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Ask the Editor · Rights & Contracts · Oct 21, 2026

What rights should I never sign away in a publishing contract?

When reviewing a traditional publishing contract, you should never sign away your moral rights, your underlying copyright, or subsidiary rights that the publisher has no concrete plan to actively exploit. Publishers are in the business of selling books, but some boilerplate clauses attempt to lock up intellectual property far beyond the scope of a standard trade publication agreement. Protecting your core assets ensures you retain long-term control and financial upside over your creative work.

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