Question on contracts

Can you sign the contract by mail and send it back, or sign electonically and verify it with a social security number or something?

Or would I have to budget for a long-haul road trip to go sign it?

Thanks!

 

You can definitely sign it and send it back via mail.

I send my contracts out via email and allow authors to sign them electronically (by simply typing their name on the signature line as follows: /joe author/ ) . If you intend to do that, check with the person who sent the contract to you and see if that is acceptable.

 

SSN in the wild is a bit risky. That's a key to identity theft. If you have a contract in the works, talk to them. Signed delivery of post is also an option.

 

Awesome. Thanks.

So are you the type of lawyer who works with authors and literary stuff?

 

Hey, we posted at the same time so I didn't see your post...thank you to you as well.

 

I do some of that. My area of expertise is Intellectual Property. It's mostly patents, but also trademark and copyright, licensing agreements, and yes some publishing contracts.

 

I've signed a few electronic contracts before (for fiction and nonfiction articles), and it was basically signing (typing) your name and perhaps also the date. I wouldn't sign if a publisher was asking for an SSN or any other personal info like that.

 

Thanks for the heads up..no they aren't asking for it and I'm not at the contract point yet but I was wondering in advance whether I'd have to budget for a road trip to go over and sign it lol.

 

I scanned my contract after signing it, then emailed it to the publishers. They signed it, scanned it, and emailed it back and we each printed a copy

 

If verification of identity, beyond the signature, is needed, I believe that's normally handled by a notary - they check your ID, often (always?) take a thumbprint, watch you sign, and log the fact that they did so, along with the thumbprint and another signature. You should have plenty of local notaries.

ChickenFreak

(Edited to add: I have no idea if this is done for publishing contracts, I'm just saying that it's a commonly used way to verify the identity of the person signing, when they're not signing right in front of the other parties to the contract. And often even when they are.)

 

it depends on what the specific company you're signing the contract with wants...

so it's useless to ask here, since some firms will say it's ok to do by email and some will want it faxed and some will want it snail-mailed... i seriously doubt any would insist on you appearing in the flesh...