If a publisher wants to publish your manuscript, you will be offered a contract. Do not let any publisher begin editorial revisions or production work until you have signed a mutually satisfactory contract. Remember, contracts are negotiable -- the clauses can be and generally should be changed.

The Union offers a Contracts Self-Help Package to writers considering publishing contracts. Don't be pressured into signing until you are certain you understand everything in your contract. Receiving an offer to publish is a pretty heady business but, remember, it is a business arrangement. If you negotiate a good contract you will avoid many problems and misunderstandings later on and develop a good working relationship with your publisher.