LITERARY LAWYER

Contract Review • Negotiation • Publishing Consultation • Legal Reads

for Literary Agents, Authors, and Publishers

For Agents

Gain Time and Focus

As an agent, the Literary Lawyer knows how important it is to stay focused on what matters: selling books. Expedite your negotiations by outsourcing contract review to an experienced attorney, freeing up your time to find new talent, manage current clients, and make deals.

For Authors

Expert Advocacy

Have an offer of publication but no agent to guide you through the contract negotiation process? Having an experienced publishing attorney negotiating on your behalf can get you the best deal and the strongest terms to protect your rights as an author and benefit your long-term career. Have questions on the publishing industry and what's standard? A consultation can get your questions answered and better prepare you for the next steps toward publication. Concerned about e-book piracy? The Literary Lawyer can help develop a plan to combat it.

For Publishers

Consistency and Expertise

Looking to streamline your contract negotiations without hiring an in-house attorney? Free up your editors' time and maintain a consistently strong boilerplate by outsourcing your contract negotiation to a trusted legal professional. The Literary Lawyer also performs expert legal reads on unpublished manuscripts for libel, invasion of privacy, and copyright concerns.

About Me

Experienced Negotiation on Both Sides of the Table

Melissa Nasson founded Literary Lawyer to combine her diverse legal and publishing background with her desire to provide expert consultation, legal review, and negotiation services to agents, authors, and publishers. Melissa brings the unique experience of working on both sides of the publishing negotiation table. As Contracts Director at a Boston book publisher, Melissa has negotiated hundreds of publishing contracts since 2013, along with permissions agreements, translation licenses, film options, audio licenses, and more. She also has extensive drafting experience, with a focus on balancing thoroughness with clarity and brevity.

As Literary Agent at Rubin Pfeffer Content, a boutique children's literary agency, Melissa has negotiated contracts on behalf of agency clients with a wide range of publishers, from boutique to Big 5, since 2014.

Melissa joined the affiliated faculty at Emerson College in Spring 2020, teaching Publishing Law in the graduate program for Writing, Literature, and Publishing.

Melissa graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Boston University. A Terrier for life, she also graduated from Boston University School of Law. Melissa is a member of the Massachusetts Bar. She currently lives in Boston.

CONTACT

Contact the Literary Lawyer to discuss your consultation and contract negotiation needs.

Melissa Nasson, Esq.

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