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> > I've been writing for the last seven or eight years, mostly for
Motorola,
> > IBM, etcetera, but I've recently switched over to consumer-level
>material.
> > (The PowerPC PowerOpen ABI was one darned fascinating document, let me
>tell
> > you. ;-) Que Publishing's asked me to write a book and has sent a
10-page
> > contract. Most of it's no problem -- I've negotiated contracts before
--
> > but I'm out of my depth with the royalty percentages. Prior to this
I've
> > been a co-author for a number of other books, but it was a straight-fee
> > arrangement among many authors.
> >
> > I'd appreciate words of wisdom from those who've signed contracts for
> > technical books. What percentages did you ask for; what was the pay
rate
> > during the contract (before royalties); and how much did you estimate
for
> > purposes of Uncle Sam?
I've written several books for Que and been badly burned by a contract of
theirs.
I'd strongly recommend you bring in a good publishing attorney before you
sign any
contract, especially with Que.
Be especially careful that you retain the right to revise the book for
another edition.
Que is infamous for taking a book that turns out to be successful and
having other
authors do the revision, cutting out the original author in the process.
I'd recommend staying away from Que, actually. Just my opinion and advice
based
on experience.
