Contracts, Rights, and Royalties

A publishing contract is a legal agreement that licenses specific rights from the author to the publisher for a defined term. Key clauses include: grant of rights (which rights you're licensing—print, ebook, audio), territory (world English, North American, or single-country), term (duration, often 'life of copyright' or a fixed period), advance and royalty schedule, option clause (publisher's right to consider your next book), and reversion clause (how you get your rights back if the book goes out of print). Never sign without understanding every clause.