California Publishing Attorney
CALIFORNIA PUBLISHING ATTORNEY SEBASTIAN GIBSON
A California Publishing Attorney With Publishing Experience Representing Authors
In this fast changing world of self-publishing with traditional publishers cutting costs to stay afloat lest they go the way of Borders Book Stores and fall by the wayside, there are hundreds of thousands of new writers entering the publishing world unaware of their literary rights. California Publishing Attorney Sebastian Gibson today represents not only writers making their way into the publishing world, but also publishing companies across the country.
California Publishing Attorney Sebastian Gibson is one of the country’s few literary rights and publishing attorneys in California and the country with the experience of being published himself and having worked as an attorney internationally in London prior to opening his own law firm in California. He has drafted publishing agreements for publishers and reviews publishing contracts for authors and writers around the world.
California publishing attorney Sebastian Gibson has also written articles for the Los Angeles Daily Journal newspaper and the San Francisco Daily Journal and has written thousands of articles on the internet.
With law degrees in both the U.S. and the U.K. and over 40 years of practice in both the U.S. and internationally, California Publishing Attorney Sebastian Gibson has been recognized by Palm Springs Life Magazine as One of the Top Lawyers of 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011.
In addition to reviewing Book Publishing Contracts and Literary Agency Contracts, California Publishing Attorney Sebastian Gibson not only drafts, reviews and negotiates both Book Option Purchase Agreements but also drafts, reviews and negotiates Book Shopping Agreements for authors whose books producers want to develop into a film or television project.
If you want a top publishing lawyer on your side, call California Publishing Attorney Sebastian Gibson at (760) 776-1810.
Agency Contracts
For those authors who still strive to find an agent to represent them in finding a home for their manuscript, agent agreements, when offered, greatly tend to favor the side of the agent in most respects. They protect the agent’s commission above all but are short on the efforts that will be made by the agent on behalf of the author. Having an experienced literary rights lawyer when an author’s work is in great demand is essential.
Book Publishing Contracts
Publishing contracts are equally one-sided and written to protect the publisher’s profits while limiting the amount of any advance, the author’s royalties and the costs to be expended by the publisher for book publicity efforts on behalf of the writer.
These contracts can be extremely restrictive, such that many authors today who have self-published and received much higher royalties from the sale of their books are the envy of authors still stuck with publishing contracts they signed years ago with traditional publishers requiring them to stay with their publishers for their next few books.
Many authors naively tend to believe that having an agent will level the playing field with the publishers thereby relinquishing the need for the advice of a literary rights lawyer. While agents have the knowledge they’ve gained during their tenure, they have not been trained as a lawyer has to look for pitfalls that may result when the language of a contract is either vague or favors the large entity over the first-time author with stars in their eyes. As friendly as an agent might be, if he or she is not a lawyer, they cannot be expected to understand the consequences of a contract’s provisions and how they would affect litigation if it came to such over an issue such as net royalties.
The cost of retaining a literary attorney or a California publishing attorney to review and explain a publishing contract, while not inexpensive with current attorney rates, it is still an expense which should be considered. The author who years later may be stuck in a relationship with a nearly bankrupt publishing house or an agent on the downside of their career may regret their choice to save money by not retaining a lawyer to protect their interests.
No attorney can guarantee that the publishing world as it will exist a decade from now will have an resemblance to what exists today. The publishing world is changing too quickly. For that reason alone, authors should consider whether they even want to proceed down the path of agents and traditional publishers when the world of self-publishing is not only here to stay but is likely to take over traditional publishing as we once knew it.
The author who decides self-publishing is the way to go for themselves will have no agent to guide them in the myriad of agreements they must sign. In these circumstances, it is imperative they retain a literary rights lawyer who knows the pitfalls they may encounter and who has the experience with self-publishing few attorneys who specialize in other fields have.
As one of the country’s few publishing and literary rights lawyers, California Publishing Attorney Sebastian Gibson also provides legal advice and representation in the following areas:
Copyrights
Trademarks
Copyright Infringement
Trademark Infringement
Publishing Contracts
Sports
Modeling
Music
Film
Television
Entertainment Law
Art
Licensing
Publicity Rights
Privacy Rights
Internet
E-Commerce
Literary Rights
Misappropriation of Images
Celebrity Representation
Advertising
Contingency Litigation
Business Litigation
Entertainment Litigation
Agency Contracts
Self-Publishing
Book Options for Films and TV
In the event you’re offered an option for your book or even a comic book for a film or television series, you need to have an attorney experienced in book options to review the contract you’ve been offered. These agreements are extremely complicated and it is common for a production company to offer as little as possible to you in order to tie up your book and prevent you from making the money you should receive for your hard work in creating characters and a story that can make either a great film or television series.
If You’re A Writer In Need Of Publishing Legal Advice or A Contract Review, Call California Publishing Attorney Sebastian Gibson
The publishing world today is shifting rapidly from one in which traditional publishers held all of the cards to one where online retailers such as Amazon and CreateSpace hold the keys to the vault. Know your legal rights before you stumble blindly into this new world.
At the California Law Firm of California Publishing Attorney Sebastian Gibson, we have experience in dealing with all the major self-publishing entities including Amazon, Apple, Bookbaby, Barnes and Noble, Lightning Source, CreateSpace as well as with book editors, copy line editors, proofreaders, illustrators and formatters and the individual issues they often bring to the table.
When you need the best California literary rights lawyer for your books and manuscripts, consider California Publishing Attorney Sebastian Gibson. With offices in Palm Desert and Newport Beach, California Publishing Attorney Sebastian Gibson can assist you with your literary rights in the Coachella Valley, Orange County and throughout California, the U.S. and internationally.
