By Amanda Cabot, Author
of A Stolen Heart
Success! You’ve
completed your search for the perfect agent. It’s taken a while, because
you’ve been careful to ensure that you’ve chosen the right one, but the search
is finally over. Now you’re so excited that the moment you receive the
standard contract, you flip to the last page, sign your name, and mail it back.
Right move? Nope!
The good news is that
you have a formal contract. While some agents may work on a handshake
agreement, that’s dangerous. You need a written contract, because – if
properly written – they ensure that there are no misunderstandings about your relationship
and provide protection for both of you.
The bad news is that you
signed the contract without reading it and understanding every one of
the clauses. A contract is written for the benefit of the party that
drafted it, in this case the agent. To protect yourself, you need to
understand what’s included in the contract. You may also want to
negotiate some clauses to make them more beneficial to you.
Are you shaking your
head and saying, “I’m not a lawyer?” You don’t need to be. What you
need to be is careful and sometimes skeptical. To get you started, let’s
discuss some of the most important clauses in a typical literary agency
contract.
What’s Covered – Most contracts ask you to give the agent
the authority to negotiate all rights for everything you write. This may
be what you want, but it may not. If, for example, you’re like me and
write both fiction and non-fiction and already have a relationship with a
non-fiction publisher who acquires manuscripts directly from, you might want to
grant your agent only the right to negotiate for fiction. Why pay a
commission on non-fiction books when you’ve done all the work?
Length of Contract – Others may disagree, but I advise you
not to sign a contract with a specified length, even if it’s as short as one
year. The contract should remain in effect until one of the parties
terminates it. (We’ll talk about termination clauses later.) Why is
this important? If this agent turns out to be less than perfect, you want
to be able to end the relationship quickly.
Payment – There are several parts to this.
· How
much the agent will receive – The contract should
clearly outline the commissions the agent will receive. Please note that
performing and foreign rights commissions are often higher than the ones for standard
print and eBook rights, since sub-agents may be involved. This clause is
rarely negotiable.
· How
quickly the agent will pay you – Some publishers pay the author
his or her share directly, but if the total payment is sent to the agent, the
contract should specify when you will receive your share. While it’s
reasonable for the agent to wait until the funds have cleared before paying
you, you should not have to wait more than ten days for payment and a full
accounting. That full accounting is important, because while most agents
are honest, there are always exceptions. If you feel that you’re being
cheated, you can request accounting statements directly from your publisher and
compare them to the ones your agent has provided.
· What
expenses you will pay – In general, agents are responsible for all
normal expenses of running their offices. Some may expect you to pay the
costs of copying and mailing manuscripts, and others may charge you an annual
administrative fee. This is often negotiable. The most important
thing is to be aware of what expenses you may incur and to have the ability to
approve extraordinary expenses, such as paying a courier to hand-deliver a
manuscript to Europe, prior to their being incurred. This is one area where
surprises are rarely good.
Termination – While no one enters into a relationship
with an agent planning to terminate it, you may need to change agents.
That’s why this clause is so important. Like the money-related clauses,
there are several aspects to it.
· Notice
period – Thirty days’ notice is typical. If the agent asks
for a longer period, I’d question the reason.
· Delivery
method – How is the termination notice to be delivered?
Registered mail used to be standard, but regular mail may be permissible.
Phone calls and email are not acceptable methods of terminating a
contract. Like the contract itself, the termination notice should be
written and signed.
· Handling
of works already submitted – While the contract itself may be
terminated within thirty days, most termination clauses specify that the agent
will receive the standard commission for any works previously submitted to a
publisher if you sell them within a period of up to six months following
termination. Why? Just as there are some less-than-honest agents,
there are some less-than-honorable clients. This clause protects the
agent from a client who terminates a contract right before a deal is ready to
be negotiated, hoping to avoid paying a commission.
Other important clauses
include dispute resolution and the specific services the agent will
provide. Rather than turn this post into something rivaling War and Peace for length, I’m going to forgo an explanation of them, but I
will remind you that it’s critical to read and understand each clause.
If you have questions,
leave a comment, and I’ll give you my opinion. Another approach is to ask
your prospective agent to explain what the clause means and why it’s
important. If the answers aren’t satisfactory, that could be a sign that
this is not the right agent for you.
The bottom line is that
agents work for you and that a good contract provides the foundation for a good
relationship.
_________________________________________________________________
Amanda Cabot is the
bestselling author of more than thirty novels including the Texas Dreams
trilogy, the Westward Winds series, the Texas Crossroads trilogy, Christmas Roses, and her current release, A Stolen Heart. A former
director of Information Technology, she has written everything from technical
books and articles for IT professionals to mysteries for teenagers and romances
for all ages. Amanda is delighted to now be a fulltime writer of
Christian romances, living happily ever after with her husband in
Wyoming. Amanda’s Social Media Links; www.amandacabot.com
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