing websites, providing free copies for review by online and offline reviewers, providing discounted and free copies for promotions, giveaways and competitions, advertising, and maintaining the book's presence on retailer sites. The choice of promotional activities shall be solely at the discretion of the Publisher. Pricing of the Work shall be solely at the discretion of the Publisher. The Author agrees to complete and return the Mushroom Publishing Author Questionnaire, if requested to do so, prior to publication of the Work. Should the Work, after publication, be unavailable for sale for a period of more than one month, or out of promotion for a period of more than one month, and this lapse is due to the fault of the Publisher, and it is not remedied within 30 days of written notice of such a lapse being received, then this agreement shall terminate and the rights herein revert to the Author.
If during the existence of this agreement the copyright shall be infringed, the Publisher may, at its own expense, take such legal action, in the Author's name if necessary, as may be required to restrain such infringement or to seek damages. In such a case the Publisher shall indemnify the Author against any associated costs. The Publisher shall not be liable to the Author for the Publisher's failure to take such legal steps. If the Publisher does not bring such an action, the Author may do so, in the Author's name at the Author's own expense. Money damages recovered for an infringement shall be applied first toward the repayment of the expense of bringing and maintaining the action, and thereafter the balance shall belong to the Author, provided, however, that any money damages recovered on account of a loss of the Publisher's profits shall be divided equally between the Author and the Publisher.
If a petition in bankruptcy shall be filed by or against the Publisher, or if it shall be judged insolvent by any court, or if a Trustee or a Receiver of any property of the Publisher shall be appointed in any suit or proceeding by or against the Publisher, or if the Publisher shall make an assignment for the benefit of creditors or shall take the benefit of any bankruptcy or insolvency Act, or if the Publisher shall liquidate its business for any cause whatsoever, this agreement shall terminate automatically without notice, and such termination shall be effective as of date of the filing of such petition, adjudication, appointment, assignment or declaration or commencement of reorganization or liquidation proceedings, and all rights granted hereunder shall thereupon revert to the Author.
The Publisher shall observe the moral rights conferred on the Author under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and shall assert your moral right to be identified as the author of the Work. The publisher agrees to include a copyright line on all editions of the Work.
The Publisher shall not assign the rights granted in this agreement or the benefits thereof without the Author's prior written consent.
This agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors, administrators and assigns of the Author, and upon and to the successors and assigns of the Publisher.
If the Publisher is in any way in breach of this contract and fails to remedy the breach within 30 days from written notice by the Author, then all rights assigned to the Publisher under this agreement will revert to the Author. If the Author engages in any illegal, undesirable or controversial activities that in the opinion of the Publisher negatively reflect on the Publisher or its affiliates and partners, the Publisher has the right to terminate the contract immediately, without notice, and remove all books from sale. Should this occur, all royalties accrued will be paid at or before the next royalty payment date. In the event of any dispute or disagreement regarding this agreement, the parties agree that common sense should prevail, and that if necessary an independent person or persons mutually agreed upon by both parties can be called upon to make a decision which is binding upon both parties. This agreement shall be governed by and interpreted in all respects in accordance with the law of England.
This agreement applies to the following titles:
[Titles]
Signed for and on behalf of the Author by:
Date:
Signed for and on behalf of Mushroom Publishing by:
Date: