Dear Penpal
Last week, I received a message on my
LinkedIn from a writer. They wanted to know how they could make sure their book is copyrighted before self-publishing. I was amazed that they
do not know the fact that as a creator of original content, they automatically have copyright.
So let me stress this first: You have all the rights including rights to earn from your work, the moment you create something.
Not only do you have the copyright, you also have power to decide which rights to give to a publisher, a company or whatnot. (Read more about these rights
here.) Got an offer from a publisher or a company interested in commissioning your work? That’s wonderful. Remember EVERYTHING in an offer is negotiable.
It’s important that you negotiate. Don’t be afraid.
Ironically, as these things happen, I’ve been looking at contracts all of last two weeks. One of my contracts is with a publisher for a new book. Another deal is an options contract for audio-visual rights of a book. The third is for an audio deal for a short story. All of these are with very different companies and come with very different clauses, ranging from 25-pages filled with legalese to an easy-going 5-clause, single-page agreement.
Without exception, you need to keep as many rights as possible with yourself.
I didn’t do this in my first book. I didn’t negotiate as I was afraid I’ll lose the contract and ended giving them a lot of control for the work. Since then, I’ve decided to negotiate at-least twice before I bow down. What will do you with non-India rights if you’re only publishing in India? What will you do with Hindi rights if you’re only publishing in English?
Surprisingly, if you ask why, you’ll realise how flexible these contracts are and retain most of your rights.
I’ve been doing this for seven years now and have started to see the benefits of retaining my rights in older works. I can decide and sell them to non-English publishers, producers, audio producers and gamers and what nots as I feel fit.
I control the rights of my work. And as a creator, I feel happy about that.
As a rule, I only give those rights to the publisher/company which I know they will use right here, right now. I won’t delve into details of what clauses to look for, as that’s a separate long-form in itself.
What I want to leave you with, dear creator, is that you do not be afraid of negotiating. Read the mind-numbing legalese, ask why, take professional help from lawyers, and keep control on your rights. For you created that work with a lot of blood and sweat.
