That’s another post for another day.

Contract Summary

While we’re still doing a little “i” dotting and “t” crossing (indemnification clauses anyone? fun stuff), we thought it was time to unveil some of the basic terms of our author agreement. We’d also like to call your attention to the Submission Guidelines located here as a companion piece to this.

Pending final review from our counsel, the following are the base terms in our agreement:

• Grant of Rights: Worldwide English language rights for all digital formats; audio rights; paperback rights for traditional print or Print-on-Demand.
• Term of Contract: Five years with an option to extend under same terms and conditions for an additional five years.
• Royalties: Paid quarterly based on Quartet’s actual receipts on sale or license of the title.
  • 35% Royalty based on digital sales, escalating to 40%.
  • 12% Royalty based on print or audio sales.
  • No initial advance to author.
• Sequels/Additional Works by Author: Quartet gets right of first refusal on sequel but otherwise author is not obligated to submit any future work to Quartet. Authors are not obligated to submit sequels or additional works (see discussion about this change here, because we certainly hope you like working with us enough to want to consider the relationship!)
• Editorial/Art/Title: Quartet will assign (at its expense) a qualified editor to work with author to assist in developing manuscript and to ensure quality. Quartet will consult with author regarding title, cover art and descriptive copy and will assign (at Quartet’s expense) artist(s) and designer(s) to develop cover and cover copy as well as any supplemental marketing materials. Quartet retains final approval of title, final manuscript, cover art, cover copy and marketing materials.
• Formatting/Distribution: Quartet will make all titles available in as many digital formats as commercially viable. Formatting and distribution to vendors is the responsibility of Quartet and will be at Quartet’s expense.
• Other: Terms concerning Delivery of Work, Promotional Rights, Copyright, Warranties and Indemnification, Out-of-Print Termination and Rights Reversion, Confidentiality, Supervening Events, Construction, Assignment, Breach, Cure, Waiver and Remedy and other matters will be substantially similar in all material respects to standard industry practice for both print and digital publishers.

We want a relationship that’s fair to both parties, provides incentives for all of us to work for success, and clearly outlines what we expect from authors and what authors can expect from us. We intend to meet our commitments to our authors by following both the letter and the spirit of the agreement.

We are guided by the principle that working with our authors to build successful, sustainable careers is in our best interest as well.

Sales/Marketing/Publicity

A huge part of our marketing philosophy is: the book itself is our most important piece of marketing collateral. We place a high value on quality and production. Our ebooks are edited, designed and formatted by experienced and talented professionals.

• Customized Approach: At Quartet Press, we do not believe in a one-size fits all approach to author and book marketing. While many of our titles will share similar markets, and our primary sales outlets will be online, our marketing staff will work with each of our authors to determine the best marketing and promotional strategies for their books, and will pursue those strategies aggressively.
• Comprehensive and Continued Marketing/PR Training and Support for All of Our Authors: Quartet is committed to empowering our authors with the tools and skills they need to actively engage with readers, book bloggers, and all other members of the online book community. Training and support will be made available to our authors, including creation and maintenance of online author presences (blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, etc.).
• Quartet’s Own Online Community Outreach and Cultivation: Quartet strongly believes cultivating the online reading community will be a powerful component of our (and our authors’) success. The QuartetPress.com site will be a hub for the book community, and will be designed to encourage community discussion about Quartet books and authors. Quartet will also maintain an active presence on all applicable social networking sites, engaging with community about our books and authors, as well as about the publishing industry in general.
• Talking About the Books: Excerpts, author interviews, live webcast author chats, Twitter book club events, book discussion podcasts, author videos, and more will be utilized in spreading the word and encouraging conversations about Quartet’s books and authors – on the Quartet Site and throughout the Web.
• Traditional and New Media Relations: Quartet’s marketing and publicity staff will actively seek editorial and review coverage of our authors and titles in traditional and online media outlets. While our business is online, we know the importance of reaching readers where they are.
• Live Event Community Outreach: Quartet will ensure representation of titles and authors at applicable industry events, conferences, book fairs and festivals. In addition, Quartet will provide event support for authors – soliciting speaking engagements, book “signings” and other relevant live promotional events.
• Retail Presence: In addition to our own online, secure shopping site, we are currently working to secure distribution through all of the major ebook retailers.
• Availability of Printed Books: As we explore print distribution options, we will offer a print-on-demand option for readers who prefer to read in print.

And, of course, we’re always in pursuit of special sales opportunities and rights’ sales opportunities where and when appropriate. We are active in the cutting-edge publishing community, always test-driving new technology and opportunities to find innovative ways to connect books and readers.

So, enough about us. What do you want to talk about?

In theory, DRM is designed to prevent the theft of digital content. In reality, DRM is more likely to keep readers from buying ebooks. Or from reading an ebook, should they somehow manage to buy one.

DRM is a technology unlike any other in the 500-year history of publishing. While most publishing technologies lead to the printing and reading of more books, DRM is specifically designed to keep people from reading books.

What’s mystifying is that so many publishers insist on using DRM. Looking at this from a publisher’s perspective, there are many reasons to avoid DRM:

• DRM adds unnecessary cost and complexity to the production of ebooks.
• DRM creates artificial barriers to the purchase and legitimate use of ebooks. Matching ebook format to reading device shouldn’t be a guessing game.
• DRM creates an unnecessary support burden for publishers. When readers buy new laptops, they shouldn’t have to call and beg for permission to authorize their new computer to read books they’ve already purchased.
• Here’s the punch line: DRM doesn’t actually prevent piracy. The pirate networks are full of print books that have never been released in any digital format. Any book that can be read can be digitized. DRM won’t prevent that.

Any way you look at it, DRM adds no value, while creating huge barriers to the reading and enjoyment of fine literature (and even mediocre literature). Since Quartet Press is in business to produce great books, it doesn’t make sense to use a technology that’s designed to disrupt the reading process. That’s not what we’re about.

Besides, we’re ebook readers too. We know that the process of buying and reading ebooks is way more confusing and frustrating than it should be.

When you buy an ebook from Quartet Press you will be able to:

• Read our books on whatever device you choose.
• Know that your books will be accessible. If anything happens, you can always download your books again in the future. And you don’t have to worry about any “activation servers” going down.
• Avoid worrying about future device compatibility issues. When you buy a book from us, you can be confident that you’ll be able to read that book on the next great reading device that comes along (unless that device is locked down by DRM — in which case it won’t really be all that great).

I know we’ve only just met, but I’m here to tell you that we trust you’ll do the right thing with our books after you’ve purchased them. We’re not going to insult or inconvenience you by using DRM.

Here’s to reading without restraint.

Here’s to stories (and ebooks) that last forever.

Do you remember the first time you got your own apartment or house and realized that the downpayment or deposit plus first month’s rent (which seemed massive) were just the beginning of the list of things you needed to actually live there? Who knew houses didn’t come fully-equipped with garden hoses, laundry hampers, shower curtains and doormats? So you headed off to Target/WalMart/HomeDepot/Lowe’s/Bed, Bath and Beyond et al and spent enough to require a second mortgage before you got the last boxes unpacked.

That’s a lot like what’s going on at Quartet now, only with more zeroes on the checks being written. The ‘house’ is our Big Idea, which we’ve described at length elsewhere on this blog. It’s nice; we like it; we think we’ll keep it. Now we need to furnish and equip it to make it comfortable for us and (more importantly) for our guests from the reading and writing community.

One of the things we decided early on was that Quartet was going to be organized as a real business with the goal of being able to grow profitably and to scale up as we grew and added more titles, imprints and community members. We’re true believers in what we’re publishing but we also believe that authors, customers and readers are best served by having a successful business model that can be sustained financially and managed well as it grows. What a concept in publishing, huh? What that means in practical terms is building a business infrastructure and partnering with advisers, software and system vendors and others so the business works as well with hundreds of titles as it does with the initial offering this Fall.

A peek at the list of just the major activities we’re all knee deep in right now gives you an idea of the considerations involved, the efforts (and funds!) expended and the complexity of building a sustainable business. These are just a few of the items on our current to-do list:

Organizational, Legal and Financial:

• Establish LLC and create bylaws and policies
• Pass appropriate corporate resolutions to allow business to be transacted
• Obtain business licenses
• Establish banking relationships
• Select and set up accounting software
• Select and set up royalty software
• Select intellectual property counsel and develop author and freelance contracts

Workflow and Conversion to e-formats:

• Iterate on EPUB XSLT re: covers, TOC, etc.
• Coordinate EPUB to mobi/Kindle conversion
• EPUB to PDF conversion
• Develop and document standards for editorial – Word mark-up, style sheet usage, etc.
• Develop Word template for editorial QA testing format/process/device capability

Editorial:

• Develop and refine submission and review policies and procedures
• Build team of freelance editors, copy editors, designers, cover artists
• Build authoring tools to streamline editorial and conversion processes

Marketing/Sales:

• Define Corporate and Imprint PR and Marketing Strategies
• Determine distribution options and establish relationships with major sales outlets
• Create community engagement strategy
• Create tools for author marketing training and support
• Create online media kit

Website and E-commerce Development:

• Website content production and copywriting
• Technical specifications and requirements
• System design and implementation
• Select and modify e-commerce platform for multiple format downloads
• Web host selection and integration

Other Publishing System Requirements:

• Title and metadata management
• Digital asset management and distribution
• Version control
• Web content management (CMS)

And these are only a few balls we have in the air. Add that matters as mundane as ordering business cards (and fighting over their design) to as grand as determining pricing strategies and you (oh, that’s “WE”) have a full plate of things that we think have to be just right to accomplish what we hope to accomplish with Quartet. So far, we’re very happy with our progress and have had to good fortune to select (and be selected by) some unbelievably smart and helpful partners and advisers including the thoroughly knowledgeable and irrepressible Laura Dawson of LJNDawson.com for overall systems advice, the brilliant and hilariously funny Liza Daly of Threepress.org who’s helping us navigate the wiles of epub file conversion, and the very talented Josh Tallent who’s lending his advice and services in  our Kindle formatting. Our approach has been (to borrow from Jimmy Carter) “Why not the best?” and we will have several more key partnerships and relationships to announce in the near future.

These and a million other little pieces are what we have in the works…all with the intention of creating a remarkable experience for readers, authors and others in the bookish community. A solid business plan and excellence in execution are not mutually exclusive with great books and we hope this overview (and others to follow in the coming weeks) sheds light on the process and puts to rest the myth (that Kassia’s addressed in a response to a comment here) that anyone with a computer and an internet connection can be a digital publisher.

Continue to follow our adventures and most of all, keep telling us what you’d like us to be when we grow up. And for heaven’s sake, tell us if we’ve forgotten anything important!

Lovely, isn’t it? And, it really embodies what Quartet aims to be all about. We want to be a hub for the bookish community, and we really want to get to know our readers.

So, we’re starting with getting to know someone who we hope already feels at home in our community: Lori Green!

Recently I asked Lori a few questions about books, and ebooks, and reading, and publishers, and writing, oh – and winning contests! Read the interview below. And once again, thanks to Lori, and thanks to all of you who entered the Quartet Press Tagline Contest!

~ Kat

Q: How’d you find out about the Quartet Press slogan contest?
A: Saw the contest announced on Twitter and went over to see what it was. I’m a contest ho and was following Quartet Press and it’s founders. Just seemed fun. I’m really grateful for the variation of my slogan being picked (as is my daughter who grabbed that package out of my hands so fast you’d think she was a frog and the ipod a fly).

Q:What’s your literary poison (or should I say, passion)?
A: I’m a huge fan of contemporary and paranormal romance written with humor. Also, I love literary fiction.

Q: Do you write?
A: My own writing is a pastiche of the three genres which explains my unpublished status.

Q: When it comes to dealing authors and readers, what are publishers doing right?
A: I’m a huge fan girl of Angela James and Samhain, simply because her authors stay with her even once they move to the big New York sales. If some of the top names in romance are still writing for Samhain, you know they’re doing things right.

Harlequin also embraces its readers and writers with remaining contemporary and market savvy as well as treating their authors and readers respectfully.

Q: What irks you about publishers?
A: I love imploding publishers. Makes for great reading on the writer’s blogs!

Q: What are you currently reading and how are you reading it?
A: I’m reading Witch Heart by Anya Bast (Book 3 in the Elemental Witches series). It’s a paperback. After that I’ll be reading either Friday’s Child by Georgette Heyer, or Too Good to be True by Kristan Higgans or … well, the pile of books is daunting.

Q: What’s your all-time favorite book?
A: To Kill a Mockingbird is the finest book I’ve ever read and reread. Elegant, deep and makes me cry even after the 100th reading. My all-time favorite romance is Crazy for You by Jennifer Cruisie: it’s hot, funny, and I think I love every character in it.

Q: Any thoughts on pricing of ebooks?
A: I know epubs have overhead, but ebooks need to be priced cheaper. Otherwise why would I buy an ebook when I can get a paperback and either resell or trade it, something I can’t do with an ebook. And trust me, I am a great fan of paperbackswap, resell book stores and Amazon customer sellers.

Q: Do you read ebooks or print books exclusively, and if so, why?
A: I mostly read paperbacks because I don’t yet have an ereader (I will with my next tax refund check). But I do have a number of ebooks on my computer although I’ve read more e-novellas and short stories than full length books because I hate reading at my computer.

Q: What would your ideal ereading device look like, do, and cost?
A: I’ll probably buy a Sony because as much as I crave the Kindle I don’t like that it doesn’t take pdf files. And I think they’re all priced too high but I want one anyway.

I’d like to add that myself and some of my friends are very excited about Quartet Press. Seeing people with the backgrounds that you and Kassia and Kirk have are making us eager to see another quality publisher coming to the table.

image courtesy of http://www.wordle.net/

First, let’s consider the two perspectives.

• Traditional Publishing: The first is based on a traditional publishing model. In this world, authors are paid advances against royalties (generally in one or more tranches, based on contractual thresholds). Royalties, rarely exceeding (and sometimes far lower than) 15%, are paid to the author. Historically, these amounts are paid on a semi-annual basis, 60 – 90 days after the close of the period. The publisher will deduct certain sums before determining payment. These deductions include bad debt, reserves for returns, actual returns. There may also be provisions for reducing royalties based on deep discounts or other factors.
• Digital Publishing: In this second model, which is also employed by some small press in the traditional world (such asVanguard Press, part of the Perseus group), no advance is paid. Royalties, at 35% or more, are generally higher than those paid by traditional publishers. These sums are generally contractually required to be paid on a quarterly basis, within 30 – 60 days, but, particularly in the romance digital publishing world, are traditionally paid monthly. In the pure digital model, amounts for returns and bad debt are not generally withheld.
• Both: Provide editorial, distribution, and marketing services for authors.

Two different business models. Both have strengths, weaknesses, good actors, and bad actors.

The current digital publishing battle in the RWA is, in some ways, predicated on the differences between these two models. The issue, in a nutshell, came about because there is no programming related to digital publishing on the official Annual Conference schedule (there is a planned Rogue Digital Seminar, to be held Thursday, July 16 at 10 a.m., details to come.). A workshop proposed by a leading expert in the digital publishing market — not just the digital publishing model, but the greater market as well — was rejected due to fact that she works for a publisher who doesn’t meet certain publisher standards created by the RWA (another proposal was rejected for different reasons).

Because of the breadth of issues related to the development of new markets and revenue streams in publishing, this lack of programming negatively impacts 100% of the RWA membership.

Authors, the constituency served by the RWA, make career choices based on many factors. Money (of course), career goals, belief in the story. There is no wrong way to publish; even the so-called vanity publishers serve a purpose. It is not the job of the business entity to change its model, but it is the job of the Romance Writers of America to fulfill its mission by educating authors about the various options, including strengths and weaknesses, when it comes to publishing.

As long as authors have their eyes wide open when they make decisions, they will make choices that work for their careers. Every author must be educated about options and the pluses and minuses of various business models, and then allowed to choose the path that is right for her career, at that moment.

When it comes to being the “career-focused” author cited by Diane Pershing , it is first necessary to define the term. Is the author who traditionally published a single book ten years ago less career-focused than the author who digitally published five books over the past two years? The latter is in the right place at the right time while the former may be the victim of bad breaks. Is the unpublished author less career-focused?

Every author is at a different stage of her career, but that doesn’t change the need for quality information and education. This is where RWA has traditionally excelled in their mission. Authors cannot make effective, smart decisions about their careers without as much information as possible, and the organization has made that possible in various ways.

The Romance Writers of America need to take a step back and look at the various ways real publishers — not just a handful of publishers — do business. They need to consider the fact that the digital publishing model has been in place for over ten years, and its members consider digital to be a serious publishing option. They need to acknowledge that traditional publishing is facing serious challenges: cuts to budgets, cuts in editorial, less marketing support than ever before (and if you’re a traditionally published author, you know what I mean).

In Diane Pershing’s “From the President” letter in the June issue of the Romance Writers Report (members only link), she notes the problems that come when RWA members get their information from “…other members on the loops, some of whom might be knowledgeable, but some of whom are merely passing along gossip or, worse, spin…”. Absent any official RWA information, this will continue unabated. The current approach taken by the organization is not working. It’s time for change.

I don’t disagree with Pershing’s assertion that the RWA should not jump with every new development in the industry. Real leadership does not come from the perspective of a reactionary. But it’s the 21st century and the changes we’re talking about in publishing are already taking place. It’s time for the RWA to lead.

So here is my proposal: The Romance Writers need to create a digital task force that brings together a broad constituency: traditionally published authors, digitally published authors, traditional and digitally published authors, traditional publishers, digital publishers, heck, even players from outside the world of romance (though, I am proud to say!, romance boasts some of the leaders in this field…leaders who are not being tapped).

This task force should be charged with two mandates:

• Education and Communication: The entire group, working together, will create and disseminate information about all issues pertaining to digital publishing. Royalties, new distribution channels, business models, DRM, piracy, you name it. They will use a combination of techniques to make sure the membership learns everything they can about this evolving market…before it’s too late. Authors are being forced to make decisions about digital right now, and they don’t have good information. By everything, I mean local workshops, national workshops, RWR articles, eNotes, targeted emails to the entire membership, podcasts, videocasts, webinars. The Romance Writers of America have the technology. It’s time to use it. I am going to steal an idea from Deidre Knight and suggest this task force include one member who serves as the Digital Liaison to the Board of Directors.
• 21st Century Policies and Procedures: The second mandate of this group — and it’s going to be hard — is to consider how to ensure that RWA policies and procedures (and even bylaws) remain solid and focused on authors. This involves taking a long, hard look at how different business models impact the career-focused author, and instituting enough flexibility to ensure that changes in the publishing landscape can be effectively addressed in a timely manner. This includes addressing issues relating to RITA/Golden Heart entries, making sure there is consistency and fairness, and establishing publisher standards that are strong but acknowledge the fact that different publishing business models exist — and that new models may emerge in the future.

Your thoughts?

Also, here is some perspective from others:

• RWA & The Case of the Lack of Vision: Jane at Dear Author has an initial take on the issue
• It’s a Hard Knock Life for Us: Author Jackie Barbosa reveals the less-than-pretty side of traditional publishing
• Changing The View From Here: Sarah Wendell of the Smart Bitches considers the strengths of the Romance Writers of America
• Digital Publishing and the Alternative Economic Model: Jane/Dear Author again, this time looking at the different economics in the business models
• Digital-Only Publishers: In the Ghetto: Don Linn takes a look at the current brouhaha
• A Call To Action: Angela James on why RWA needs to educate authors

We’ll be talking here about everything from grand plans (“What is Quartet trying to accomplish anyway?”) to the nitty-gritty details (“How do you get ISBN numbers and why are they so doggone expensive?”) of a new digital publishing venture, but for now, let’s talk about a few things we’re focused on in the context of our “Big Idea” – building a viable business around the notion of connecting readers and authors with great stories, making it easy to discover, purchase and read terrific digital books in any format (DRM-free), and creating a community where readers, authors, bookish types of all stripes, and those interested in the sea-changes underway in publishing can gather to talk about these things and whatever else interests them.

With that in mind, four things are priority projects for us right now:

Outstanding Book Discovery and Shopping Experience: You just want to find and buy the book. We get it. We’re convinced finding and buying e-books is too hard right now and this is one thing deterring many readers from moving from print to “e”. Kirk and the rest of the tech team are designing a discovery and shopping experience that’s easy, fast and doesn’t require jumping through hoops to get out the door.

Read Quartet Books Wherever You Want: We believe when you buy our books they’re yours. You should be able to read them on any device you have and share them as you see fit. We’re working with some terrific consultants to make our books available in as many common formats as possible and to serve them up without the hassles of DRM, (We believe DRM frustrates paying customers and is not particularly effective in deterring piracy anyway, so why bother?) Converting a manuscript to multiple formats that display properly on the wide variety devices out there today (not to mention those on the horizon), like loving, isn’t easy, so we’re spending lots of time and resources to get it right.

Great Authors Mean Great Books: Kassia’s already begun to receive manuscripts and expects to be seeing many more. We’re firm believers in creating an experience for our authors that makes it easy, enjoyable and profitable for them (you?) to work with us on an ongoing basis. Right now it means developing an Author Contract that’s fair to each of us and is explicit about what we expect from the author and what the author can expect from us. It’s not only good business—it’s the right thing to do.

A Comfortable Place for the Community: The only thing more fun than reading books is talking about books and we want Quartet to be, if not a formal literary salon, at least a place where you can kick back with friends, have a cup of tea or a glass of wine, and talk about what you’re reading, digital publishing and ebooks, or anything else that’s on your mind. We’ll be everywhere you are (conferences, book fairs, Facebook, Twitter and pretty much everywhere else bookish types are hanging out) but Kat and her team are working hard to make Quartet the place you and your friends want to spend your time.

There are a bazillion details behind each of these broad projects (and a bazillion other things happening in parallel) that we want to get right. We’re eager to hear your thoughts and suggestions on how we should do it. It’s our business, but it’s all about you, so chime in and help us make Quartet Press all you want it to be.