By Susan Spann on Writer Unboxed site:

Authors have many things to watch out for when evaluating a publishing deal, but one of the most common—and most serious—dangers is something the author doesn’t see: the vital clauses and protections that are often missing from “short-form” publishing contracts.

Most authors look at standard publishing contracts (which can easily run from ten to twenty pages, or even longer) with a combination of confusion and concern. For those not versed in legalese (or, more precisely, Publisher-ese) standard contract terms can range from “complex” to “might as well be written in Sanskrit.”

Because of this, some authors see a three-page form and think “hey, this is great!” and “finally, a contract that makes sense!”