Contract Ideas
Here are some points I want to cover in my contract with translators. These are all just draft ideas so far, written in a way that I hope addresses the needs and protects the interests of both parties.
Please feel free to post suggestions as comments.
1. Seeking print publication for translations of my stories. The translator has the right sign contracts for the print or web publication of individual story translations without further approval from me. Any fee for print or web publication of the story will be divided as follows: For a fee equal to or less than fifty dollars U.S. or its equivalent, the translator is entitled to the entire fee. For a fee between fifty and one-hundred dollars or its equivalent, the translator is entitled to fifty dollars and I get the remainder. For fees over one-hundred dollars or its equivalent, the translator and I will share the fee equally.
2. If the translator is operating a translation version of shortshortshort.com, the translator is responsible for setting the subscription price, determining the terms by which stories will be offerd to subscribers (i.e. how many stories, how often), collecting subscription fees, and sending the stories to subscribers in a timely manner. The translator is also responsible for providing text for a web page on www.shortshortshort.com which describes the subscription service in the target language.
3. The translator must give me a free subscription to the translated stories. The translator may, at the translator's option, provide the texts of translations to be posted at www.shortshortshort.com as advertising.
4. A translator who is operating a version of shortshortshort.com will have, to a large extent, an exclusive license to translate my short-short stories. This is to reward the translator for the risk he or she undertakes to establish the e-mail subscription service. If other translators ask to translate my short-short stories, I will in most cases deny such requests. Exceptions: If a publisher approaches me with an offer of publication, I will first suggest that the publisher work contract with the shortshortshort.com translator for translation. However, if the publisher prefers to work with another translator, I may grant the publisher permission to work with the publisher's choice of translator.
5. If a translator is not operating an e-mail subscription service, no such exclusive license is granted, and the translator acknowledges that if another translator is found who does wish to operate the subscription service, that translator will be granted exclusive license. However, such exclusive license will not prohibit or impede the publication of existing translations.
6. I may accept payment for subscriptions to the translation service. If I do so, I will forward the subscriber's name and e-mail address, and the translator will add this subscriber to the translator's subscription service.
7. The translator agrees to pay me half of the translator's gross receipts for subscriptions. Gross receipts are the subscription price minus any transaction fees, such as PayPal charges or credit-card fees that were subtracted when the payment to the translator was processed.
8. Annual report. At the end of each calendar year, I will report to the translator any payments that I accepted for payments to the translator's service. I will make such reports no later than January 10. The translator will then report the following back to me: The names and e-mail addresses of subscribers to the service. The gross receipts from subscriptions. Sales of any print or web publication rights for individual stories.
9. Annual payment. At the time of the report, the translator will remit to me whatever payment is owed to me for the year's print and web publications and subscription receipts, less any amount that I owe the translator for translation subscriptions for which I received payment directly from the subscriber.
10. The translator is authorized to provide the original story in English to subscribers along with the translator's translation. It is up to the translator whether or not to charge extra for receiving the story in both languages.
11. Books or group publications. This agreement does not extend to the publication of books or any print or web publications which would use more than three short-short stories at a time. Translation rights for books or groups of more than three stories must be conferred under a separate agreement.
12. The translator has the right to sell or transfer ownership of the translator's subscription service, subject to my approval. Such approval will not be unreasonably denied.
13. Should the translator's subscription service fail to meet its obligations to subscribers for a period of two consecutive months or longer, the translator's license may be revoked. It is therefore in the translator's interest to consider how the translator could continue to operate the subscription service without interruption in the event of illness or injury.
14. This agreement does not extend to any of my other written works, including novels, non-fiction, or stories longer than 2,500 words. This agreement covers only the translation of those stories that appeared in the collections Flaming Arrows and The Keyhole Opera and those stories which I sent out to e-mail subscribers of www.shortshortshort.com.
Please feel free to post suggestions as comments.
1. Seeking print publication for translations of my stories. The translator has the right sign contracts for the print or web publication of individual story translations without further approval from me. Any fee for print or web publication of the story will be divided as follows: For a fee equal to or less than fifty dollars U.S. or its equivalent, the translator is entitled to the entire fee. For a fee between fifty and one-hundred dollars or its equivalent, the translator is entitled to fifty dollars and I get the remainder. For fees over one-hundred dollars or its equivalent, the translator and I will share the fee equally.
2. If the translator is operating a translation version of shortshortshort.com, the translator is responsible for setting the subscription price, determining the terms by which stories will be offerd to subscribers (i.e. how many stories, how often), collecting subscription fees, and sending the stories to subscribers in a timely manner. The translator is also responsible for providing text for a web page on www.shortshortshort.com which describes the subscription service in the target language.
3. The translator must give me a free subscription to the translated stories. The translator may, at the translator's option, provide the texts of translations to be posted at www.shortshortshort.com as advertising.
4. A translator who is operating a version of shortshortshort.com will have, to a large extent, an exclusive license to translate my short-short stories. This is to reward the translator for the risk he or she undertakes to establish the e-mail subscription service. If other translators ask to translate my short-short stories, I will in most cases deny such requests. Exceptions: If a publisher approaches me with an offer of publication, I will first suggest that the publisher work contract with the shortshortshort.com translator for translation. However, if the publisher prefers to work with another translator, I may grant the publisher permission to work with the publisher's choice of translator.
5. If a translator is not operating an e-mail subscription service, no such exclusive license is granted, and the translator acknowledges that if another translator is found who does wish to operate the subscription service, that translator will be granted exclusive license. However, such exclusive license will not prohibit or impede the publication of existing translations.
6. I may accept payment for subscriptions to the translation service. If I do so, I will forward the subscriber's name and e-mail address, and the translator will add this subscriber to the translator's subscription service.
7. The translator agrees to pay me half of the translator's gross receipts for subscriptions. Gross receipts are the subscription price minus any transaction fees, such as PayPal charges or credit-card fees that were subtracted when the payment to the translator was processed.
8. Annual report. At the end of each calendar year, I will report to the translator any payments that I accepted for payments to the translator's service. I will make such reports no later than January 10. The translator will then report the following back to me: The names and e-mail addresses of subscribers to the service. The gross receipts from subscriptions. Sales of any print or web publication rights for individual stories.
9. Annual payment. At the time of the report, the translator will remit to me whatever payment is owed to me for the year's print and web publications and subscription receipts, less any amount that I owe the translator for translation subscriptions for which I received payment directly from the subscriber.
10. The translator is authorized to provide the original story in English to subscribers along with the translator's translation. It is up to the translator whether or not to charge extra for receiving the story in both languages.
11. Books or group publications. This agreement does not extend to the publication of books or any print or web publications which would use more than three short-short stories at a time. Translation rights for books or groups of more than three stories must be conferred under a separate agreement.
12. The translator has the right to sell or transfer ownership of the translator's subscription service, subject to my approval. Such approval will not be unreasonably denied.
13. Should the translator's subscription service fail to meet its obligations to subscribers for a period of two consecutive months or longer, the translator's license may be revoked. It is therefore in the translator's interest to consider how the translator could continue to operate the subscription service without interruption in the event of illness or injury.
14. This agreement does not extend to any of my other written works, including novels, non-fiction, or stories longer than 2,500 words. This agreement covers only the translation of those stories that appeared in the collections Flaming Arrows and The Keyhole Opera and those stories which I sent out to e-mail subscribers of www.shortshortshort.com.
posted by Bruce Holland Rogers at
1:01 PM
1 Comments:
One additional item I would want to add is something about the expectation of ethical business practices in seeking subscribers. Because the translation sites reflect on my own site and reputation, I would want to make sure that the translators would not use massive unsolicited e-mails (spam) to find new subscribers.
By
Bruce Holland Rogers, at 4:32 PM
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