WHISKEY CREEK PRESS, LLC
PO Box 51052
Casper, Wyoming
82605-1052
AUTHOR CONTRACT
This agreement,
dated XXXXX, is made between Whiskey Creek Press, LLC, herein
called Publisher and XXXX, herein called Author, as respects XXXX, herein
called the Work.
I. Publishing Rights: The
Author, on behalf of himself and his heirs, executors, administrators,
successors and assignees, grants the following exclusive worldwide rights to
the Publisher: to produce, publish, and sell in electronic format, including
electronic download, disk, CD, E-book reader (including, but not limited to
HTML, Palm, Adobe) or any other digital format known or to be invented.
The Author
further grants to the Publisher a print option for the Work equaling that of
the electronic rights, for a period of one year after the original electronic
format publication. If the Publisher does not exercise the print option within
this year all print rights revert to the Author. Electronic rights are not
affected by this reversion of print rights. If the Publisher does exercise this
print option within a year, and publishes the Work in print format, Publisher’s
print rights for the Work will be equal to and match in length those of the
electronic format. The Work will be issued in English.
All rights in the
Work not specifically granted to Publisher in this agreement are reserved by
the author.
II. Author Warrantees. Author
warrants that s/he is the author and sole owner of the Work or has been
assigned the rights delineated above; that it is original and contains no
matter unlawful in its content, nor does it violate the rights of any third
party; that the Work is not in the public domain. Author also warrants that
these rights are owned or controlled by him without encumbrance and that Author
has full power to grant the listed rights to Publisher.
If this work has
been previously published in any form, Author warrants that the rights granted
herein have reverted to him/her. As an addendum to this agreement, Author shall
present some written memorandum documenting the reversion of the rights granted
by any publishing company that may still own proprietary rights to the Work.
If a judgment is
obtained against Publisher for usurping rights still controlled by a publisher
or other entity than Publisher or Author, the Author agrees to hold Publisher
harmless and to indemnify Publisher for reasonable damages and costs. If
Publisher prevails against a suing party or resolves the matter by out of court
settlement, Author will not be liable to indemnify Publisher for defense and
settlement costs.
III. Copyright: Author will be
responsible for registering the copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office,
including payment of any fees and the costs of preparing printed and/or
electronic documentation of the work as required by the U.S. Copyright office.
Author will provide a photocopy or facsimile copy of the Copyright certificate
to Publisher within 45 days of receipt. Publisher shall be listed as the
publisher of the work in all formats indicated in Section I.
Author
understands that if s/he chooses not to register the copyright with the U.S.
Copyright office, s/he may be limited in the damages that could be awarded in
court if there is a copyright violation. Publisher will place a copyright
notice on all versions of the Work, using the year of first release if no other
information is available.
IV. ISBN: Publisher will obtain and
assign ISBN (International Standard Book Numbers) for the Work. Publisher will
assign as many ISBN designations as required by the various publication formats
listed in Section I. Publisher will use the assigned ISBN(s) as part of the
formal identification, and will notify Book in Print or other equivalent
service(s) of the ISBN(s) of the Work.
V. Selling Price: Publisher will
set the retail price ("cover price") of the Work, based on length,
comparable works and format. Publisher reserves the right to raise or reduce
the price as needed to stimulate sales.
VI.
Earnings and Statements: Publisher will set the
retail price of the work, based on length and comparable works. Publisher will
pay author a royalty, in U.S. dollars, 35% of the NET download price for each
electronic book sold. If the Publisher exercises the
print option for the Work (see Section I) Publisher agrees to pay the author a
royalty of 7.5% of the NET price for each Print copy of the Work sold.
Publisher-approved third party outlets requiring distribution discounts and/or
fees, Author’s royalty shall be paid on the NET price AFTER said discount
and/or fee.
The
Publisher reserves the right to put the Work into print at its discretion
during the one year option period (see Section I). There are no set-up fee
charges to the Author for print publication if that option is exercised by the
Publisher. Publisher reserves the use any third party printer at its
discretion.
Royalties will be accumulated and paid no later
than forty-five (45) days following the end of each calendar quarter. Royalties
shall be paid by check, drawn on the company’s bank of business, OR through an
online payment source. Individual arrangements, mutually agreed upon by the
Publisher and the Author, shall be made for payment of royalties to Author if
he/she resides outside the USA. Any withheld royalties shall be paid
immediately upon contract termination. Publisher will provide a written report
of sales with payment and provide any further reasonable information relevant
to sales of the work upon author's request.
Publisher will provide an annual 1099 Miscellaneous
Income Form reflecting all royalties paid for the calendar year to qualifying
authors, based on IRS regulations.
VII: Term of Contract: Contract shall be
in force from the date it is signed by all parties until three (3) years from
the actual release date of the first released format covered in Section I. The
contract may be renewed by mutual consent for a period equal to that beginning
the date of release.
If Publisher
does not release the Work within 6 months of the scheduled release date, the
contract will terminate and all rights granted shall revert to the Author.
Publisher may,
at its discretion, remove the Work from publication or distribution for reasons
of poor sales, excessive returns or other reason deemed by the Publisher to be
injurious to the Publisher's or Author's best interests. Publisher shall give
notice to Author of removal from distribution and the reasons for the
withdrawal. If the publisher removes the Work from sale, this contract shall
terminate and all rights granted shall revert to the Author.
The Author may
terminate this agreement before the three (3) year period above by means of a
contract buyout. The Author will notify the Publisher 90 days before buyout
date with a certified mail notice or other receipted or traceable delivery
service, of the intent to exercise the contract buyout option. All rights
granted the publisher would revert to Author at the time of the buyout, if
proper notification has been done. Upon this contract termination through the
buyout option, Publisher will remove listing of the Work from its website and
all download-based distributors and advise Books in Print that that particular
ISBN is no longer in print. The exception to this termination of contract is
that Publisher may continue to sell existing stock of physical formats (print
books) but may not create new physical copies upon depletion of its existing
stock. The Author will pay to the Publisher the sum of $500.00 (five hundred
dollars) to exercise this contract buyout option. This fee must be paid to the
Publisher by the Author at notification of intent to exercise the buyout
option. The Author will be responsible for full payment of damages and
customary legal fees as a result of legal action stemming from failure to pay
this buyout clause.
VIII: Editing, Cover Art and Back
Blurb, Preparation of Manuscript, Title, Formatting:
Editing: Publisher will
assign an editor to work with Author in making revisions. The Author will work
with an editor who will make suggestions to enhance the manuscript. No
substantial changes will be made without the Author’s knowledge, approval and
participation. Special care will be taken through the editing process to assure
foreign words or dialect remains intact, per Author instruction and guidance
Publisher has
the right of final approval of Author's manuscript following the editing
process.
The author will
not be required to pay for the services of any editor assigned by Publisher.
Publisher will provide a proofing copy of the Work, in electronic form, which
Author must correct and return within an agreed upon time. If the proofing copy
is not received as agreed, Publisher has the option to delay release or
terminate the agreement as warranted.
Publisher may
make corrections of typographical errors without Author's consent. The Publisher reserves
the right to reject the Work and terminate this Contract if the Author fails to
meet the deadline, or if the Work is not acceptable for any other reason.
If the assigned
editor finds the manuscript needs more work than can be accomplished through
editing, they will send the Author a revise and resubmit letter. The Author
will be given a deadline to accomplish the edits. If at that date the Author
has not returned the revised manuscript to the editor, or if the editor finds
revisions substandard, the contract will be terminated.
Cover Art and
Back Blurb:
Publisher does not accept outside artwork for covers. Publisher shall provide
cover art at its own expense. Author will work with the assigned Cover Artist
to provide valuable input and suggestions for cover design, but Publisher has
final approval of any and all cover art. Publisher is the sole owner of all
covers’ artwork produced by Publisher and used for cover artwork for the
author’s Work. Author will also be asked to produce proposed back cover blurb
text, but Publisher has full and final control of any and all blurbs used to
present and market the Author’s Work.
Preparation of
Manuscript:
The Author shall provide an acceptable, final revision of the manuscript in
electronic format with any revision requested by the Publisher within the time
agreed upon and within reasonable limits. Electronic format used will be a
major commercial word processing program or Rich Text Format as mutually agreed
upon. Specific margin, header, font, line spacing and other particulars of
manuscript format will be provided in a separate document stating Publisher's
guidelines. The Work will be transmitted to Publisher as an attachment to
electronic mail. It is the responsibility of the author to keep a complete copy
of the manuscript available in digital form in the event of computer failure at
the Publisher.
Title: Publisher has
final approval of release title of the Work. Every attempt will be made to use
the title suggested by the Author, but Publisher has the option to change the
release title if the Author's suggested title is too similar to any books
already in release by Publisher or recent releases from any other publisher or
if Publisher deems that a more appropriate title is necessary. In the event of
a title change, Author will be given an opportunity to suggest alternative
titles.
Formatting: Publisher will
be responsible, at its own expense, to prepare the Work for release for all
formats outlined in Section I. This would include all conversions from the
manuscript into various digital formats (e.g. HTML, PDF, Palm, MS Reader),
print formats (layouts for trade paper back). Publisher will make the Work
available in all its regularly marketed electronic/digital formats. The
exception to this provision is for Works containing a substantial number of
color graphics and/or illustrations that are not translatable into all
electronic formats.
IX. Author's name or Pseudonym:
The Author has the exclusive right to the use of his/her name or pseudonym
listed as the author in connection with this Work. Publisher cannot prevent Author
from using the same name or pseudonym for any other publisher or for any other
book genre. Publisher will have a non-exclusive right to use Author's name,
likeness and biographical material for the purposes of advertising, publishing
and promoting the Work itself.
X. Ownership of Characters:
Except as allowed under the sections of this agreement governing promotion of
the work, Author owns the characters and controls their use in sequels or
series books, whether published by Publisher or another publisher. Publisher
will have a non-exclusive right to use the title, and all material, including
characters in the Work, for the purpose of advertising, publishing and
promoting the Work.
If the author
writes another Work that is a sequel to the Work covered in this agreement,
using an identical theme and/or major characters from the contracted Work,
Publisher retains a right of first refusal for the subsequent work. If
Publisher does not accept for publication this additional Work within 90 days
of submission, it will be considered refused and the Author will be free to
market rights to the new work without encumbrance.
Nothing in this
agreement shall obligate the Author to submit any additional, unrelated works
to Publisher.
XI. Publisher's Name and Trademark.
The Author will not have rights to, or in, any trademark, service mark, trade
name or logos used by Publisher, unless expressly permitted to do so in
writing. The Author may, with Publisher's permission, have limited use of
Publisher's marks, symbols or name for use in approved promotional material.
Author may use the cover art in his/her promotional material. Publishers
provided and/or copyrighted cover art may not be used by other publishers
producing the Work in formats not listed in Section I without permission of
Publisher. Any remuneration for the use of this cover art will be separately
negotiated between publishers.
XII. Promotion and Promotional
Materials:
Author's
Biographical Information: Author will provide Publisher with a publicity
biography and suggested blurb(s) for use on book cover, website and promotional
literature. Publisher reserves the right to edit or rewrite blurb(s) as
necessary for length or content. Author will have the obligation to inform the
Publisher of any changes in Author home mailing address or Author e-mail
address in a timely manner.
Promotion: Publisher and
Author agree to supply each other with copies of any professional reviews,
either digitally or print copies. Neither Author nor Publisher is required to
provide the other with copies of "Reader Reviews" voluntarily posted
by consumers at any online vendor.
Publisher will
promote the Work through its website and through other Internet avenues of
promotion at its discretion.
Publisher will
make every effort to maintain an attractive, updated website. Publisher will
not be liable for site downtime or interrupted transmission.
The Author will
be required to maintain an Author website to be used to promote any and all
Whiskey Creek Press releases by said Author. The Author may also promote other
publications, Publishers, and writings at their discretion. The Author will be,
however, required to maintain a link with the Whiskey Creek Press site at all
times.
XIII. Author/Publisher Indemnification:
Author shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless Publisher and its owners and
affiliates, editors, shareholders, officers, directors, partners, associates,
agents and representatives and the Publisher shall indemnify, defend and hold
harmless the Author from any and all claims, debts, demands, suits, actions,
liens, proceedings and/or prosecutions ("Claims") based on
allegations which, if true, could constitute a breach of any of the foregoing
warranties, and any and all liabilities, losses, damages and expenses
including, but not limited to, attorney's fees and court costs. Each party to
this Agreement shall give prompt notice to the other party of any Claims. No
compromise or settlement of any Claim shall be made or entered into without the
prior written approval of the Author and Publisher. If a Claim if filed,
Publisher shall have the right to suspend payments otherwise due to Author
under the terms of this Agreement as security for Author's obligations under
this section.
XIV. Insolvency of Publisher, Sale of
Publisher, Reversion of Rights:
Insolvency: If the
Publisher files for protection under the Bankruptcy Laws, all rights delineated
in Section I shall immediately revert to the Author. If the bankruptcy filing
involves reorganization and Publisher continues to operate during the
reorganization, Author and Publisher may agree in writing to continue this
agreement under the same or revised terms. If the terms are not agreeable to
Author, the contract shall terminate and all assigned rights will return to
Author.
If the Publisher
suspends operations, other than a temporary suspension for technical
difficulties such as a loss of Web Server, all rights delineated in Section I
shall immediately revert to the Author. If the Publisher's operations are
ordered suspended by any governmental or police entity, or by Injunction or
Restraining Order, all rights shall immediately revert to the author. If the
suspension is lifted and operations resume, Author and Publisher may agree in
writing to continue this agreement under the same or revised terms.
If the Publisher
sells its assets to another publisher who does or plans to market and promote
books of the type and genre of the Work, the successor publisher will be bound,
as a minimum, to the same terms delineated in this agreement. If the successor
publisher does not or does not plan to market and promote books of the type and
genre of the Work, all rights delineated in Section I shall revert to the
Author not more than thirty days after the sale of Publisher. The purchasing
publisher is responsible to contact Publisher’s Author.
General
Reversion of Rights: Upon expiration of this agreement, all rights
delineated in Section I immediately revert to the Author unless an agreement to
renew or extend this agreement is reached. However, for the purposes of
convenience for both parties, the Publisher will continue to have the right to
publish the Work on an “at will” basis until the Author notifies the Publisher
in writing and delivered by registered mail to the Publisher the notice to
withdraw the Work from publication.
XV. Copyright Infringement:
Publisher is not obligated to initiate legal proceedings should a Claim arise
regarding a third party infringing the Author's or Publisher's rights. If such
a Claim arises, Author and Publisher may sue either jointly or severally.
Publisher shall not be held liable for failing to take action upon a Claim.
XVI. Defamation.
Should the Author, or Author’s agent, defame Whiskey Creek Press, Publisher has
the expressed right to remedy the matter in a court of law. The Publisher also
has the right to terminate this agreement, in part or in full, if defamation is
proven. The Author will be responsible for full payment of damages and
customary legal fees as a result of legal action stemming from defamation. This
does not apply to any issue between Authors.
XVII. Audit Accounting. Publisher will
keep accounts of all receipts and expenditures regarding the Work, and these
accounts will be available for Author's inspection. Author may, on reasonable
notice, through his/her designated representative, examine Publisher's records
that relate to the Work. Such examination shall be at Author's expense, unless
errors in excess of 5% of royalties or other sums due the Author by the
Publisher shall be found in Author's favor. In that case, Publisher shall
defray all reasonable costs of the examination and pay Author any sums due, up
to the amount owed Author by Publisher, within thirty (30) days.
This contract is
entered into in good faith, and signatures from all parties named herein
indicate acceptance and agreement to the terms described herein. This contract
shall be considered legal and binding in all countries.
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereby execute this Agreement as of the Effective
Date.
PUBLISHER: Debra
Ann Womack
COMPANY: WHISKEY
CREEK PRESS, LLC
ADDRESS: PO Box
51052 Casper, Wyoming 82605-1052
E-MAIL: publisher@whiskeycreekpress.com
Typing in your
information in the following fields constitutes your digital signature and your
acceptance of this contract.
