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Scalzi on Random House's Hydra Contract
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Frank
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Mar 06, 2013 10:37AM
Just as an FYI to all SF/Fantasy authors: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2013/03/06...
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I saw this in a number of places around the Web. Any author who signs that is crazy.
This contract has gotten significant attention within SFWA. And it's not just the Hydra imprint. Alibi (another Random House imprint) contains the same language and rights-grabbing as does Hydra's.As someone noted elsewhere, if you're going to create such an imprint, it might be best not to name it after an evil organization created by Marvel Comics. :)
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Avoid this like the plague.
Scalzi just tweeted that Random House is making changes based upon the backlash. However, the people who understand such things have not had a chance to review those changes so it's too soon to declare victory.
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Don't have a new contract but here is the link to the Publisher's Weekly Article about the changes they made: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by....I know the last one upset me enough that I blogged about it. It seems they are no longer going to charge for ebook productions costs and you may have an option of an advance. Still, I think if I did decide to go with a publisher, I still may want to lean towards an indie press.
I'd love to get our book published by a traditional publisher - I'd rather write than market which is what I seem to be spending my time doing these days - but we sign nothing without a literary agent looking it over.
Frank wrote: "I'd love to get our book published by a traditional publisher - I'd rather write than market which is what I seem to be spending my time doing these days - but we sign nothing without a literary ag..."Definitely the best idea to go with an agent. However, on the marketing, I think that depends. I think a lot of authors still have to market.
Frank wrote: "I'd love to get our book published by a traditional publisher - I'd rather write than market which is what I seem to be spending my time doing these days - but we sign nothing without a literary agent looking it over. ..."Just make sure that that agent is also an entertainment lawyer.
J.D. wrote: "Frank wrote: "I'd love to get our book published by a traditional publisher - I'd rather write than market which is what I seem to be spending my time doing these days - but we sign nothing without..."True. You want someone who will understand the contracts and get what's best for you.
From what I've seen, the changes improve the contracts all the way to "pretty darn bad" -- unless, with the now-available advance-plus-25% option, the advances are awfully good. Even then, some problems remain. See this article: http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/20...
Suddenly I see why agents are worth their 15%!
An IP (intellectual property) attorney could point out all the flaws in this contract -- for a one-time fee.
Walter wrote: "As someone noted elsewhere, if you're going to create such an imprint, it might be best not to name it after an evil organization created by Marvel Comics. :) "I don't have anything intellectual to add I'd just like to point out that this was hilarious. That is all. ;)
I'm still struggling to understand why they decided to call their conglomeration Penguin Random House. Surely they know everyone is going to call them Randy Penguin anyway...
I was REALLY bucking for Random Penguin. Then they could have like ten different versions of their logo, and you get a different one - A RANDOM PENGUIN - every time you refreshed the page.IT WAS GENIUS.
No one respects people of true vision anymore, sigh...
I like you. You're seriously disturbed.Not like me. (HaHaHa, hehehe...)
A.K. wrote: "I was REALLY bucking for Random Penguin. Then they could have like ten different versions of their logo, and you get a different one - A RANDOM PENGUIN - every time you refreshed the page.IT WAS ..."
LOL...That IS genius. I think that's what most have been calling them now anyway.
Just came across this post and read the Scalzi blog, and immediately thought: Hey! My publisher treats me a lot better than that... and that's in the Self-Publishing world. Sure, they charge me up front for services; but I know exactly what I am getting, and they take NOTHING out of my royalties on the back end. They also don't try to get their hooks into my copyrights -- in fact, the contract says that if I choose to go elsewhere, they have to turn over all of the print-ready files to me.
True... they don't give me an advance, and they don't have any "skin in the game" as Scalzi says; but on the other hand, they treat me like a valued client, not somebody who, if I'm very lucky, might be allowed into their "family" of authors.
I guess that's why I'm now working on my third book with Mill City Press.
But... of course, being self-published, the SFWA still doesn't want me in their ranks. Oh well... ;-)
