Is my publishing contract negotiable and do I need an agent to negotiate it for me?

Is my publishing contract negotiable and do I need an agent to negotiate it for me?

Jonny Geller (Managing Director - Curtis Brown (Books)) gives expert video advice on: I've signed a book deal what happens next?; What should I do if I don't understand the terms of my contract?; Once I've signed my contract when can I expect to recieve the money? and more...

The publishing contract is completely negotiable. That's what we agents do for a living. Everything is negotiable. I think the point of a big agency, as opposed to a small one, is that we have a thing called a boiler plate, which means that there are agreements that we forged with main publishing houses over years of having top authors with them. We supposedly get the best terms because of that. The way that publishing works is that the top govern everything. If you have the top authors, they can demand the right clauses and that will allow your smaller authors to benefit. Of course, your smaller authors will hopefully one day be your big authors and that's the way the publishing system works.