?


    Madge was speechless, her expression a mix of amusement and exasperation.


    Always manages to bring himself into thepliment.


    At one o''clock in the afternoon, Owen was ready to leave.


    Norris was busy gardening on the porch when he heard the news. He called out to his daughter, "Anne, would you mind seeing Uncle Owen out?" Owen stumbled slightly and stiffened at the title.


    Roseanne quickly got up from the couch, "Dad, let''s not mess up the family titles. Mr. Reynolds, I''ll walk you out."


    "Sure."


    As Roseanne escorted him, Norris muttered under his breath, "Talked about making him an honorary unclest time, and now we''re getting all mixed up..."


    Before long, Norris and Madge had been in Lumina City for a couple of weeks. Roseanne felt it was the right time to arrange a meeting between her mother and Stoner.


    "Mom, there''s actually another reason I wanted you and dad toe to Lumina City."


    "What is it?"


    Roseanne pulled out a man folder and pushed it towards her mother, "This is the contract you signed with Nadine. I asked you for a digital copy before, printed it out, and had it reviewed by a couple of publishing professionals and an intellectual propertywyer..."


    Madge was taken aback.


    Roseanne gestured for her to open it, "The parts marked in red are the unfair terms. For example, the publishing house on the contract is actually controlled by Nadine, with her family having shares in this literary studio..."


    It couldn''t even be considered a proper publishing house.


    A legitimate publishing house has the credentials to issue books with official ISBNs, while this studio could only deal with illustrations, audiobooks, and digital publications.


    No wonder Madge hadn''t managed to publish any books properly over the past decade. Was it because she couldn''t write?


    No, it was because Nadine couldn''t get them published!


    That''s why every proposal and outline Madge submitted got rejected.


    "Why would she approach you in the first ce if she couldn''t publish, and why sign a ten-year contract?"


    Madge waspletely stunned, while Norris remained somewhatposed, raising the question.


    When Nadine had first signed Madge, she had offered a significant signing bonus, with a amount of $200,000.


    It wasn''t a small sum a decade ago. Why would she agree to pay such arge sum upfront without seeing a potential future return?


    Roseanne continued, "This is the second major pitfall of the contract, Mom. Turn to page three, it''s marked in red."Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Norris looked down and said, "From the date of signing, all previously published works'' full copyrights will be managed by Party B... Where''s the appendix for the revenue share?"


    Roseanne shook her head, "There''s no appendix."


    Norris was shocked.


    Meaning, the contract didn''t specify the revenue share for any of the previously published books.


    Nadine could give all the earnings to Madge, or none at all.


    Madge interjected, "Over these ten years, I''ve only received royalties five times, the highest being $80,000 and the lowest at $5,000." Roseanne internally sighed, "As I suspected."


    It was harsh, but necessary for Madge to face the truth, "I checked the domestic book sales rankings over the past decade. ''The Weapon'' and ''The Abandoned School'' consistently ranked in the top 20."


    Madge nodded, "I knew that. I asked Nadine about it. She said the


    publishing market has shrunk in


    recent years, leading to a significant drop in book sales, and


    lovels


    consequently, the royalties


    received."


    ?


    Roseanne replied, "It''s true that the publishing industry has faced a downturn recently, which might be a big reason affecting the ie. But did she mention how ''The Weapon'' and The Abandoned Schoolo performed internationally?"