Agreement

DELIVERY AND ACCEPTANCE

Publisher agrees to accept the Book for publication. Author accepts Publisher’s quotation for the cost of Book production and printing. A deposit towards the cost of book production has been agreed and paid by the Author.

AUTHOR WARRANTIES

1. She/he (they are) is the Author and sole owner of the work, or has been assigned exclusive rights to the work.
2. The work is original and no part of the work was taken from or based on any other literary, dramatic, musical, film, or graphic arts, except as identified in the writing by the Author.
3. The work does not infringe upon any copyright, privacy rights, rights of a third party, or any common law or statutory law.
4. The work does not contain any material of a libelous or obscene nature.
5. The work is not the public domain, and has not been published in any format with any company that may still own such rights to the work.
6. To the best of Author’s knowledge and belief, all statements of fact contained in the work are true and based on appropriate and diligent research.
7. The Author holds the power of Authority to grant these rights.

Author Agrees to hold Publisher harmless and indemnify the Publisher against any claim, demand, action, suit, proceeding or any expense whatsoever, arising for claims of infringement of copyright or proprietary rights, or claims of libel, obscenity, invasion of privacy, or any other unlawfulness based upon or arising from the publication or any matter pertaining to the work.

GRANT OF RIGHTS

In exchange for publication, the Author grants the Publisher the exclusive rights to print, publish, market, and distribute the Book in printed form, in the English language, worldwide. It is understood and agreed that this grant includes these exclusive rights for two years from the date the Publisher commences distribution of Book, after which the agreement automatically renews on a year-to-year basis until terminated.

Author retains all rights to the book including copyright, manuscript, photos, and all promotional materials created by Publisher for the purpose of marketing the Book. Author retains all subsidiary and derivative rights.

COST OF PUBLICATION

Publisher provides Author with an itemized quotation for the costs of book preparation including editing, layout, cover design, printing, and marketing. Author pays an initial deposit to begin the project. An invoice from Publisher (minus deposit) for book preparation will be paid by Author upon Author’s approval of the proof copy. Printing will not be ordered until the final invoice has been paid by the Author.

MANUSCRIPT & BOOK PREPARATION

a. Delivery. Author shall, at the time of submission of final work, include written authorizations or permissions for the use of any copyrighted or other proprietary material that appears in the work, including but not limited to art, illustrations or quotes. These authorizations and permissions shall be obtained at the Authors own expense.

The Author agrees to deliver to the Publisher, a complete paper copy of the manuscript as well as a complete electronic text of the work in Word or RTF format. If the manuscript shall not have been delivered within three (3) months after the date this agreement is signed the Publisher may, at its option, terminate this agreement by notice in writing posted or delivered to the Author.

b. Editing And Proofreading. The Publisher shall make no changes in, additions to, or eliminations from the manuscript without the consent of the Author.

The Publisher reserves the right to suggest changes to the title of the Book and to make editorial changes to the manuscript with the Author’s approval. Extensive editing is provided at an hourly rate to be negotiated.

c. Layout and Design. After both Author and Publisher approve the manuscript, the manuscript will be given to the designer and the Book layout will begun. Additional changes by the Author at this stage will be charged at the fee of $45 per hour. Additional changes include the following: sentence re-writes, grammatical and mechanical changes, reorganization of paragraphs, chapters, and images (photos, art, charts, graphics, or any non-text elements), correction of typos and punctuation, and any other changes to the manuscript.

There is no charge for correcting problems that are due to the book designer’s errors.

1. Cover Design. Publisher will create two (2) original book cover concepts for the Author’s selection, including back cover and spine. Author is encouraged to submit photos and other images for use in book cover design. If Author submits photos/images to Publisher, Author acknowledges that he/she owns the rights to said images. One round of minor layout revisions will not cost the Author additional fees. After both Author and Publisher approve the cover, Author acknowledges all edits and revisions to the approved design will be charged at $45 per hour.
2. Interior Book Layout. Publisher will format the work. Formatting the book includes establishing margins, overall size, fonts, chapter typography, etc.

Publisher will deliver a sample layout of the interior of the Book for the Author’s approval. One round of design-related revisions (i.e., trim size, font, font size, margins, leading, indents, chapter openings, and other typographic design elements) will not cost the Author additional fees. At any time after Author approves sample chapter, if he/she requests design-related revisions such changes will be billed at $45 per hour.

d. Printing. Publisher will provide a PDF proof copy of the completed Book for Author’s review.

Publisher will provide Author with printing quotes and a suggested retail price. Once Author approves the printing quote, the Publisher will place the print order. Author may purchase copies at the wholesale price to sell or gift without restriction.

SUGGESTED QUANTITIES

Print On Demand. This option is best for paper-back books without color photos in the layout and for print quantities under 200 copies. If the book will be POD, Author may order as few as one copy at a time. Book may be reprinted in any quantity at any time.

Offset Printing. This option is best for custom sized “coffee table” books or books with color artwork in the layout. If the book will be offset printed, the price per copy depends on the initial quantity ordered. The best price break begins with an order of 200+ copies.

REGISTRATION

1. Copyright. Current copyright law does not require Authors to formally register their copyright in order to secure copyright protection. Copyright automatically arises in written works created in or after 1978. However, registration with the Copyright Office is a per-requisite to infringement lawsuits. Publisher may register copyright of the Book in the Author’s name within three months of initial publication for a fee of $30, which covers the cost of filing. Author acknowledges that, while the copyright becomes valid on the date that Author’s Book is submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office, the Copyright Office takes six to eight (6-8) months to return the copyright certificate.
2. ISBN and Bar Code. Publisher shall provide an ISBN and bar code and shall affix both in the appropriate places in the Book. The ISBN identifies the name and contact information of WordsWorth. Should Author or Publisher terminate this Agreement, Author must remove WordsWorth’s ISBN and bar code from any future copies of the Book that Author prints.
3. LCCN. Where applicable, Publisher will obtain an LCCN (Library of Congress Control Number) for Author’s Book. Author may choose not to receive an LCCN. If Author chooses not to have an LCCN, Author must communicate this to Publisher in writing before Publisher begins the layout of Author’s Book.

Author must provide one (1) copy of the published, finished book to the Library of Congress to validate Author’s LCCN. Publisher will provide Author the mailing instructions via email. Author must print out the information and send to the Library of Congress along with a finished copy of the Book (when Author receives printed copies). Author acknowledges that the LCCN will not be validated if Author fails to send a printed copy to the Library of Congress, and that Publisher cannot be held responsible.

ROYALTIES

Cost of books and compensation to the Author from sales will be as follows with the consideration that changing prices from the printer in the future may warrant a renegotiation.

1. Author’s copies. Author may purchase copies of the Book at wholesale price plus shipping. The Author may keep all money from his/her sales of these Books.
2. Royalty for printed books. Author royalty is 40% of Net Revenue for Books ordered by resellers through our distributor (Ingram). Net revenue means all revenue on Book sales, less any trade discounts taken by wholesalers, distributors, or online retailers, the printing costs, shipping costs, and sales tax (if applicable) of each Book. Author royalty includes sales by Publisher at book fairs, website, and other marketing efforts by Publisher on Author’s behalf.
3. Royalty for electronic books. Author royalty is 40% of Net Revenue for eBooks, Nook, Kindle, etc. if the electronic book is sold through Publisher’s website or any Publisher-sponsored webpage. If the electronic book is sold through Author’s website or Author-sponsored webpage, the entire sale belongs to the Author.
4. Advances. WordsWorth does not pay advances against royalties.
5. Returns. No royalties will be paid on returned books.

STATEMENTS AND PAYMENT

Publisher agrees to mail semi-annual statements of account and to make payments in January and July covering sales for the previous six months.

In making accounting, the Publisher has the right to allow for a reasonable reserve against returns, not to exceed 10% of the amount due in each accounting period. Any reserve against returns withheld and not needed in an accounting period will be paid to the Author in the subsequent accounting period.

Author acknowledges that he/she must complete and return IRS Form W-9 (or Form W-8 if Author is not a United States citizen), provided by Publisher, in order for Publisher to remit payment to Author. Author is responsible for collecting and remitting sales tax on all copies sold directly by the Author. Further, Author acknowledges that Publisher can only issue payments to one party (i.e., if there are two Authors, Publisher will only issue payment to one party, and it is the responsibility of both Authors to distribute payment accordingly).

The Publisher agrees to give to the Author on publication ten (10) copies of the Work for Author’s personal use, not for resale.

TERMINATION

Publisher agrees to publish the Work within eighteen (18) months from the date of this contract. In case of delays from causes beyond the control of the Publisher, the period shall be extended to cover such delays. Should the Publisher fail to publish the Work before the expiration of said period, except as provided herein, its failure to do so shall be deemed cause for the Author, if he so desires, to terminate this Agreement.

Publisher reserves the right to terminate this contract if Author fails to pay the initial deposit or the invoice for book preparation. The final invoice will cover the cost of printing. Printing will not be ordered until the final invoice has been paid by the Author.

After the expiration of two (2) years from the first date of publication, the Publisher or Author may on three months’ notice in writing to the other, terminate this contract In that event this agreement shall terminate and all rights granted to the Publisher shall revert to the Author at the expiration of said three (3) month period.

Upon termination of this agreement, the Publisher shall return to the Author all property originally furnished by the Author, and the Book will be placed in “out of print” status in the Publishers’ ISBN database.

AMENDMENTS AND SEVERABILITY

No amendment of, addition to or modification of this Agreement shall be effective unless reduced to writing and signed by the parties hereto.

In the event one or more clauses of this Agreement are declared invalid, void, unenforceable or illegal, that shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Agreement.

ENTIRE AGREEMENT

This agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the Publisher and the Author with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior written or oral agreements made by the parties. This agreement may not be modified or amended except in writing and signed by both parties.

WordsWorth 

Author