: How much power does the author have over an original work? Some background. I recently published a book and was asked to share the first 30 pages so the publisher could edit and send it

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"The lawyer told me that I didn't have a legal problem, but I had a problem that most often dealt with by an agent. I asked for clues about how to move forward and the lawyer said writers have very little power once the contract is signed."

I'm surprised any lawyer would tell a client with a contract question that they didn't have a legal problem. That's like a restaurant manager telling a customer who'd been served the wrong wine, "Hey, it's not me, you don't have a food problem." If you've a contract, you've a contract problem.

What you might not have is a contract solution. Most states will grant great deference to the contract, with the assumption being that you have negotiated the very outcome you received. There might be some wiggle room depending on the wording, but that is going to be very specific to the individual agreement you reached.

No contract can force you to commit a statutory wrong, however. If the editor's changes to your memoir wind up falsely casting someone in a bad light, or suggesting that you are culpable for some wrongdoing yourself, the contract itself might end up being nullified. Even if it isn't, you or someone else might have a tort suit if the changes were egregious enough. It all depends on the specifics of your situation.

Then there is the final question of how much your artistic integrity is worth to you. Any contract can be breached, but are you willing to accept the resulting penalties? Will doing so sour your relationship with the publisher? Will this publisher then tell the next publisher, making it difficult to get published elsewhere? Are the changes really that bad, or is it more about them changing your words without your permission?

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The writer has absolute power. If a work is sold to a publisher, it is almost unheard of that an editor will NOT make changes. It's a matter of negotiation between the writer and the editor which changes are acceptable to both parties. You have the absolute right to withdraw your work if you can't come to an agreement (but do be careful you haven't relinquished this right in your contract). So you do have absolute power, but here's how that power functions in the real world:

If you are going to publish through any publisher who is not you, be prepared to work on changes with an editor. Establish a congenial, collaborative relationship with the editor, and pick your battles. You might allow some changes you don't especially like to placate the editor, so that when you want to dig in your heels and resist some other change, the editor will be more likely to acquiesce.

Keep in mind two things: 1. The editor may have excellent changes in mind, which often improve the work. One of my longer stories was published only because the editor of the anthology, a brilliant writer himself, liked the story enough to want it to be a success, and he offered a bunch of great suggestions that worked! 2. If you resist the changes too much, the editor/publisher may decide to terminate the contract and not publish the work. You may have to decide whether it's more important to fight some change you hate than to have the work published with the hated change in it.

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An author has all power about his work, because he is the creator. If you have signed a contract which allows the publisher to change your work without asking you, then it was your power which transferred this right to the publisher.

As the commentators already said: Read the contract. That's the number one key. Asking a lawyer is the first smart move, but it's not enough. Let the lawyer explain you the contract till you (not only the lawyer) have understood every detail in there.

You do not need an agent. You can do that yourself. The help of a lawyer should be sufficient. Because I'm not a lawyer and I do not know which laws come into play in your country, I cannot say if there are laws which nullify parts in your contract. But the contract is what you and the publisher have agreed upon. So read and understand it.

Before you sign a contract, you should not only be sure, that you do not give up control which you want to keep to yourself; also you should have the willpower to fight for your right. Otherwise you do not need to sign anything, you can just toss your book to the publisher and say: "Do what you want." If you are not willing to sue them, don't sign anything.

Luckily in these modern times, you can maintain full control over your work. Selfpublish your next book and you do not have to worry about the publisher.

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