Lucky you! The year just started and already you have a contract for your first book. Fantastic. If you have an agent, he/she should take care of all the legalities, but what if you don’t have one? What to do? There’s an article titled, “Book Contract: What’s Negotiable and What’s Not?”, written by Writer’s Digest online editor blogger, Brian A. Klems on this topic. It’s a very short article that also refers you to the Author’s Guild for more comprehensive details.
If you’re a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (which you should be if you write for children), link to SCBWI for additional information on book contracts. A good book to have on hand as well is The Writer’s Legal Guide, which I have in my library.
Good luck with your book!
“I dive into a story the way I dive into the sea, prepared to splash about and make merry.” – E.B. White