"The absolute most important advice I can give you is this: read and understand the fine print.
Know what you're entering. Know what happens to your work in the event you win (or even/especially if you don't win). Make sure you're completely comfortable with it.
For instance, in the event you win the Amazon Breakthrough contest, are you comfortable with a $15,000 advance and a completely non-negotiable publishing contract? (The fine print says you can't negotiate). Do you want to try for a better deal by going through the traditional publishing route and finding an agent?
There's no correct answer here: it's up to you. But make sure a) you know what happens when you enter/win and b) you can live with it. And think very long and very hard about anything that could tie up the rights to your work. And when in doubt: don't enter."
Read the rest here.
2 comments:
Anyone who has been published have a comment about the $15,000 advance? Because to someone like myself, with next to no publishing experience except magazines and newspapers, $15,000 from a major publisher looks pretty nice. I've heard, though, that you should try for a lower advance so you get royalties faster, but again...advice from those who've been there?
$15 K is not a shabby advance -- I'm agented and on book 4 and I've yet to get more. (Of course, some authors get 7 figures... and you have to assume that if Amazon picks a winner --they probably reserve the right not to -- they're expecting it to be a pretty big book. An agent would turn a pretty big book into at least $30 K or a multi-book contract or both, I would guess.)
I'd be more concerned about other contract elements, though. (First right of refusal, publication timeframe, paperback rights, sub rights, etc.) Is the contract posted for review in advance?
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