Kirsch's Handbook of Publishing Law: For Authors, Publishers, Editors, and Agents

Jonathan Kirsch is an interesting combination: he is both a novelist and an attorney. He puts both skills to use in this book by creating an interesting, easy-to-read, easy-to-understand dissertation on all aspects of publishing law. The book is highly recommended for both authors and publishers.After a three-chapter introduction of some basic publishing law concepts, he spends almost 80 pages in chapter four going over the book publishing contract clause by clause. He examines the legal implications of each clause, the profit/loss implications for both the author and the publisher, as well as typical practices throughout the industry. Every author and every publisher should read this chapter twice!Chapter five examines defamation and privacy issues that every author and publisher should know before they write or publish a book. Can you risk not knowing this?After that he examines copyright, subsidiary rights, and trademark issues in detail-essential information for publishers.A well-read copy of this book belongs on the shelf of every publisher and author.

Are you about to finish writing a book? Are you an editor, agent, publisher, or even rookie lawyer in publishing? If so, or even if you are considering publishing something- anything, really- than this book is an essential tool/workbook in navigating the potentially dangerous/potentially treasure-filled waters of the printed word industry. Do not sign any book contract- no matter how good it 'sounds'- without first reading this book. Do not quote another source in your material without understanding the possible copyright consequences as explained in this book. Do not sign on with an agent or collaborator without first studying this book. I have seen too many musicians get screwed in boilerplate recording contracts and now that I have moved into writing I am very thankful that I have found and read this book- as I do not want to be the next victim of the 'small print' of a powerful publisher or by a indemnity lawsuit due to any negligence on my part. What Kirsch does in this publication is go through a book contract step-by-step, clause-by-clause, he 'reads between the lines' for us, he dissects the main deal points in a negotiation and summarizes the critical areas to pay attention to; he hems out publishing law as it applies to writing your book, selling your story to a publisher, and reaping your rewards without incurring a hefty lawsuit. This book is very-well formatted in a visual sense, is user-friendly, even for the publishing law novice, yet it teaches its concepts at a fairly advanced level. What more could you want?

Read this before you sign your first book contract. I'm glad I did. I made this material my crash course and it paid off. - DaveDavidson.com - author

Not only has this book saved me much time and money in research and legal fees, but the author makes the information accessible by offering myriad examples to back up his sage advice. I keep three books on my desk: the dictionary, the Chicago Manual of Style, and Kirsch's Handbook of Publishing Law. A classic.

As an editor with a small book publisher, I have found this volume invaluable. Along with basic information (written in a lively, engaging style that even makes legal issues interesting), the book contains many sidebars with answers to common questions, interesting case studies, and practical hints. Couldn't do without it