In the last segment of the video, she weighs the pros and cons of self-publishing and vanity press. David vs. Goliath Authors agree that most publishers are honest, but the publishing industry is a business, and the goals of the publisher and author are not always the same. The author needs to pay close attention to the contract to ensure his or her interests are addressed and protected. The author, like the publisher, needs to regard writing as a business. That is easier said than done, particularly if the author doesn't have an agent.
Contracts vary from publisher to publisher, from genre to genre.
They are difficult to understand, and unless the author knows what to look for, he or she can be signing away rights which should be kept. Even an attorney, unless a specialist in the publishing industry, might not know what is standard and what is negotiable. In this video, Kathy Keller, Dawn Reno, and Carol Quinto break down the typical contract and discuss which clauses have proven to be unchangeable, which have proven to be negotiable, and which clauses should be deleted or referred to an attorney. The video also deals with financial issues, and gives the author a better foundation for selling his or her book. Too many authors give away their hard work because they don't understand publishing contracts, and they don't know which terms can and should be negotiated.