Your royalties: The devil is in the details

Are you confused trying to determine how your royalty statement matches your publishing agreement? Do you feel like your royalty check is less than expected? According to Juli Saitz, CPA, Senior Managing Director, Ankura Consulting Group during her recent webinar, “the devil is in the details”.

To better understand how your royalties should be calculated, there are several items you may want to look for in your contract – beyond the basic royalty figures – including clauses on: electronic derivatives, subsidiary rights, custom work, packages, and tiering.

8 conditions affecting royalty accuracy

In his recent webinar, “Royalty Disputes: Legal Strategies in Pursuit of Information and Payments Due”, David Slarskey, a trial lawyer with Slarskey LLC, defined royalty accuracy as the “accurate reporting, accurate calculation, and accurate recovery of royalties due to authors.”

Slarskey proceeded to identify the following eight conditions as some of the dynamics at play that can create friction in the process of achieving royalty accuracy in publishing relationships.

Textbook contract Q&A with attorney Lisa Moore

Earlier this fall, TAA hosted an audio conference titled “Contract Negotiation: E-books & E-rights” featuring attorney Lisa Moore, principal of The Moore Firm, LLC. Moore’s outstanding presentation culminated in a rich Q&A discussion that provided valuable insight into textbook publishing contract negotiations.

Following are abbreviated excerpts edited by TAA from the transcripts of that discussion.