Translator Book Contract

8.

Accounting and Statements.

(a) The Publisher will render semiannual royalty statements within three months of the close of the accounting periods ending __________ and __________ .

(b) Upon the Translator's written request, the Publisher will provide the Translator with copies of any executed licenses in which the Translator's share of the proceeds is $500 (five hundred dollars) or more.

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Commentary

Ideally, the publisher should issue twice-yearly royalty statements and payments within three months of the close of a given accounting period. Some translation agreements stipulate that payments to the translator be made on the same schedule as the author. This is fine, and in many ways quite practical, as long as the author payments are semiannual and made within a reasonable time after the close of each accounting period. The main thing to watch out for are terms that stipulate long durations between statements and payments. Regular statements are a good way to keep the publisher accountable, and can allow you to anticipate any financial problems on the publisher's end before it is too late to take action.

The term "executed licenses" refers to any licenses the publisher enters into with third parties pursuant to the rights you grant under the Grant of Rights in Clause 1(a) and (b). Thus, if you negotiate your contract to include the language in Clause 8(b) of this model contract, the publisher will be obliged to provide you not only with royalty statements according to the schedule agreed in Clause 8(a), but also, at your written request, with a copy of any agreement the publisher has made for derivative works based on your translation (e.g., adaptation for stage, TV, or film), or subsidiary licenses granted (e.g., audio book, ebook, anthology), at any time when your share of the proceeds from them is at least $500.