There are numerous clauses in literary contracts which can trip writers up, and since they're invariably written by the publisher, they often can be created to favor that party. Here's how to protect yourself.

With book contracts, make sure there's a provision for "Reversion of Rights" or an "Out of Print" clause. This section should specify that should the book go out of print for a given period of time, say three years, that the author may make a demand for the reversion of all rights previously granted to the publisher by this particular contract. It will go on to say the publisher is given an amount of time, say 30 days, to respond and declare that it's either initiating an additional printing of the book, or, that it's returning the rights to the author. The clause should also say that failure of the publisher to respond to a demand by the author will constitute an automatic reversion at the end of the specified time period.

Interestingly, my wife, Mary, sent such a demand to Harlequin on all of the books of hers they published, and SURPRISE, they're republishing two of them ("Anna's Child" and "Danielle's Doll") this year, so they won't have to revert those rights. They reverted the rest of the rights to her books, so she can sell them again when she becomes rich and famous (I hope). Hurray for the Reversion clause!

Additionally, you now must define "Out of Print," so that the publisher can't use the newly developed instant book printers (Print on Demand--POD) to only print one book each year and claim the book is still "in print." The clause should say something like "The work will be deemed to be out of print when the publisher prints fewer than 500 (insert your own number) books in a one year period." Have a qualified intellectual property attorney draft that paragraph, (and others) if they're not included, or not to your liking, in the contract sent from the publisher.

So, guard your rights, and let me know if you have any business questions for writers.

Ted
ted@writerscenter.com