Negotiation

One of my goals for this year has been to get back the rights to some of my books. They came out through a small press, and I enjoyed that working relationship. However, then the publisher suffered a health crisis. I slowly stopped hearing from her. Although she’s been writing and publishing other work, it’s been a couple of years since there’s been anything new from the imprint I’m part of. Clearly her focus has shifted. Since I’m now more proficient with self-publishing, I’d just as soon re-issue the books under my own name.

According to my contract, I can request to terminate the agreement at any time, and my text will be returned to me. (Not the cover art, but that’s okay.) I began the process of requesting my rights with an e-mail.

The good news is, the publisher responded right away. The less good news is, she’s been negotiating to transfer the publications from her imprint to a different small press publisher. Until she mentioned this, I hadn’t heard a word from that other publisher.

When I questioned this, I then heard from the second publisher with a sample contract. This gives me something to go on, so I’ve been going through that and considering my options. Having my work remain in print would be good. But, according to the new contract, if this second publisher is sold, my books would also be sold without recourse.

So I’m in discussions about this, and that’s where it stands.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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