Legal Question in Entertainment Law in New York

Question Regarding Publishing Contract

I have a question: my publisher made an offer back in June/July 2007 for a 2 in 1 book (2 stories by 2 authors in 1 book) with an advance of $18,000. When we queried the publisher asking when we could expect the contract for the 2 in 1 project (towards the end of last year)�my agent was told that the second author dropped out and they were looking for another. They didn�t want to send my contract until they found the second author.

A couple of days ago, my agent was told that they were canceling the project completely after revisiting contracts for profitability. They made an offer and I accepted�my agent rec�d a deal memo on this same project. I accepted this offer in good faith and started the project and now 7 months later�no contract and no payment. I have emails documenting my acceptance of the offer and all the details including advance amount, dates the manuscript was due, the word count and publication date.

In my other contracts with this publisher, it states that if they cancel a contract through no fault of the author--the author does not have to return any portion of the advance paid prior. I never received an actual contract so am I entitled to receive the advance?


Asked on 2/14/07, 10:25 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Steven Mark Steven Paul Mark, Attorney at Law

Re: Question Regarding Publishing Contract

Your question cannot be answered without seeing the deal memo. If that was intended to include the basic terms and was signed by the publisher you may have a strong position to assert. Your other correspondence should also be reviewed. Unless your agent can make a case, I suggest you consult with an attorney who would review the whole file. I represent a number of authors and am familiar with publishing agreements and publisher's custom and usage. If you wish to call, I'd be happy to explore this with no charge for the call.

Read more
Answered on 2/14/07, 10:40 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Entertainment & Sport Law questions and answers in New York