I have been commissioned by a publisher to write a book of bedtime stories for children aged 2-5.

I have been paid for the sample story I sent to ensure my suitability for the project, and have just received a letter from the editor asking me to ring her this week to discuss things such as deadlines, payment etc.

I presume I will get a contract - what should I look for? Are there any phrases that should ring alarm bells?

I will ask who holds the copyright because I have noticed that in collections of stories often the publisher holds the copyright rather than the author. Is this normal with a commissioned work?

What else should I ask about??

Freebird

Freebird, the Society of Authors has an excellent booklet on publishing contracts, which will tell you what you need to know: it's not straightforward stuff (which is why I'm hesitating to say anything specific), and, as you've realised, something like your commission may be a bit different from, say, a novel that's already finished. The booklet's £10, or free to members:

http://www.societyofauthors.org/publications/

But you might want to consider joining the Society: you're eligible if you've been offered a publishing contract, and you can send the contract in with your membership fee. They'll go over it with their legendary fine-toothed comb, and get back to you within a few days to tell you about anything really bad, but also explain anything which isn't bad, but which you might not have realised the implications of. They're then a brilliant source of advice and networking for the rest of time...

http://www.societyofauthors.org/index.html

Emma

Thanks, Emma

that's really useful

Freebird