{"id":6546,"date":"2012-11-16T03:00:20","date_gmt":"2012-11-16T11:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=6546"},"modified":"2012-11-16T01:43:59","modified_gmt":"2012-11-16T09:43:59","slug":"top-5-tips-for-negotiating-by-kelley-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2012\/11\/16\/top-5-tips-for-negotiating-by-kelley-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 5 Tips for Negotiating by Kelley Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Welcome to our regular column on literary law.<\/strong>\u00a0Today we focus on negotiations from\u00a0our monthly guest columnist,\u00a0Kelley Way<\/strong>,\u00a0a lawyer specializing in literary law. If you have general questions for Kelley on negotiating or other aspects of literary law, be sure to comment below.\u00a0Thanks!<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>PS. A list of books on literary law can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

PPS. For more on copyright, visit the\u00a0U.S. Copyright Office<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And now for a bit of necessary legalese:\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Please note that this article does not constitute legal advice, and that an attorney-client relationship is not formed by reading the article or by commenting thereon.<\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Negotiation is a part of life. We haggle at farmers\u2019 markets, we bargain with our significant others, and of course, we make deals in the business world. Knowing the rules of negotiation is helpful in all of these situations, but most of all when making business deals. Here are the top 5 things you should know for an official negotiation:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Come prepared.<\/strong> This is by far the most important rule of negotiation, and it will have a dramatic effect on the outcome. Before you even sit down at the negotiation table, you should know:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Your Best Alternative To Negotiated Agreement (BATNA).<\/strong> For instance, if you were meeting with a publisher to sign a contract on your book, you would want to have another offer pending with another publisher, or to at least be talking with another publisher. If you have a good BATNA, don\u2019t hesitate to use it, because it can be very powerful. If you don\u2019t have one, though, and can\u2019t get one before the negotiation, don\u2019t sweat it, and under no circumstances lie about your BATNA. That sort of thing has a nasty habit of biting you where it hurts, usually at the worst possible time. Besides, you probably want to work with this person, and how good a relationship can you have if you lie to him at the outset?<\/li>\n
    2. Your Reservation Point.<\/strong> This is the point where the deal is no longer worthwhile and you\u2019d be better off to just walk away. This can be decided from your BATNA, your finances, your personal preferences, or a whole host of other things. The point here is that you have limits to what you will accept on this deal. (And you never<\/em> share this with the other person, because they will use it against you)<\/li>\n
    3. Your target.<\/strong> This is your best possible outcome, what will happen if you get everything you want out of this deal. Bear in mind that it\u2019s unlikely you will actually get your target, but you want something to aim for when you\u2019re negotiating.<\/li>\n
    4. Your strengths.<\/strong> Know what cards you\u2019re holding, and how you can use them to your advantage. For example, when negotiating with a publisher, you can use awards your book has won or the popularity of the genre to argue that your book is worth more than what he\u2019s offering.<\/li>\n
    5. Your weaknesses.<\/strong> Know what disadvantages you have, and how they can be used against you. For example, you\u2019ve never had a book published, or this is outside of the genre your normally write in. Be prepared for the other party to bring them up, and have counterarguments that diminish the weakness or, better yet, that turn the weakness into a strength. Going back to the publishing example, being unpublished is not such a big deal if the manuscript has won multiple awards, or if you have another strength that makes it more likely to sell.<\/li>\n
    6. The other party\u2019s BATNA, Reservation Point, target, strengths and weaknesses.<\/strong> This is more along the lines of educated guesswork, but it pays to have a good idea going in what the other party wants.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      I know, that\u2019s a lot of homework I just assigned, but believe me when I say it pays off.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. If possible, make the opening offer.<\/strong> More often than not, the first offer sets an anchor for the rest of the negotiation, and the final number is not too far from it. Therefore, if you make the opening offer, then the final number will be closer to your target than the other person\u2019s. If they make the opening offer, counter quickly with your number, so that the negotiation centers around it instead. Make sure that the opening offer asks for more than your target, but is still within reasonable limits. You may need to do some research to know what a reasonable opening offer would be. In cases where you have no idea what\u2019s reasonable, and no way to find out, it\u2019s better to let the other party open.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        2. Allow room for concessions.<\/strong> As I said above, you want the opening offer to ask for more than you\u2019re actually aiming for. This gives you room to negotiate, so you can make concessions that bring you closer to your target. Negotiation is all about concessions: one side makes an offer in its favor, the other side counters, and then they both make small compromises until they agree on a number somewhere in the middle. There are 2 keys to making concessions:<\/p>\n