Third Strike for Blighted Feast

Eight years ago, I put together a slim, hybrid horror collection tentatively titled Blighted Feast. I started submitting it soon after, though presses that even consider such things are few. It's almost been published multiple times without success. But I still press on.

On March 28th, one of the newer presses reached out with an acceptance. The publisher seemed personable. I would receive my contract in the summer and begin edits shortly after. It was finally happening!

Or so I thought...

The contract turned out to be a cobbled together mess with extremely "grabby" terms. I wrote out every problem I saw while I sent the contract to a writer friend who dropped what they were doing to tell me not to sign. They also sent the contract to trusted voice in the watchdog community... she said the same.

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Included in the contract were tidbits like:

Misaligned dates. One date was already over and other didn't exist.

Mention of bookplates and purchasing them should a book go OOP. Publishers tend to use computer files nowadays. 

"Any subsidiary rights not exploited within 12 months of publication shall become nonexclusive." Since the author kept most of these, it meant the publisher could start utilizing them without further discussion unless the author did first.

Talk of licensing the author's name. If this right is exercised, their writers might not be able to publish under whatever name they used for that book again.

Termination of contract is easy for the publisher but almost impossible for the author.

And even more things (including wording that practically granted life of copyright). 

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I wrote the publisher back and told him I was too uncomfortable with the terms to sign. He replied and said a lawyer wrote everything, it was completely aboveboard, and I wouldn't find a better contract anywhere. It's the third dang time this book came close to the finish line.

I was (and still am) a little heartbroken. The press would've been a perfect fit. I might exhaust all options soon, so I suppose the publisher might be correct in the end. I'm losing all faith that my speculative work is anything worthwhile.