tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post1039309857144486279..comments2016-02-13T22:07:32.600-05:00Comments on Writer Beware®: The Blog: Guest Blog Post: Mustering the Courage to Turn Down a Publishing ContractA. C. Crispinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03716665918125126579noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post-47052601234117827632013-02-20T04:16:14.298-05:002013-02-20T04:16:14.298-05:00Thank you, Victoria. I appreciate the advice. I ...Thank you, Victoria. I appreciate the advice. <br /><br />I haven&#39;t heard good things about the publishing company, and that&#39;s the main reason why I want to decline the contract. Seeing as I hadn&#39;t made any comments to them about the actual contract being unacceptable, I was trying to find a way of replying that would not show my hand, essentially. Your advice to keep my reply neutral, professional, and short sounds good. Thank you :)Michellenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post-46294599437427212882013-02-19T10:30:41.739-05:002013-02-19T10:30:41.739-05:00Michelle--just be polite and factual. Thank the pu...Michelle--just be polite and factual. Thank the publisher for their time and consideration, and let them know that you can&#39;t accepting their offer. If you&#39;ve heard negative things about the publisher, or they have a bad contract, or you feel they haven&#39;t been professional, don&#39;t mention it. Just stick to &quot;thank you&quot; and &quot;not at this time.&quot;<br /><br />I can&#39;t imagine that this would damage your chances. A large publisher is professional enough to know that these are the breaks. If it&#39;s a small press, there really isn&#39;t the kind of professional community where people talk to each other, as there is in trade publishing. Even if there were, there&#39;s no reason for the publisher to be upset with you, as long as you&#39;re professional about saying no. If they do get upset, it only makes _them_ look unprofessional.Victoria Strausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11993325726575944136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post-36127203568210413992013-02-19T07:05:14.371-05:002013-02-19T07:05:14.371-05:00Thanks for a great post. I&#39;m in this boat at p...Thanks for a great post. I&#39;m in this boat at present - trying to figure out how to bring myself to turn down that magical publishing contract, and it&#39;s reassuring to know that others have that dilemma too. <br /><br />One thing I was wondering - do you think there&#39;s a particular way one should reject a contract? Could this damage my chances with other publishers, or is it something that I shouldn&#39;t worry about, as long as my letter is polite?<br /><br />Anyway, thanks for such a helpful post :)Michellenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post-58541653053077058102012-12-09T06:00:36.324-05:002012-12-09T06:00:36.324-05:00I don&#39;t know what I&#39;d do without this site...I don&#39;t know what I&#39;d do without this site. I&#39;ve followed this blog for quite a while now, and am astounded to think that this information isn&#39;t found on postgraduate course programs.<br />I&#39;ve spent an entire semester listening to writers supposedly discuss publishing, but they all hardly provided anything of significance. Anahttp://www.boobfundandstories.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post-6778118606554735052012-12-08T13:49:52.655-05:002012-12-08T13:49:52.655-05:00Saying no to your life&#39;s dream...gotta be toug...Saying no to your life&#39;s dream...gotta be tough. Someday, maybe I&#39;ll get to do the research and make the tough decision.<br /><br />This stays in my &quot;future look at me now&quot; file.<br /><br />Thanks.Dean K Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846624912452227191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post-73385421458814151172012-11-25T18:26:06.975-05:002012-11-25T18:26:06.975-05:00The one thing I think needs to be added is that a ...The one thing I think needs to be added is that a person should have an attorney familiar with IP law examine any contract t eyes are seriously considering. It will make it easier to know if the offer is bad or good in a business sense. <br /><br />B.S.B.S. Simonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post-42370329138475622832012-11-20T15:37:30.220-05:002012-11-20T15:37:30.220-05:00Stephanie&#39;s point is an important one. As long...Stephanie&#39;s point is an important one. As long as an author signs a contract with open eyes, after having studied it carefully and weighed the pros and cons, it&#39;s all fair and square even if the deal is a lousy one. The problems begin when the author refuses to come to terms with the reality that is reflected in the contract and develops unreasonable expectations, which is bad not only for the author but also for the publisher.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the publisher doesn&#39;t have a way to know that the author has signed the contract with eyes wide shut and that disillusionment will inevitably ensue once the excitement subsides and reality creeps in.Kfir Luzzattohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11706779884746293280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post-89755118090514116992012-11-20T10:31:59.479-05:002012-11-20T10:31:59.479-05:00Thanks for the insight. I remember getting an offe...Thanks for the insight. I remember getting an offer to &quot;publish&quot; my thesis. I was really excited, until I realized that it was a vanity press collecting graduate work to sell to the masses and someone told me it was poor quality at best. I turned it down, and have never looked back.Heather Buttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17105758478146493749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post-91011152949549805272012-11-19T23:06:27.344-05:002012-11-19T23:06:27.344-05:00I&#39;m a publisher, and I completely agree with t...I&#39;m a publisher, and I completely agree with this post. Even if the publisher is reputable, it&#39;s still okay to say no if you feel it wouldn&#39;t be a good fit. One of my biggest concerns is when I get the contract back signed and the author has no questions. It&#39;s important to know exactly what you&#39;re getting into from the beginning.Stephanie Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845707659044217037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post-52179675982652402372012-11-14T18:05:12.464-05:002012-11-14T18:05:12.464-05:00Thanks for all the comments; they certainly help p...Thanks for all the comments; they certainly help put the issue into perspective.<br /><br />In this rapidly changing environment what was a perfectly reasonable small press a few month ago may have changed for the worse. We have seen small presses morphing into vanity presses, in an attempt to survive (as in the example reported by C. M. Albrecht.) That&#39;s why no amount of early research can guarantee a trouble-free contract and a careful assessment must be made once the contract is received.Kfir Luzzattohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11706779884746293280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post-19399356745410724762012-11-14T13:31:03.447-05:002012-11-14T13:31:03.447-05:00This is very useful advice, both in the guest post...This is very useful advice, both in the guest post and the introduction by Victoria. I think what she says in that intro is key:<br /><br />It&#39;s very, very hard to say no to any offer because your emotions are so over-the-top. While the contract offered might still not be favorable, avoiding submitting to vanity presses and the like BEFORE you reach that point will at least give you one less thing to worry about. <br /><br />I&#39;ve had to talk friends out of offers that came about because of a lack of research. One offer was from a vanity press (she hadn&#39;t researched it in the first place) and another was the type of press that tried (as C.M. said, above) to shunt you off to the self-publishing department. I&#39;m very grateful for your <b>Writer Beware</b> site because it makes researching before you sub so much easier. (Also, if an overly excited, overly optimistic pal doesn&#39;t listen to me, I can always send them to you before they make a mistake with a vanity publisher or the like--they&#39;re more likely to listen to you!)<br /><br />Oh, and I&#39;d like to add to something one of the Anonymous posters said: while genuine book publishers will most likely contact you by phone, agents (especially in the initial stages, where you haven&#39;t signed yet, but they are interested) will often send you an email and so will legitimate magazine editors. But again, research those before you submit to them, too.Rebecca Klempnerhttp://rebeccaklempner.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post-11815787858788197352012-11-14T10:10:22.172-05:002012-11-14T10:10:22.172-05:00Great advice here. I just want to add one thing. I...Great advice here. I just want to add one thing. In my experience, legitimate offers of publication come over the phone, not by letter or email.<br /><br />I&#39;ve gotten &quot;feelers&quot; via email and snail-mail. But they always say they want to talk on the phone, and that&#39;s how the actual offer gets made. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post-55906118878181395082012-11-14T08:54:50.029-05:002012-11-14T08:54:50.029-05:00Thank you for this article. I&#39;m lucky enough I...Thank you for this article. I&#39;m lucky enough I&#39;ve got a publisher I&#39;m happy with, but I&#39;m always fielding questions from newbies who don&#39;t write in my genre looking for advice. Now I can send them here. :)Tymber Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11580702194703813388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post-42176455544308111152012-11-14T04:21:28.093-05:002012-11-14T04:21:28.093-05:00Interesting insights! ...as well as great tips. R...Interesting insights! ...as well as great tips.<br /><br />Ron Lee, Author<br />How to Create an eBook <br />http://www.eBookHowTo.org <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post-5865944515083531732012-11-13T19:53:55.030-05:002012-11-13T19:53:55.030-05:00THANK YOU! It&#39;s so hard to stand up and really...THANK YOU! It&#39;s so hard to stand up and really take care of myself when it comes to things like this. I have a lot of the fears you mentioned. it&#39;s good to hear that I&#39;m not alone, and that I just need to breathe, and then check everything out if I haven&#39;t already. This list is great, too!<br />Morgenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16701068239606927212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post-81096628113810516402012-11-13T18:21:22.395-05:002012-11-13T18:21:22.395-05:00There are all kinds. One sent me a glowing letter....There are all kinds. One sent me a glowing letter. They really liked my book, but due to the difficulty of promoting new authors, they had set up a separate department just for people like me: We&#39;d share the cost of publication.<br />Desperate as I was to be published, I simply wasn&#39;t that desperate. I told them that, to me, being an &quot;author&quot; meant someone liked my work enough to invest in it and publish it. Then in my mind, I&#39;d be an author. For some reason they never replied.C. M. Albrechthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659697389872692820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17222280.post-13627519695969547072012-11-13T16:36:28.784-05:002012-11-13T16:36:28.784-05:00Thank-you so much for this post and the list of re...Thank-you so much for this post and the list of resources. It&#39;s a massive help.S.M. Carrièrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08568011755497760300noreply@blogger.com
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