Lexie Janson's Blog, page 2

What to look out for in Book Publishing Contracts

Publishing My Fantasy Book Series - Contracts

3 days ago I have signed a contract for my debut fantasy novel (which is a part of a series). As you may imagine - getting a contract feels UNREAL. But you know what you need to do once you get it?

Yes, exactly… Bring it to an attorney.

Wait, this is not what you thought of? Well, ok… Hear me out:

This was not the first offer I have received

I have previously pitch my novel to a couple of agents and publishers. What I have noticed tight away in the contract was the point that would take all of my rights to the story. That meant if the book was successful and let’s say Netflix thought it would be a good TV series - I wouldn’t see a penny. Heck, I’d have nothing to say about ANYTHING.

So, as you may imagine… I have politely declined the offer. But it gave me a little boost. Why? Because apparently my story was worth a point like that.

Let’s discuss what to pay attention to:

Do you need an attorney?

Yes and no:

If English is not your native language - YES

If something in the contract makes you wonder what it means - YES

If you are a lawyer - sure, trust your gut.

I decided to go the safe way. Mostly because as an author - I am slightly biased (I know… shocking). In my mind I would do close to anything to get my book published, but I also need to stay vigilant about it. I wouldn’t want to lose all the rights to the story now, would I?

Going to an attorney (or someone good with contracts) is pivotal. You need to make sure that everything you have in this contract is going to be fair:

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So… what to pay attention to?

Publishing date - check if the publishing date is within what you have agreed on (my personal choice was 31st of October 2025. MARK YOUR CALENDAR)

Rights granted to Publisher - Again: don’t let anyone have full rights to your work.

Publisher responsibilities - check if everything in the contract is as per your agreement. If the dates, scope of their work, and all the other info are correct.

Author responsibilities - Check if the dates, and deadlines are correct (trust me, you won’t be able to correct a 120k word manuscript in 3 days tops). Is there anything that sparks your gut-feeling? Is there anything you did not agreed to prior? (Like cutting on 50.000 words off your novel?).

Royalties - depending on the type of publishing you are going for (self, hybrid, traditional) this may differ. For example - did you know that some traditionally published authors get an “advance” (a payment for their book) and later get 10-20% of the royalties per book sold? Some people get only the 10-20% without an advance. In hybrid publishing you may look at 60-70% royalties, and in self publishing - it’s all yours baby. No contract, unless you make it with yourself.
Speaking of Royalties…

Payments - I got to know that Authors are usually paid every 3 months and the first payment for their books sold is around 3-6 months after the book has been released. Check if it says something along those lines in your contract, and if there are any fees, cancellations, and minimum payment threshold.

Copyrights - Publisher needs to add a copyright to your books. You need to also check if they would support you in any copyright claim if someone was to steal your work.

Warranties - this is an important one - you need the publisher to guarantee the publishing and agreed upon rules. You need to guarantee that your work is original (and not made with AI, or stolen from someone else).

Termination and breach - Sometimes things don’t go as planned. Or on the contrary, your dream publisher shows up with an offer to your next books if they can take over. Be sure not to get stuck with an offer that you wouldn’t want. How can you cancel, and how can the publisher cancel is important.

Anything else you agreed upon - when you meet an attorney, be sure to tell them what you agreed on. You can print emails etc as well.

That’s all! Generally, I’d highly recommend checking with an attorney or someone smarter and less biased than you. The less biased being the key to the whole thing!

I am happy with the contract I have been given, and I have signed it. Now it’s time to work on the editing and final touches before my book hits the shelves on the 31st of October 2025! Wanna read my full story? Check it out below!

It took me years to make this one happen!

Publishing my Fantasy Book series - the beginning!

I still cannot believe that just 2 days ago I have received a publishing deal contract for the first book in my fantasy series. To be fair - I never thought this would happen. I never thought anyone would even like it. Yet here I am… Some years later, with 5 beta-readers, and a contract laying to my right.

I won’t lie - it took A WHILE

At first I wrote the book just as a hobby. To get stuff out of my head, but I quickly started dreaming about publishing it “one day”. I approached some publishers, got a yes and a no… The ”yes” seemed shady though (one publisher wanted ALL THE RIGHTS to my story, the other wanted me to pay, while promising 20% of each sale. Total no-go). So I stopped, and decided to do some research instead.

I searched for agents, but it turns out that this is a really drastic market, especially for the new writers.

The thing is: despite having over 50.000 followers across my social media - I seemed to be “not good enough” because I haven’t published anything yet and my book was pretty “big”. At the same time - I cannot believe that a fantasy novel with a whole new world can take someone up to 80.000 words. Like… How?

Anyway…

I kept going. Even though my initial manuscript had 220.000 words. Knowing that my debut novel should be… *ekhm* smaller - I decided to cut the story in a place that kind of made sense. Result? I was now looking at 130.000 words manuscript.

“Good enough.” I told myself and started the agent rounds again.

It wasn’t until a friend of mine said “My uncle actually has a publishing house.” when I thought about giving a chance to a publisher without an agent again. The result? It lays on my right.

The editors of this particular publisher went through my book within a day. Mind you - it’s 130.000 words.

Here’s yours truly - HELLO!

(Lexie Janson, Author of The White Raven Tales)

There was a catch though

Considering that it’s my debut novel, and it’s pretty big - I have been proposed a hybrid deal. This meant that the publisher invests in me, but that I also need to invest. The money? Something I didn’t have at the time… But here comes the power of community and work.

One of my Patreons on discord (hi Graham!) said “Why won’t you set up a PayPal donation page?”. I did, thinking that in best case scenario I will gather 200-300EUR. I also made a “deal package”. Everyone donating 35EUR will get a signed book delivered to them. This is the price of a book shipping to wherever.

The result? I got almost the entire amount.

I couldn’t believe how some of my friends and fans believed in me. Some of my friends said that if the book is even remotely close to how I usually tell the stories - it will be great.

I may have cried. Multiple times.

So… Armed in the money needed even before the contract went through - I realised that this is really happening.

I am about to publish a book, and I’ve put dibs on the most Lexie date possible - Halloween.

Why would I agree on a hybrid?

I know that many authors would say “no way” for a hybrid. I know it comes with pros, cons, and… a big investment. But here’s my reasoning:

I made a pretty big book that is a series (not just a potential for a series. And the publisher actually loved it).

With hybrid deals the % of net income per book is bigger. My contract states that I get 60% of the net book sold (And 70% after 2.000 copies are sold). This is a bigger amount than the usual.

Publishing with this publisher will allow me to tick “yes” for my next books when the agents ask “Have any of your work been ever published before?” - which is opening more doors.

My second book is going to be something that I call “A brick” - 200.000words

I trust this publisher and I want to learn more about the publishing process (they also promised coaching on this), which is priceless.

The process of publishing

I self-published a social media growth book before. It was… a complicated process and I am not fully happy with the result. Also, I had no idea how to market it because I used to be really scared of “selling things”.

I am excited to learn more about traditional publishing, marketing, and to have a team that knows their… *ekhm* stuff (put in another word starting with s).

So… On this blog I will be sharing my writing journey. Not only with the book, but also with ghostwriting, articles etc. I hope you will enjoy the journey with me, and that together - we can learn A LOT.

I’m excited to see you here Subscribe To My Newsletter!

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