The Model & Agreement.

Parties

Who this agreement is between.

This partnership agreement (“Agreement”) is between Nathan James Publishing LLC (the “Publisher”) and the individual writer or writer entity signing below (the “Author”), governing the publication and distribution of the manuscript identified at signing (the “Work”).

Section §1

The tier and what it means.

Every Author signs at Foundation. The tier determines the specific services the Publisher will provide, listed in the Rate Card attached to this Agreement. The tier also determines the royalty split under §5.

Launch and Federation are not selected at signing. They are build-outs the Publisher offers on a title that has demonstrated sales, and they are funded by the Publisher out of the revenue the Work is already generating:

Foundation to Launch — offered once the Work has sold 350 or more copies in the trailing twelve months. Launch to Federation — offered once the Work has sold 500 or more copies in the trailing twelve months while at Launch. Trailing sales are counted from the Publisher’s channel reports and shown to the Author in the quarterly statements under §6.

A graduation is offered by the Publisher and accepted by the Author in writing. It is never a requirement, and a Work may remain at Foundation for the whole Term at the Author’s preference. A graduation the Author declines does not affect any other term of this Agreement.

The tier in force is written into the signed Agreement. It cannot be increased or decreased mid-term without a written amendment signed by both parties.

Section §2

What the Author gives.

The Author grants the Publisher print and electronic-book (Kindle / eBook) distribution rights in the English language, worldwide, for the Term defined in §10. These rights are non-exclusive as to territory below the English-language layer, and exclusive as to print and eBook English editions during the Term.

Nothing else. Everything not written into this sentence — audio rights, film and TV rights, foreign-language rights, translation rights, adaptation rights, merchandising rights, direct-sale rights at events, speaking rights, subsidiary rights of any kind — stays 100% with the Author.

Section §3

Copyright.

Copyright in the Work is registered in the Author’s name and remains the Author’s property throughout and after the Term. The Publisher acquires no copyright interest in the Work. The Publisher assists with copyright registration at no additional cost when this service is included in the Author’s tier.

Section §4

What the Publisher provides.

The Publisher agrees to deliver every service listed under the Author’s selected tier in the Rate Card. These services are the Publisher’s investment in the partnership and are provided at no cost to the Author. The Publisher does not invoice the Author for any of these services at any time during or after the Term.

If a service is not listed under the Author’s tier, it is not owed under this Agreement. Additional services outside the tier may be added by written amendment for a mutually agreed adjustment to the royalty split.

Section §5

The royalty split.

Net royalties on print and eBook English editions — defined as gross retailer payments (Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, and any other print-or-eBook English channel enabled during the Term) minus print-on-demand costs and retailer fees — are split as follows:

• Foundation tier: 25% Publisher, 75% Author
• Launch tier: 40% Publisher, 60% Author
• Federation tier: 50% Publisher, 50% Author

Actual signed splits may deviate from these anchors by up to ±10% based on services delivered outside the tier’s default scope. Any deviation is written on the signature page.

Where a Work graduates to Launch or Federation under §1, the new anchor takes effect from the date the Author accepts the graduation in writing. It is not applied retroactively, and royalties already earned at the previous rate are paid at the previous rate.

No royalty is owed by the Author to the Publisher on rights the Publisher does not hold. Audio, film, foreign, merch, speaking, and direct-sale revenue belong entirely to the Author. The Publisher does not calculate, take, or claim any percentage of that revenue.

Section §6

Payment.

Royalties are paid quarterly on the first business day of the calendar quarter following the reporting period, via direct deposit into an Author-designated account. Statements include, per channel: unit sales, gross revenue, print-on-demand costs, retailer fees, net royalty pool, Publisher share, Author share.

There is no reserve against returns. Print distribution is non-returnable by imprint policy. Kindle royalties are settled as reported by the retailer without reserve.

Section §7

No advances. No upfront fees.

The Publisher does not pay advances against royalties. The Publisher does not charge the Author any upfront fee, signing fee, application fee, submission fee, review fee, edit fee, cover fee, layout fee, listing fee, or fee of any other name at any time before, during, or after the Term.

The Publisher’s compensation under this Agreement is 100% the royalty share defined in §5. If the Work generates no royalties, the Publisher earns nothing, and the Author owes nothing.

Section §8

Marketing and promotion.

The Publisher’s marketing scope is defined by the Author’s tier. Marketing expenditures made by the Publisher on behalf of the Work are reported to the Author in the Author’s quarterly statement. Marketing spend is not deducted from the Author’s royalty share — it comes out of the Publisher’s share, which is why the Author sees it reported rather than charged.

The Author is not required to participate in marketing activities beyond the scope described in the tier and in the Author’s query — but is welcome and encouraged to.

Section §9

Editorial control.

Final editorial control of the Work belongs to the Author. The Publisher may propose edits, formatting changes, or cover revisions — but no change to the Work’s content is made without the Author’s written approval. The Publisher retains reasonable production control over trim size, paper stock, and distribution metadata.

Section §10

Term and termination.

Term: This Agreement runs for three (3) years from first commercial availability of the Work, and thereafter renews automatically for successive one-year periods unless either party gives written notice of non-renewal at least 90 days before the current period ends.

Termination for any reason: Either party may terminate this Agreement at any time on 90 days written notice. On termination:

• All distribution rights granted in §2 revert to the Author.
• The Publisher removes the Work from active distribution within 30 days of the effective termination date.
• Royalties earned but unpaid as of termination are paid in the next quarterly cycle.
• Assets built by the Publisher on the Author’s behalf (author website, custom domain, custom email, etc.) transfer to the Author for the Publisher’s actual out-of-pocket cost basis, or are retired — Author’s choice, exercised in writing within 60 days of the notice date.

Section §11

What happens if the Work goes out of print.

If the Publisher removes the Work from active distribution for more than 90 consecutive days for any reason other than a documented supply-chain interruption at Amazon KDP or IngramSpark, all rights automatically revert to the Author at the end of that 90-day period, without further action or notice.

Section §12

Transparency and author privacy.

Public agreement: The Author acknowledges that this Agreement is published on the Publisher’s website as a model and reference document. Specific signed instances of this Agreement, including the Author’s name, financials, and personal terms, are not published.

Author privacy is the default. The Publisher does not publish per-title sales figures, per-author royalty figures, aggregate royalty totals, or any other data from which an individual Author’s financial performance could be identified or inferred. Author financial data belongs to the Author, not to the public record.

Publisher privacy is the counterpart. Nathan James Publishing LLC is a privately held company with no public reporting obligation. It does not publish its own revenue, spending, margins or financial position, and nothing in this Agreement requires it to. The Publisher maintains a public Catalog Record of what it has published, the channels it distributes through, and whether its roster is open — the facts an Author needs in order to decide whether to query. Nothing on that record derives from Author-side financials.

Governing law: This Agreement is governed by the laws of the state in which the Publisher maintains its principal office at the time of signing, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. The specific governing state is written on the signed instance of this Agreement.

Amendments: Any change to this Agreement must be in writing, signed by both parties, and attached as a numbered rider.

Section §13

Affiliated services, disclosed.

Nathan James Productions LLC is a separate company under common ownership with the Publisher. It sells book production and author-business services — cover design, interior formatting, launch materials, author websites, domains, email, hosting and marketing support — commercially, at market rates, to the general public.

The Author is never required to purchase anything from Nathan James Productions LLC, or from anyone else, as a condition of this Agreement. Purchasing or declining to purchase such services has no effect whatsoever on the Publisher’s decision to publish, the tier in force, the royalty split, the services owed under §4, or any other term here. Any requirement to the contrary would constitute a fee, and §7 prohibits the Publisher from charging the Author a fee of any name at any time.

Where the Author does engage Nathan James Productions LLC, that engagement is a separate commercial contract between the Author and that company. It forms no part of this Agreement, its charges are not deducted from royalties under §5 or §6, and its performance is not the Publisher’s obligation.

The Author is free to engage any third-party designer, editor, formatter or developer of their choosing. The Publisher will work with the materials the Author supplies and will state plainly, in writing, where any supplied material does not meet print or distribution specification.

Version 2.0 · Effective October 2026 · Published for public reference before query
Agreements signed under Version 1.0 (July 2026) continue on their original terms. Version 2.0 is not applied retroactively to any Author.