Understanding Your Option Clause

Understanding the different terms in your publishing contract -- and how they can affect your career -- is an essential part of building a confident author career.

While your agent should be able to explain the different parts of your contract to you, I know many authors are reluctant to ask. 

So, with the caveat that I'm not a lawyer and you should 100% check with your agent and/or a lawyer before signing anything, I can at least give you a little primer on what some of the common terms mean and how they can impact your career. 

For today's issue, I'm starting with the term that authors ask questionably about most often: your option.

(Previously, I discussed the differences in publishing territories in this post.)

What Is an Option Clause

In the most basic terms, the option clause is your publisher's way of calling "dibs" on your next book before you show it to any other publishers. 

Since they've already invested money in you, getting the first chance to offer on your next book is a way for publishers to protect their investments. If your book blows up in a big way, they want a chance to lock you in for more books so they can capitalize on your initial success. 

The actual wording of an option clause will vary by publisher and depending on what your agent negotiates.

Phrases to look out for:

"...option to acquire the same rights as have been granted in this agreement."

This means the publisher doesn't have to offer you more money or better terms in the next deal. This may be something your agent can negotiate out of the contract, giving them a chance to secure you a better deal if the publisher offers on your option. 

"...the Author may not accept an offer from any other publisher on terms equal to or less favorable than those offered by Publisher." 

While this part makes sense for the publisher, it can put you in a tough spot if you didn't enjoy your experience with them and you want to leave. This is another one your agent may be able to strike from the contract terms.

Your option clause will also specify what type of book it covers. This can be super broad ("next work of fiction" or "next work of YA fiction") or super narrow ("direct sequel to X") and everything in-between. Specificity here benefits the author whereas broad terms is better for the publisher. 

There may be other tricky terms to watch out for (again, each publisher has a different contract), but those are the ones I've personally seen. 
 

 
When is Your Option Due?

One of the biggest misconceptions I see among new authors is the idea that there's a specific due date for their option materials. 

Unless there's a different kind of wording than what I've ever seen, there isn't actually a "due date." 

Instead, the timeframe in the option clause determines how early you can turn in your materials.

Your contract will say something like "Publisher shall not be required to consider the next work before [insert timeframe]." 

This timeline will most likely be tied to the final book on your deal (if you had a multi-book deal), and generally either connected to publication or delivery & acceptance of your novel (aka when it goes to copyedits). 

When possible, try to avoid having the option tied to publication. Books can get delayed for any number of reasons (including lots that are outside of your control), so if your publisher isn't required to look at your option materials until the book's release, you could end up waiting for months (or years) at no fault of your own. 

Additionally, when the consideration date is tied to acceptance of the final manuscript on your contract, it's usually a number of days after acceptance. 30, 45, 60, and 90 days are all common.

 
What Should You Submit?

Your contract will (ideally!) provide at least some detail about what you're required to turn in for your option. 

A fairly standard clause will ask for "a detailed proposal/outline" along with a certain sample of the work. I've seen this listed as "three chapters" and "thirty pages," but I'm sure there are other variations out there, too.

However! Just because your option says three chapters, that doesn't mean that's all you can turn in. 

If it takes you more than three chapters to get a good feel for the story, you're allowed to write more! 

Many of my clients have written all of Act 1 for their options. They like having time to explore the characters and build a deeper understanding of the story than what 3 chapters alone could give them. It also makes the outline part of the proposal easier to write.

More isn't always better, though.

Part of the benefit of the option is being able to sell a book without writing the entire thing. If you're writing in an existing series and you have a really strong sense of what comes next, you may do great with just the minimum number of chapters + the detailed outline.  

When deciding what to turn in for your option, I recommend you:

1 - Ask your agent what they'd prefer to submit to your publisher

2 - Write as much as you need to feel good about the story and your ability to draft the entire thing

When Will You Hear Back?

Another common misconception about option clauses is when the publisher is "required" to respond with either an offer or a pass on your project. 

The publisher isn't actually ever required to respond to you. (Unless your contract says something different than the ones I've seen!)

Instead, in the contracts I've looked at, the publisher is granted a certain period of time where they get the proposal as an exclusive submission. (Typically 30, 60, or 90 days.) 

All this means is that your agent can't try to sell the book to another publisher during that timeframe, but your publisher doesn't actually have to give you an answer by that date.

This is where things can get a bit murky -- and it can get really frustrating for authors.

Depending on your current relationship with the publisher (and how strong your sales numbers are), your agent may not want to risk souring relations with your publisher by sending the project out wide to other editors as soon as the exclusivity window has passed. 

This can lead to several weeks (or months!) of back and forth as your publisher waits for more sales information before making an offer.

If your sales numbers are fantastic -- and you didn't love working with your publisher anyway -- then your agent may be willing to put pressure on them by taking the book out wide, but there are so many factors here, so it really depends. 

When in doubt here, talk with your agent about their plans and if/when they'd be willing to take the project out wide.
 

Final Thoughts

Those are the basics of your option clause!

Again, I am not a lawyer and none of this is legal advice, but I hope this helps you feel more informed about the different aspects of your option.  

Happy writing,
Isabel 

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