Chapal Mehra has chaperoned many well known books into the market. I asked him all the questions that plague first time and most ignorant authors like me. Here is a sample:Abhijit: What are some of the watchouts for first time writers when they sign a contract with a publishing firm?Chapal: Most professional publishing firms have standard contracts which they are not open to amending. It is the way they do business and these cannot be altered to every author’s requirement. In fact they are mostly standardized across organizations with a few changes here and there. As a first time author you need to know what you get into a contract with the publishing firm for :Copyright: Understand the difference between copyright and the right to publish.What territory are you signing the book deal for? Do you want to keep US and UK or Europe rights for yourself?Please check the royalty clause. Are you happy with what the standard royalty is ? Usually it’s the same across publishing firmsPlease check the subsidiary rights. Do you want to give up or keep –translation rights, film rights, tv series rights etc. In most cases I would advise its best to let the publishing company keep these unless you want to do something with them or you think it will have enormous potential which you have a strategy to exploit.If its an advance contract what are your dates of delivery? What are the conditions associated with non- or late delivery?Its always good to discuss the contract with your editor to also understand why the organization is offering the contract that it is . Most large professional publishing firms are not out to rob you. But its important for you to understand their thinking.