I am offering three flat-fee services because clients find these attractive. I am happy to handle these or other legal services on a more traditional retainer/hourly fee basis if a client so requests.
I am also happy to discuss any of my services via phone or email with no obligation or charge. Unless and until a client decides to sign a retainer agreement with me, he/she owes no fees and has no obligations to me. Go to my Contact page to get in touch.
Contract Analysis – Approximate Typical Fees – $600 for up to 9 pages, $750 for 10-17 pages and flat-fee quotes for 18 pages or more
This service involves an in-depth review of a single publishing or agency contract.
I’ll provide a written analysis of the entire contract and include answers to any questions my client has about the contract.
If an author were presented with a publishing or agency contract, this is the service he/she might want to use to understand any pitfalls or hidden restrictions contained in the contract.
This is the flat-fee service a client might want to use if he/she wanted to know about possible options for terminating a contract, was trying to determine if a publisher or agent was properly performing its contractual obligations or wanted to know all the ways in which his/her future activities might be restricted by the contract.
I’ll be available for discussion or questions for 30 days after sending the written analysis.
The retainer agreement between my client and myself will specify the contract I’ll be examining and describe the services I’ll provide.
While I don’t give legal advice to people who are not my clients, I don’t charge for talking with prospective clients so they can decide whether to hire me or not. I expect to communicate via email or phone with every prospective client before entering into any agreement to provide services for him/her, so please contact me with your question.
After communicating with a client, if I don’t believe a flat fee service is right for their particular situation, I will tell them before they incur any obligation to pay a fee.
Click here to see a sample retainer agreement for flat fee services.
Analysis and Negotiation Assistance for a Single Contract
Approximate Typical Fees – $1,000-$2,000
This flat-fee service involves review of multiple versions of a single contract, drafting of counter-proposals and general assistance with contract negotiation for a single contract over a 90 day period.
This service would be appropriate for a situation in which an author was negotiating a publishing contract (with or without an agent) or an agency agreement with a literary agency. It contemplates back and forth offers and counter-offers regarding various contract provisions.
To protect me from becoming involved in endless negotiations, generally, the retainer agreement would include a 90-day time limit, although I’m willing to discuss alternatives.
As with other flat-fee agreements, I would want email or telephone discussions with a prospective client to understand his/her concerns and goals and might need to review any preliminary agreements at no obligation to the prospective client before entering into a retainer agreement.
If, based upon my experience and knowledge of a particular publisher, I doubted my ability to obtain more advantageous terms for my client through negotiation; I would discuss my concerns with a prospective client before entering into any retainer agreement.
After investigation, if I determine a particular negotiation was not suitable for a flat fee agreement, I would anticipate discussing a retainer/hourly fee arrangement if the client was interested in such an arrangement.
Preparation of a Publishing Contract for a New Publisher
If a new publisher is being created and the owners would like a contract that treats authors fairly, I am willing to discuss doing this for a flat fee. I can’t provide examples of typical flat fees on this website because of the wide range of different business plans that new-model publishers may be planning to pursue. However, after a no-cost/no-obligation phone discussion, I am often able to provide a flat-fee quote for drafting a publishing contract.
I am happy to discuss any of my charges and services at no obligation. If you have any questions, please contact me.