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So now that you decided you want to write a book, wrote your proposal, and found a publisher, you need to know how to understand the contract they’ll be sending your way. I wasn’t always a food blogger (although for me it definitely feels otherwise!); I graduated law school as a Juris Doctor. Now, normally I would say that along with $3.00 will get me a cup of coffee at Starbucks, but this is one real-life situation where having a law degree under my belt actually helped me immensely.

Not only can I translate my own contract from legalese into plain English, but I can negotiate my own terms. In case anyone out there is working agent-free the way I was (the way I still am, actually), below I’ve listed a few important contractual terms to look for and whether or not (in my experience) you can usually negotiate each specific term. (more…)