The most important part of negotiating any book or journalism contract is having the confidence that you have a right to negotiate in the first place. Publishers continue to rely on the time-honoured practice of making most writers sign away all rights, no questions asked, in exchange for publication. Your approach should be just the opposite:

Don't ever sign a boilerplate contract.

Publishers' contracts are written by publishers' lawyers for the sole benefit of publishers.

Don't be intimidated

The usual response from publishers is to say "No one has ever asked for that before."
With a few exceptions, every publisher is willing to make concessions, if not don't write for them and work for the additional income and the control over your work that come with negotiating.

"Belief”

Convince yourself that you're worth more than their boilerplate contract or you'll never convince the publisher.
Two lines to say with conviction (practice speaking into a mirror before calling the publisher):

"I am a professional writer" This is especially important for academics or those with other occupations. You're not just an academic who writes. You're an academic and a writer. They are two different, though related, careers.
"That seems a little low to me" a basic negotiating stance that still works, Say it slowly, then pause.
Wait for the publisher to respond.

Know your contract

Find out what a contract should look like by using your library, using legal template books or searching the web
or our own legal templates at www.creativeinsightuk.com. Go through every clause in your contract and find counterparts from other guides and contracts and find yourself an advisor you can trust.

Know your bottom line

In negotiating, you seldom get everything you want. The idea is to improve your contract as much as possible through compromise but not be so rigid that you lose a potentially workable contract. On the other hand, not every contract is workable. What are your line-in-the-sand issues, the ones for which you would rather walk than compromise? Two to fight for in this information and electronic age are copyright and electronic rights. As a book author, you want the right to profitably resell your books without penalty. What else matters to you? Only you know.

Prepare an opening script and good notes

If you're comfortable on the phone and totally primed for negotiations, maybe an exact script isn't necessary. But remember the value of a good first impression in setting the tone of your conversation. A script is most important in helping you overcome initial fear of negotiating. Write it down beforehand and practice repeating it until it sounds natural. Only then is it time to make your call to or accept a call from the publisher.
Don't wing it or rely on memory during the negotiations., few of us are memory artists. Write down the points you want to make about every clause, including the first bids, the fallback bids, and the line-in-the-sand positions.

Take notes during the negotiations

The act of note taking empowers you and it prepares you for the inevitable follow-up communications. Record dates of all phone correspondence, keep photocopies of all letters you send, print out all email correspondence, and record names of everyone you talk to, including secretaries. Alternatively provided you tell the caller you can record the
conversation and write up later.

Take a day to think about your conversation before making any commitments.
Don't feel compelled or pressured to make a snap decision over the phone. When you demand time to think, you are taking control and the extra time allows you to steel yourself and prepare a script if you need it.

Be prepared to walk

Those writers who have no human dignity and are comfortable being stepped on can ignore this step. But because you've read this far, you demand respect. You've already determined your line-in-the-sand issues in step four. If the publisher can't respect those terms, go elsewhere.