The Future of Publishing Contracts (Spoiler: Less Complexity, More Humanity)

Why AI clauses, flexible deadlines, and treating authors as partners will reshape book deals

Dear Scribblers,

It’s just under one month until our 7 year Summer Party Celebration at Seesaw Manchester (Register here!) (Fri 25th July from 6.15pm onwards) and I can’t wait to see you all. Whether you’re a long-time supporter or new to our story, this is your chance to mingle with fellow book lovers, meet our authors, and enjoy live performances in a relaxed, celebratory atmosphere with tasty complimentary Korean-inspired street food canapés and drinks.

It’s a busy June at FOTW with two books flying out into the world! So what are readers saying? (And remember if you’re a paid subscriber, you have a 20% off lifetime discount on any of our books ordered via our website, in your welcome email!)

GRQ by Steven Bernstein (Novella, Satire)

‘What begins as a scramble for solvency, spirals into a breakneck descent, where everyone’s a player and salvation is just another hustle. A delicious read…’

‘The financial advisor does not so much break the fourth wall as leer through it in asides to the reader that reminded me of Houlden Caulfield’s charting of his misdeeds in Catcher in the Rye.’ - T.O.Munro

‘The Others’ by Sheena Kalayil (Historical Romance, Novel)

‘Well, if I read a better novel than this one this year I shall consider myself very lucky indeed. A brilliant evocation of time (1989) and place (East Germany) with believable, well-rounded and conflicted characters caught in a tragic love story.’ - Alan Fraser

‘This is a multi-layered story of love, of life under a suppressive regime, of different cultures meeting, of fear, joy and the consequence of secrets. The story seeps into your heart and steals a little of it away.’ - Love Books, Read Books

(It’s not too late to join us tonight at 7pm, Newcastle Waterstones, for The Others - sign up here!)

And you may have noticed that I’ve started announcing the 10 essay writers in our upcoming craft book, ‘The Subtle Art of Short Fiction’ (1st December)! This is such a rewarding book for me to edit - learning from such talented writers and editors!

And if you’re new here, we have one month left for our novel and novella submission window - and if you’re a female poet, the call out for our anthology with the Rebecca Swift Foundation on Womanhood opens in July! Watch this space.

Now onto today’s topic…

I was asked to write about contracts and how they might evolve in the coming years. Contracts reveal fascinating insights into human nature — our trust, expectations, and the delicate dance between creative ambition and business reality.

(It’s worth saying that, in all honesty, a contract does not give you, the author, or your agent, an idea of what it might be like to work with a publisher. That’s why I always give a document titled ‘Everything you need to know about Fly on the Wall Press in… [insert year here]’ to my unagented authors along with the contract, because here I can outline the process of editing, marketing, distribution and launch strategies – details which would be far too long for a contract, but provide clarity and a human touch. Really useful for debut writers to give an idea of what to expect.

And because every small press is totally different, with some just operating on Amazon’s Print on demand models, and others having widespread chain bookshop distribution, I think it’s important to outline how FOTW operates exactly!)

What Contracts Really Represent

At their core, contracts are mirrors reflecting both trust and expectations between two parties who want to create something meaningful together.

On one hand, we know that, logically, contracts are not a personal attack – but emotionally, it can be difficult when a contract comes to an end, or a clause is evoked (for example, evoking ‘when 50 copies or less are sold in a year, author or publisher has the right to terminate the contract…’ could sting!)

When I draft a contract, I'm establishing a framework of mutual accountability. The publisher commits to specific expectations: word count guidelines (especially for works still in development), manuscript delivery dates, publication timelines, and consultation processes for major decisions like licensing deals. In return, the author understands what they can expect from us — when their book will see the light of day, how they'll be involved in key decisions, and what support they'll receive along the way.

The Three Paths of Contract Negotiation

After years in publishing, I've observed that contract negotiations typically follow one of three patterns, each with its own frustrations - * these are observations my specific experiences not universal truths 😊

Behind the paywall: Get an insider's unfiltered look at the three dysfunctional ways publishing contracts get negotiated (and why even well-meaning organisations sometimes make things worse). I'll reveal how rights sometimes go unexploited by both publisher and agent and why, the psychological games advances play on authors' minds, and why the future of contracts isn't about more legal complexity — it's about treating creative partnerships like actual partnerships. Plus, discover what every contract should include in the AI era, why small presses offer something the Big 5 can't quantify, and the specific contract flexibility that could revolutionise how books get made.