#37: A Feel Good Contract

Here’s the final version of the contract sent to the writers for A Feel Good Book. It took two months and multiple iterations to get here. The original contract was longer and more complex, but thanks to Ope Adedeji for sharing the sample contract that led to this much simpler version. Daniel, Saratu and I worked with H from Hawk and Dane to put this together.

Dear Lagbaja,

This letter will set forth our agreement with Lagbaja (Author) and Feel Good Publishing House (Publisher) regarding a literary piece (the “Story”) contribution to the Publisher’s anthology of stories about queer joy provisionally titled “A Feel Good Book” (the “Work”).

We agree to pay you $500 upfront and 2% of Work sales in accordance with the terms of this agreement as described below:

By submitting the Story to the Publisher, you represent and warrant that you are the sole owner of the Story and have the full power to grant us the rights to the Story. The Story is original and accurate and has not been published elsewhere in any form. You also represent that its publication will not defame anyone or violate their rights of privacy or publicity or copyright, or otherwise violate the law or rights of any third party.
We have the right, in consultation with the Author, to reproduce, edit, revise, abridge, condense and title the Story and make judgments on editing and the visual treatment of the Story. Wherever Author approval is required under this Agreement, approval will be deemed given if the material to be approved is sent to the Author and the Author does not send a written note to the Publisher within 14 days indicating the Author’s disapproval.
We are purchasing and you are granting to us: a. the non-exclusive worldwide English-language rights to publish the Story and the worldwide rights to republish or cause the Story to be republished in any edition of the Work b. the right to use the Story as part of any electronic and/or computer database containing Publisher’s works c. the right to transmit the Work electronically and to reproduce it and distribute it in any medium, known or as yet unknown, which is capable of storing printed information in electronic form.
Any difference, controversy or dispute arising out of or connected with this Agreement or the breach thereof which cannot be mutually resolved by amicable discussions between the parties shall be referred to the Lagos Court of Arbitration (LCA) for mediation to be conducted in accordance with the LCA Mediation Guidelines. This is our entire agreement and may not be modified except by another written document signed by both of us.
You are submitting this Story in contribution to the Work, scheduled to start production in 2022. Nothing in this agreement imposes any obligation on the Publisher to publish, promote or sell the Work. If the Work is not published by December 31 2023, all rights granted herein will revert to the Author, without prejudice to monies paid. All rights not explicitly granted herein, including copyright, remain the property of the Author.
You will not allow anyone else to publish your Story for a period of 365 days after the Work is published. Thereafter, you are free to grant others the right to publish the Story but you will use your best efforts to ensure that the Publisher is credited as the original publisher of the Story. This applies as well to any syndication that you arrange on your own. Any such use of the Story by you will not require any payment to us.
An advance payment of $500.00 will be made once we approve the Story. You can either receive this payment via wire transfer to a US bank account or via USDC or USDT to a crypto wallet.
Two percent (2%) of Publisher’s Net Receipts will be paid to the Author yearly on the 31st of December. This is the net amount received from print and electronic Work sales minus trade discounts and costs associated with the creation of the Work.
One copy of each print edition of the Work will be sent directly to the Author. Please sign both copies of this Agreement and return to Feel Good Publishing House. We will sign them and return a fully executed copy to you.