We retained digital rights .... Now what???

[Newswriter]

Hi Nathan,
My co-author and I retained the digital rights to a non-fiction book that we were contracted to write. Now the publisher wants to buy those rights back. I'm not sure what to do. I think we both would like a flat fee for 50 percent of the rights and retain 50 percent of the rights for ourselves. Would that be our best option? Any alternative suggestions? And if we sign off on our rights, should we limit the term of the rights to a certain set period, perhaps five years?

Thanks so much for your help on this!!!

[Nathan Bransford]

Hi Nathan,
My co-author and I retained the digital rights to a non-fiction book that we were contracted to write. Now the publisher wants to buy those rights back. I'm not sure what to do. I think we both would like a flat fee for 50 percent of the rights and retain 50 percent of the rights for ourselves. Would that be our best option? Any alternative suggestions? And if we sign off on our rights, should we limit the term of the rights to a certain set period, perhaps five years?

Thanks so much for your help on this!!!

This is a little outside of the range of what I should be giving advice on. I would perhaps consider consulting a publishing attorney to look over the agreement or try to find an agent. Just make sure you know what you're agreeing to and what is customary.

Best of luck!