Advice on an e-book publisher

I found a website that is looking for submissions for novels for e-publishing. Supposedly, there's no fee or out-of-pocket expenses for me involved, they pay 25 percent of royalties on sales, and the exclusive contract is for five years.

They would also retain rights to my book in its edited form permanently for electronics, although I would retain the original form book and be free to look for other publishers even during the five yars. They also would retain other exclusive rights for the five years, if, for some amazing reason, my novel turned into a movie or a TV show.

Does this sound fair, or would it sound like I was being ripped off? I've submitted my novel to them, and e-signed an acknowlegment that I read their agreement. They haven't agreed to e-publish it, so I would think I'd be able to back out of it within a certain amount of time, right?

 

Have you checked Amazon's e-publishing terms and conditions? Pretty sure they have a similar free service but I don't know on what terms.

Added:

A five-year exclusivity deal sounds pretty shitty. It costs them basically nothing to put your e-book up with their existing infrastructure. If you happen to write a Pulitzer Prize novel they have spent basically nothing on you in particular and have locked you into a deal for 5 years because... why exactly?

You might do some research and find that is a standard thing in the industry but it seems too restrictive to me.

 

Yeah... here's Amazon's page -- non-exclusive:


Why Choose CreateSpace for Self Publishing?

No membership or title set-up fees.
Flexible royalty model puts you in control.
A growing community of passionate authors, filmmakers and musicians sharing resources and tips for success.
A non-exclusive agreement keeps your future publishing and distribution options open.
Free CreateSpace ISBN or UPC if you don't yet have one.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/seller-account/mm-product-page.html?topic=200354160&ld=AZOnDemandMakeM

 

Thanks POO. I didn't know if what they had as their contract was a standard thing or not. I think I'll e-mail them back to tell them I changed my mind.

 

Echoing those who say do it yourself via Amazon and/or Smashwords. If it's all text, it's remarkably easy to format, and you control all rights and pricing.

 

I've published on Amazon's KDP and Barnes & Noble's PubIt without any issues. Smashwords, too. And I've had good experiences with all. You should try self-publishing and avoid middlemen.

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I haven't heard back from the e-publisher since I sent the e-mail telling him I changed my mind, so I guess I'm in the clear there. I still would like to see if I can get it traditionally published. If not, at least I know I have alternatives.