Parties
This publishing agreement is between the Author, Jane Author (jane@example.com), and Small Revolution Publishing ("SRP"), www.smallrevolutionpublishing.com. SRP's contact is info@smallrevolutionpublishing.com. David Small signs for SRP as publisher.
The Work
The Work is the book titled "Lightning Strike". The formats covered by this Agreement are ebook, paperback, and hardcover. The agreement date is October 27, 2026.
This Agreement is for this Work only. Another book needs its own agreement. SRP and the Author decide together whether to publish a later book. Neither party has to say yes.
Setup fee
The Author pays SRP a one-time setup fee of $500 USD. After it is paid, the fee is non-refundable, including if this Agreement later ends.
The fee covers administration, ISBNs for the ebook, paperback, and hardcover, and enabling global distribution so Barnes & Noble and other bookstores can order the book. It also covers in-house typesetting and an in-house polish and proofread for the SRP edition.
The fee does not cover a developmental edit, a copy edit, or a cover. The Author hires and pays those freelancers directly. SRP may recommend people. SRP does not take a cut of those invoices.
Who owns what
Copyright. The Author keeps the copyright in the Work at all times. The Author does not transfer the copyright to SRP. The Work is not a work made for hire.
Publishing license. The Author gives SRP an exclusive license to publish, reproduce, distribute, and sell the Work in the formats listed above, worldwide, under the Small Revolution Publishing imprint, for as long as this Agreement lasts. The license covers those formats only. When this Agreement ends, the license ends and the rights granted here revert to the Author.
Subsidiary rights. The Author keeps audio, translation, dramatic, film, and other subsidiary rights. This Agreement does not give those rights to SRP. SRP receives one of them only if both parties sign a separate written addendum that says so.
ISBNs. SRP buys and owns the ISBNs it uses for the SRP edition. SRP is the publisher of record for those ISBNs. If this Agreement ends, those ISBNs stay with SRP, and SRP may retire them. The Author may publish the Work again elsewhere, using new ISBNs.
Manuscript. The Author owns the manuscript text. The Author is the person who grants the license in this Agreement, and promises that the Author has the rights to grant it and that the Work is the Author's original work, or that the Author has permission for any part the Author did not create.
Author-paid freelancers. Cover art, developmental editing, and copy editing that the Author pays freelancers for belong to the Author, unless the Author's own contract with that freelancer says otherwise. SRP does not claim ownership of that cover art or those editorial files.
SRP production files. Typesetting and layout files that SRP creates for the SRP edition stay with SRP. They are for that edition. If this Agreement ends, the Author is not entitled to a free copy of SRP's layout source files, including InDesign or similar files, unless both parties agree to that in a separate writing.
Name and bio. The Author gives SRP a limited license to use the Author's name, likeness, and biography to market the Work while this Agreement is in effect. That license ends when this Agreement ends.
Royalties
There is no single royalty for every store and every format. The split depends on the channel. As a starting point, the parties expect about 10% to Small Revolution Publishing, about 40-60% to the retailer (depending on that retailer's terms), and the remaining roughly 40-50% to the Author.
Before publication, SRP and the Author will write down the actual percentages for each channel they use. That written schedule controls for the channels it names. Until it exists, the ranges in this section are the shared understanding. Those ranges are approximate and are finalized together.
SRP reports and pays the Author's share when the distributor pays SRP. If money is owed, SRP also sends a statement at least once each quarter. SRP does not take any part of what the Author pays freelancers.
Wholesale, returns, and sales
Wholesale discounts, and whether the book is returnable, are decided together in writing. If the book is returnable and copies come back, the Author is responsible for the return expenses.
SRP does not guarantee sales. Many independent books sell modestly. Modest sales are not a breach of this Agreement.
Production
The Author pays freelancers directly for the developmental edit, the copy edit, and the cover. SRP must approve the final files before publication. SRP will not publish files it has not approved.
Where SRP typesets the book or does a polish and proofread in house, that work is part of the setup fee described above.
Term and ending the agreement
This Agreement starts on the agreement date.
The first publication year starts on the day SRP first offers the Work for sale to the public and lasts twelve months. After that year, this Agreement renews for one year at a time unless either party sends written notice at least 30 days before the renewal date.
After the first publication year, the Author may end this Agreement for any reason by giving 60 days' written notice.
Either party may end this Agreement if the other party materially breaks it. That party sends written notice describing the break and gives 30 days to fix it. If it is not fixed in those 30 days, this Agreement ends.
When this Agreement ends, the publishing license ends and the rights granted to SRP revert to the Author, except as this section states. ISBNs that belong to SRP stay with SRP. The setup fee already paid stays paid.
Promises
The Author promises that the Author has the rights granted in this Agreement, and that the Work does not, to the Author's knowledge, infringe someone else's copyright or other rights.
If a claim against SRP comes from the Author breaking those promises, the Author is responsible for the resulting loss and for reasonable defense costs.
Notices and changes
Written notice under this Agreement may be email. A change to this Agreement has to be in writing. Signatures on this portal count as signing.
Governing law
Governing law: [to be confirmed by counsel]. This draft does not choose a country, a state, or a court.
Signatures
The Author signs after the setup fee is paid. David Small then signs for Small Revolution Publishing.
Author: Jane Author (jane@example.com). Not signed yet.
Publisher: David Small, Publisher, Small Revolution Publishing (info@smallrevolutionpublishing.com). Not signed yet.