Most asked questions: Author Contracts:
Contracts take from six to eight weeks once an editor reaches agreement to publish your manuscript through our agency.
First upon accepting the new manuscript, the editor prepares a done deal memo.
Next this memo is handed to the parties concerned in the publisher's contract department where it is used as an outline for the formal contract. You get a copy of the done deal memo too.
After this contract is read by the company acquisitions editor, it travels to an officer of the company for approvals, then the contract department takes it and issues a copy to the agent and author.
After the agent and author review the contract for the agreed upon deal points, the final signed contract is returned to the publisher. It can take up to a month or two months to agree on the deal points in some cases.
Once returned to the publishing company again, the contracts must be reviewed and then must be signed before copies of the completed contract are mailed to you. At that time a voucher is issued, directing the accounts payable folks to cut a check for your advance payment.
This check then goes to the controller or authority in charge of disbursements to sign. Then this "advance" is mailed to the agent who removes his ten percent and mails the other ninty percent to you. After returned books that did not sell are subtracted from the company accounts, the final royalty check owed by the publisher is mailed to the payee,
In publishing all things take time, not to mention the time it took you to produce the manuscript. The contract cash advance must meet a breakeven point through public sales of the book before you begin to recieve royalties. How much? That depends on your contractual agreement points.