Comments on: Children’s book illustration contract

by: Excellent Contract! « Clarkillustrations.com Blog

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 23:13:15 +0000

[…] For all you artists and writers out there, especially when the two of you on occasion must work together, contracts are crucial to large projects. In my experience it can be pretty difficult to find the information you need online without paying someone for it, and lawyers are just out of the question unless you are ready to drop $1000-2000 or more. I’ve had clients who know lawyers who write up contracts, I’ve written up my own, searched around, and I’ve finally found some great information and combined two contracts with a few tweaks to make the ULTIMATE AIR TIGHT CONTRACT! (the originals were from a client and from blog.illustrationcastle.com) This contract includes Royalties, Artist’s rights to a contract, the option to purchase a contract, NDA, protection for both parties, payment scheduling, advanced deposit, cancellation, survival, and much much more. It’s about 7-8 pages long so it’s quite a read, but if you ever wanted an air tight contract that equally protects both sides and is fair, this is the contract for you! Feel free to use it, modify it, or just learn from it! […]

by: Chris

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 18:44:36 +0000

EXCELLENT contract, thanks so much for posting this! I was so lost with the royalties, plus you gave me some new ideas!

by: Linda Binkley

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:37:53 +0000

Thanks for your generosity.

by: Cassandra Leigh

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 09:02:26 +0000

Thank you so so much! this has helped me a great deal, cant even begin to explain!

by: Lauren

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 21:45:41 +0000

Informative! Thanks for taking the time and effort to write this blog and for downloadable template. Kindest Regards!

by: Andrea

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:05:48 +0000

Thanks Heather,you are an angel and this is a great gift. Best Wishes!

by: Lisa

Sun, 29 May 2011 19:25:08 +0000

Thank you so much for this contract!! It was a great starting point for me.

by: Nicholas

Wed, 18 May 2011 15:42:47 +0000

Thanks Heather. That makes a lot of sense and I shall include that in my contract.

by: heather

Wed, 18 May 2011 08:06:35 +0000

Hi Nicholas,
Going to keep this one brief as I’m off on maternity leave…

You’d have to stipulate in the contract what terms for the author to get out of the deal if the illustrator doesn’t deliver on time. Generally, it’s a discount off the finished illustrations (though I’ve never actually had that happen, normally a chat over an extended deadline settles it, especially if a missed deadline was caused by both author & illustrator.) If the illustrator doesn’t finish the book, they still need to be paid for the work they have completed. In the worst scenario, the author could pursue legal action if they felt it was appropriate… but I see illustration as similar to say a contractor working on your kitchen, if they build half a kitchen they still need to be paid for that work.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Heather

by: Nicholas

Mon, 09 May 2011 02:17:17 +0000

Fantastic example contract. I have a question regarding the “Failure To Deliver” section. If I (the illustrator) doesn’t deliver on time, what does the author get out of the deal?