Awe-Struck E-Books Author Contract
1.) This contract is dated: ______________ and hence forth exists between the author:
Name: _______________________________________________
Address: _______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Phone: _______________________________________________
E-Mail: _______________________________________________
Fax: _______________________________________________
2.) and the publisher, Awe-Struck E-Books, represented by: Kathryn D. Struck and Dick Claassen.
3.) This Agreement is entered into in good faith and sound mind by all parties. The signatures from all parties named in this contract indicate understanding and acceptance to the terms described below.
4.) The author agrees to grant the Awe-Struck E-Books the exclusive license to produce, sell, and promote first rights of all electronic print versions (on disks or as downloads), nationally and internationally, in any language including English, and adaptations of the work(s) of fiction, named in this contract, titled:
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
(hereafter referred to as 'the work') internationally.
5.) The author retains the right to publish excerpt portion(s) of the work (excerpts to total no more than 5,000 words) for promotional use on his/her personal Internet website, with no restrictions upon length of time the excerpt(s) may be posted. The author retains the right to seek and establish contracts with print publishers, as long as credit is given to Awe-Struck as the electronic publisher.
6.) The author testifies that the work is his/her original work of fiction, and that he/she has the exclusive ownership of it and power to grant all rights to it.
7.) The publisher will, if necessary, assist in registering the copyright of the work. The author, however, is responsible for fees incurred in procuring copyright.
8.) The author agrees to secure permission for use of any copyrighted materials incorporated in his/her original work, communicated to the publisher by the author, which is included in the work covered by this contract.
9.) The publisher holds author harmless from litigation resulting from breach of promise of the publisher.
10.) The author holds the publisher harmless from litigation resulting from breach of promise of the author.
11.) Excerpting from or adapting the work, except in the case of marketing and promoting the work will not be permitted without author's written approval.
12.) The publisher may not assign this electronic publication contract to another publisher without the author's approval.
13.) The author will receive appropriate credit as author of the work. If the work was first published in book form, the book publisher will also receive appropriate credit.
14.) The author agrees to allow the publisher to perform certain minor editing (sentence usage, mechanics correction, spelling correction, minor abridging, and grammar correction, etc.), and the publisher agrees not to change the characters, storyline, or theme in any significant way without the consent of the author. The author has one chance to proofread the text of the finished manuscript (in pdf or html) and correct or indicate errors that may exist, or complete any editing changes at least two months prior to release. Failure to communicate the desire for changes before the release date may cause the author to be financially liable for reformatting the manuscript. Once the pdf or html proof manuscript has been approved by the author, the publisher deems it finished, and any changes requested on the part of the author at a later time will be the financial responsibility of the author. The cost for additonal work will be 100.00.
15.) The author has the right to approve the final text prior to publication; approval must be presented to the publisher in the form of a letter, e-mail or fax transmission. Awe-Struck provides covers for e-books at no cost to the author, unless the author prefers to have the cover designed by an artist of his/her choice. If Awe-Struck E-Books makes the cover, the cover can be used without the author's approval of the cover design. The cover will be the property of Awe-Struck E-Books, and the author may not use the cover for promotion without the approval of Awe-Struck E-Books. The author's pre-publication approval of both text and cover will be kept on file at the publisher's business. The work shall not be published if the final form is not approved by the author.
16.) The publisher agrees to pay the author royalties based on the following terms: Flat fee of 21% of retail cost of the book (4.99 USD at this time—subject to change), or 1.09 (at this time) per sale. No royalties shall be paid on electronic files, disks, or copies furnished free of charge to media reviewers, or for use in advertising or promotion of the work. Royalties are paid quarterly and will commence a maximum 90 days after the work named in this contract goes on sale. If the author should die while this contract is in force, royalties shall be paid to the author's legal heir(s). Royalties of 25.00 or less will be held until the following quarter, when the two quarters shall be paid together.
17.) The publisher agrees to communicate (by letter, fax, or email), a statement of account to the author on a semi-annual basis, consisting of a record of all sales transactions received in the publisher's office up to the final day of the quarterly reporting period. Royalty checks will be issued within five weeks after the end of the quarter. 1099's will be supplied to any author receiving at least $15.00 in royalties at the end of the calendar year as required by law.
18.) The author may request information about his/her account at any time, and is advised to keep accurate records for tax purposes.
19.) Publisher has the license to publish, promote, and distribute the work, as an electronic book only, for two full years from the date on which the work is actually posted for sale. The contract may be renewed after the two years has elapsed by mutual consent.
20.) If the author writes another work which is a sequel to the work covered in this contract, using an identical theme and/or major characters that are contained in the contracted work, the publisher retains the first right of first refusal and must reply to the author within 90 days to publish the subsequent work in e-book format.
21.) This contract may be terminated by either the author or the publisher with a 90-day written, certified mail notice, and all rights granted the publisher will revert to author at that time.
22.) If the publisher does not publish and make available for sale the work named in this contract, in e-book format within thirty days of the mutually agreed upon release date, this contract is void and all rights revert to the author.
23.) The publisher makes no promises or guarantees regarding estimated sales figures. The publisher shall do its best to publish and promote the work using the latest internet standards and options as they develop. The author is advised to actively promote his/her work, individually and in collaboration with the publisher.
24.) The publisher will provide the author with one finished copy of the work at no charge, either in disk form or as a download. If further disk copies are needed by the author for signings or promotional opportunities, the author will be charged a packaging and shipping charge (Currently that fee is running about 3.50 per unit. The author will be informed if that fee should change.)
25.) The publisher has the right to contract with distributors/vendors of electronic books to produce files for sale in association with the Awe-Struck E-Books name. A complete list of booksellers and distributors is available to the author upon request. The author will be compensated at 35% of the publisher's percentage received from each unit sold.
26.) The Author agrees to deliver to Publisher the completed Work no later than six (6) months prior to the above-agreed-upon Release Date, in the format agreed upon by the Publisher's Executive Editor and the Author. The Publisher reserves the right of final approval on final Work submissions. The Author shall be notified of such acceptance within thirty (30) days of receipt of Work or revised Work.
27.) Any changes in this contract must be in writing and signed by both parties
Signatures of the publisher: ______________________________________________________________________________
(The above signature represents
both Kathryn Struck and Dick Claassen.)
Date: ____________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Signature(s) of the author(s):
Date: ____________________
Please print out two copies of this contract, fill each out, date, sign, and send to:
Awe-Struck E-Books, Inc.
2458 Cherry Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001
Attention: Kathryn/POD