I was just offered a story contract by a big trade publisher. Yeah, not for a book, for a story, but still...
But the contract was for the full run of the copyright. Nonexclusive, but with the right of the buyer to resell and republish in any way, shape or form for full copyright.
Given that I'm still alive last time I checked, and assuming I'll live another 11+ years, that means the rights wouldn't revert, and it would go into the public domain around the year 2100.
The wouldn't negotiate--not on the number of years, not on a reversion clause, not on anything. I made it clear that I'd be open to some kind of counteroffer--no dice.
They were quite cordial, but it was a dealbreaker. I wouldn't give them all they wanted, and they wouldn't budge.
I felt like I was inside a KKR/DWS blog post...and there's a certain amount of psychic pain in refusing to give in and get a story published by a big publisher. I believed I was beyond that need for validation, but I apparently didn't know my own mind as well as I thought...
Yet I'm sure I made the right decision.
So, if there's a moral to the story, it's just what KKR has said: be willing to walk away if you believe it's the right decision. Long-term control of your own IP is more important than almost anything.