The article analyses the main clauses of a publishing contract for written works and aims to be a guide for authors, including the students and the participants of CKS, if they want to publish their works. It will offer the main aspects that every author should know, when is concluding a publishing contract. Also, the article will present the authors economic rights transferred to the publisher, the legal characteristics of the contract, the notions of author, written works and publisher, the obligations of the parties. The article will underline the importance of the publishing contract as the most common way to exploit the rights of the written works authors, hence the rules of this contract offer solutions that can be applied by similarity to other contracts that assert the rights of the authors.