Love to Hate: Contracts!

So, I left off the last post at the point of the wonderful folks at Green Ronin wanting to publish Love 2 Hate.

I don't think they would mind me saying that Green Ronin are predominantly an RPG publisher, so card games were new enough territory for them and, of course completely new territory for me!  They asked me what I expected form the contract and I must confess that I blinked at the email blankly for some time.  Wow... I had no idea.

After a lot of time flicking through Google, I found a few useful sites about board game contracts, offered here without any associated recommendation or judgement, but solely as the ones I looked at:

www.leagueofgamemakers.com,

https://inspirationtopublication.wordpress.com

And, of course, www.bgdf.com and boardgamegeek.com

Not an exhaustive list, but they all seemed to have the same basics.  In addition, I approached people in the industry I had gone to know over the years (see previous post) and asked them the basics of board game contracts – obviously, I would never ask how much in terms of money, but such conversations were very useful indeed.

 I found these sites useful, so I thought I might emulate them briefly.

 So, the basics of a contract, in brief, from a designer's point of view:

 

1.      Designer's Rights:  In short, you are selling the rights to the company to publish and distribute the game and related derivatives in return for payment.

2.      Advance: Typically, you should be offered a small payment up front, between a few hundred to a couple of thousand depending on the product and the company.  This may be offset against future royalties, but it's a sure sign of commitment and you get it even if the game flops.

3.      Kill Fee: The above advance also acts as a kill fee – that is, once money is down you cannot offer the game to any other company to publish.  On that note, most contracts contain a clause to say that, before you sign, you are not in agreement with anyone else to consider publication.

4.      Payments: Typically, you'll be offered royalties.  If the company distributes directly, you might be offered a % wholesale, as opposed to retail.  Wholesale percentages are, from what I am given to understand, typically between 5% and 10%, maybe more depending on the company and product.  Retail percentages tend to be significantly lower (as they are a percentage of retail prices, as opposed to wholesale!).  The contarct will advise how often and by what methid these payments are made.

5.      Foreign Language and onward sale: The contract should contain a clause that the designer gets a percentage of revenue if the game is translated into foreign languages or sold outright to another company, and this can be fairly generous – up to 50%.

6.      Due Dates: A good contract will have a date by which the game is to be submitted to the publisher.  The company will tend to contract in complete approval of the final draft – after all, it is their reputation on the line as much as yours!

7.      Copies: You should get a few copies of the final product for your very own!

8.      Reversion: You should make sure there is a clause that, should the company not publish your game within a time frame (usually 2years), the rights revert completely back to you

They are the essential things from my experience, but I am not a lawyer and feel free to have legal people look over the contract before you sign.  Also, be sure to get a copy signed by all parties!

 In terms of contract negotiation, in every contract there is always scope to argue for more, but be sure you make a reasonable and reasoned case – if you ask for more in one area, be willing to compromise in others.  If you approach any contract with a "give me everything" view, you won't get anywhere.

Remember, this is the point at which the company can still walk away and say thanks, but no thanks!

 

The next instalment will look at the decision to go with Kickstarter and the journey to achieving funding!