From the OTHER SIDE OF THE DESK
Clause unsheathed
Piers Blofeld uncovers a contractual matter that highlights an essential difference between authors and publishers
Piers Blofeld
Lurking in the depths of publishing contracts is an unremarked section known as the no-partnership clause which stipulates that the contract does not in any way imply partnership between the publisher and the author.
It is not a clause that often excites much interest, but it came to light recently when a publisher I have an author with was acquired by another publisher. My author, one of their stars, was annoyed that we had just negotiated a new contract and this change in their status had never been mentioned.