Legal Details

The executive staff of Windstorm Creative began as authors. Some of them followed the corporate publishing tract, others the small press path. At both sides of the spectrum they didn't like what they found. This shared experience is perhaps one of the greatest reasons why previously published authors seek Windstorm out; established authors are often looking for something better.

Our contracts are a matter of pride to us. They are created, and revised, not by bean-counters but by our own authors. They are also open-source. What does this mean? It means that if you want to use our contracts for your own company, please do so.

Everyone at Windstorm is an advocate of contract reform. Take the plunge and join us. Why don't all publishers offer actual copies of their contracts? Why do so many presses keep everything under wraps and hush-hush? Offer a contract that is truly author-centric. After all, without authors, there would be no need for publishers. We can't stop you from changing a clause here or there, but we can tell you that the clause you might be changing has been approved and oft times requested by dozens of our authors. Pause before you make changes. Sure, we're sanctimonious, but we're also dedicated to giving authors as much control as possible without allowing anyone to abdicate responsibility.

Below please find our standard "Cover Art Agreement" and our standard "Agreement of Publication." There is also a paragraph-by-paragraph FAQ for the "Agreement of Publication." The FAQ is not open-source -- it is a document written by Mari Garcia, the head of our legal department. You may create your own FAQ for the agreement but using ours institutes copyright infringement. Thank you for understanding. All files are PDFs which can be viewed using Adobe Reader, a free program found at www.adobe.com

Sample Files

Cover Art Agreement

Agreement of Publication

Agreement of Publication FAQ

QUICK FACTS

Decide before you submit. Review our actual contract and these facts updated August 2007.

80% of our authors sign with us after leaving another publisher.

60% of the established authors who sign with us reportedly left their previous publisher over "contract issues."

We publish up to 80 books a year.

85% of our authors publish multiple books with us.

Of the authors we've offered a contract, 38% hire a lawyer or agent to review the agreement. More than 96% of the lawyers or agents hired approved our contract for their clients.

In the past seventeen years, ten authors have turned down our contract. Only two of these was represented by a agent or lawyer. Three of the ten authors pitched another book to us at a later date and accepted our contract.

We take great pride in our contracts because we hide nothing. Take a moment to count the publishers who post their contracts online. Last time we searched we found...well... one :)