What Does Your Contract Allow Your Publisher to Do?

In her 2025 TAA Virtual Conference session, “Can My Publisher Really Do That?”, Brenda Ulrich, an intellectual property attorney with Archstone Law, said that authors often ask her questions that boil down to “can my publisher do that?”, but what they’re really asking is, “what does my contract allow my publisher to do?”.

“At the end of the day, the rules of your relationship with your publisher come down to what’s in the contract,” she said. “That’s why it is really important to carefully negotiate a contract from the start and make sure that from the start you understand what it means. That way, when things get dicey and divisive, the contract is the road map that you, the publisher, your lawyer, and ultimately, perhaps even a court, will look at to determine whether you or your publisher can ‘do that.’”

She shared some of the most common questions she hears from authors. Here are two:

2025 TAA Conference Bookstore Featured Book, ‘Mathematics of Secrets’

Mathematics of Secrets by Joshua R. Holden takes readers on a fascinating tour of the mathematics behind cryptography—the science of sending secret messages. Holden shows how mathematical principles underpin the ways that different codes and ciphers operate. Holden focuses on both code making and code breaking and discusses both ancient and modern ciphers.

2025 TAA Virtual Conference Bookstore Featured Book: ‘Learning Evidence-Based Research Skills the Peak Practice Way’

Learning Evidence-based Research Skills the Peak Practice Way: A Beginners Guide by Debra R. Hanna is the first book in a three-volume series designed to help undergraduate students develop evidence-based research skills. Supplemental digital learning exercises leverage Dr. K. Anders Ericsson’s peak practice principles. This first book focuses on research language and nine basic research skills.

Purchase in the 2025 TAA Conference Bookstore

2025 TAA Virtual Conference Bookstore Featured Book: ‘Dynamics of American State and Local Governments’

In The Dynamics of American State and Local Governments, Regina Lewis-Ward provides a thorough and insightful exploration of the intricate workings of state and local governments in the United States. With a keen focus on the interplay between power, politics, and conflict, Lewis-Ward unpacks the complexities and nuances that define governance at critical levels.

Purchase in the 2025 TAA Conference Bookstore

2025 TAA Virtual Conference Bookstore Featured Book: ‘Foundations of Academic Writing’

In its short-chapter format, Foundations of Academic Writing by Julie P. Combs focuses on the skills of reading, writing, searching, and organizing a research study. Instructors have used this book to advise thesis/dissertation students and in courses about writing and literature reviews. Students learn to select a topic, take notes using systems, summarize, avoid plagiarism, develop editing strategies, and build a writing practice.

Purchase in the 2025 TAA Conference Bookstore

2025 TAA Virtual Conference Bookstore Featured Book: ‘The Force Continuum’

The Force Continuum, by Wendi Zimmer, is a series of four pillars that, when strengthened, allow us to apply the information we already know. When strengthened, the Force Continuum, which consists of our mindset, identity, energy, and habits, gives us permission to take control of our lives.

Purchase in the 2025 TAA Conference Bookstore