Dealing With Take-It-Or-Leave-It Editors

The process of negotiation generally assumes give and take - that one party will give some on one point and the other will yield on another. But there are times that a person or entity is unwilling to bend at all. A writer recently wrote me (via questions I said I'd answer for The Renegade Writer blog) about such a situation, where the editor basically said, "I sympathize with your position, but if you don't give in, I'll find someone else because all our contributors sign this." The writer had felt beaten up in the process and wondered whether all the well-known writers in the title also capitulated.

The first step to better negotiation and business is knowing that there is no beating - only an irreconcilable difference of opinion. What you need for your business is the most important issue; something that works for one writer might not for the next. Or there may be a time that you are either receiving so much money or that you are in such desperate need for some paying work that you are willing to hold your nose and sign away the rights. That, too, can be a valid choice, presuming that you aren't giving in because you're afraid to ask for more.

Don't judge your needs by what others do. Many nationally-known writers sign bad contracts because they either don’t care, are foolish about business, or are scared to negotiate. There are also many whom editors perceive as bringing enough audience and value that they're willing to make changes.

That said, there are also plenty of editors who claim, “Why, no one has ever brought up that issue before!” Equine-generated fertilizer. Of course they have. The editor is probably hoping that you won’t know that.

Most reputable publishers will negotiate to some degree, because they realize that they need to. More established writers may have more advantage in negotiations because there is more of a drive to use their work. Also consider that if a publisher is so inflexible before you write word one, how reasonable will the edit process be?

The main attitude to shift is the idea that someone beat you up. Nope. You simply said no because the conditions were not acceptable to you. That’s called being responsible for your business. And you can only get to an irreconcilable point by speaking up and asking for what you want in the first place. Consider it a cheap price for greatly strengthening your business.