Of course, any full-time writer prefers to have a proper deal with a publisher and knows their music career is going somewhere. As a general approach, there are two common types of deals that publishers make with writers, but you don’t have to limit yourself to those two options if you can think outside the box.  Here are the two common types of deals plus some ideas for creative options.
 
Staff Writer. In this kind of deal, the writes exclusively for one publisher. Basically, the name is self-explaining. The writer will be the staff of the publisher company and mostly writes on demand when the publisher has an opportunity for the writer and can pitch the song to some artists or producers. Also, the writer will be writing the songs and when they have something, they can provide it to the publisher and if publisher finds it interesting will push and pitch it for the writer. One important note about this kind of deal is that there is a quota of songs per year that must be written by the writer and accepted by the publisher. ​

​Music Publishers seem to be the “holy grail” for songwriters trying to get that first cut. Somehow, many people have the idea that if they could just “get a publisher,” all of their problems would be solved, and the cuts would start rolling in. While having a great publisher can be very beneficial, “getting a publisher” isn’t the most important piece of the success equation by any means. And, notice that I said having a GREAT publisher can be very beneficial. Having a bad or just mediocre publisher is often worse than not having one at all. So, proceed with caution and do a lot of background checking before agreeing to work with any publisher on an exclusive basis. Having said all of that, and as a publisher myself, here are a few things that publishers are looking for in a writer. Working at becoming all of these things before you meet with a publisher is going to increase your chances of that publisher wanting a working relationship with you.