Sample Author/Agent Agreement

Sample Author/Agent Agreement

As we noted in earlier chapters, contracts and forms will vary greatly from agent to agent. Following is a sample form to give you an idea of what to expect from an author/agent agreement. We’ve noted material that may vary from agreement to agreement in brackets and parentheses. Remember two things. First, if you have a question, ask it. Your agent should be able to answer it in a fair and understanding way. Second, everything is negotiable. Well, maybe not everything, but no one ever got a better deal who didn’t ask for it. Feel free to at least ask if you can improve rates or change terms. Your agent might hold fast, or it might be a change they make often (and they’ll think you are one smart cookie!). One thing to remember, though: publishing can have lots of terms that are unfamiliar to the average person. If it’s non-negotiable, don’t press it. Some items can be deal-breakers.

[date]

Dear [name],

This letter confirms the Agreement between [name of agency] (the “Agency”) and you (the “Author”). Our Agreement is as follows.

In consideration of services rendered and to be rendered, the Author has appointed the Agency as the Author’s sole and exclusive agent and representative with respect to [title], hereafter known as “the Work.”

The Author represents and warrants that the author is the author of the Work and that the Author has the right to enter into the Agreement, having obtained the necessary agreements from any other participants. The Agency agrees to counsel and advise the Author with respect to the further development and completion of the Work, and upon receipt of a manuscript or proposal acceptable to the Agent to use the Agency’s best efforts to place it for publication with a publisher acceptable to the Author, and to exploit and turn to account such other publication and subsidiary rights in and to the Work as may be appropriate under the circumstances. The Agency shall have the right to use and/or employ subagents and corresponding agents for such purposes.

The Agency shall have the right to receive and/or retain as commission the following listed percentages of all gross proceeds, emoluments, and other things of value at any time received or derived by the Author from the publication of the Work, in whole or in part, in any and all languages, and from the sale, lease, license, disposition, or other exploitation throughout the world of any and all rights in and to the Work:

a. [Fifteen (15) percent] of such gross proceeds from the exploitation of English language publication rights in the United States and Canada, and from the exercise of print and related subsidiary rights in such territories.

b. [Twenty (20) percent] of such gross proceeds from the exploitation of British and so-called “foreign” publication rights, and from the exercise of any and all subsidiary rights (both print and nonprint) in any territory outside the United States and Canada. However, if British and/or “foreign” publication rights are controlled and sold by the American publisher, the Agency’s commission with respect to such proceeds shall be [fifteen (15) percent] thereof in lieu of [twenty (20) percent] thereof.

c. [Fifteen (15) percent] of such gross proceeds from the exploitation of motion picture, television, radio, dramatic, and all other nonprint subsidiary rights in the United States and Canada. The Agency and its right to receive commissions hereunder shall be co-extensive with the life of the copyright of the Work and any renewals thereof.

In the event the Agency uses a subagent to sell foreign rights, it is understood that the Agency will keep [ten (10) percent] of the Author’s income relevant to the sale, and that an additional [ten (10) percent] of the Author’s income will be paid to the subagent. These terms will also exist in other situations where both the Agency and the Author concur that retaining a subagent would be advantageous.

All publishers of the Work, as well as all purchasers and licensees of subsidiary rights therein, shall be directed and authorized by the Author to remit the Author’s payments to the Agency, as the Author’s agent. Receipt of such payments by the Agency shall be deemed receipt by the Author.

The Agency shall remit payments to the Author, after deducting the Agency’s commission, not later than fourteen (14) days after monies have been received. The Agency will send copies to the Author of all royalty statements, checks, and contracts received from the Publisher concerning the Work.

[There will be a clause in the Author-Publisher contract stating these terms and conditions. The Author’s heirs will respect and adhere to this Agreement’s intentions.]

[In addition to the aforementioned commissions, the Agency shall be reimbursed for the expenses incurred on behalf of the Work (not to exceed a total of $150 without written permission), including photocopying, messengers, cables, and overseas postage in connection with submissions for sales both foreign and domestic, long-distance telephone calls, copies of the published book when purchased by the Agency for subsidiary rights submissions, and other similar and related charges.]

The Agency shall bill the Author periodically for such expenses, or deduct same from funds received by the Agency for the Author’s account.

Prior to or upon signing this Agreement, the Author agrees to provide the Agency with a complete written list of editors and publishers, if any, who have seen the Work or a proposal for the Work in its current form or in a prior form or draft.

The Agency or the Author shall have the right to terminate this Agreement in the event that the Work has not been placed for publication with a publisher acceptable to the Author within twelve (12) months from the Author’s submission to the Agency of the Author’s final completed proposal or manuscript, termination to be effective upon the expiration of 30 days. Notwithstanding the right of termination provided in the preceding sentence, if within four months after the effective date of termination of this Agreement a publisher to whom the Work had been submitted by the Agency prior to the effective date of termination of this Agreement, notifies the Author or the Agency that it wants to publish the Work and a contract results, the Agency is entitled to all rights provided to it under this Agreement, including, but not limited to, its right to receive commissions, and, if requested by the Author, the Agency will negotiate the book contract on behalf of the Author. In the event this agreement is terminated in accordance with the terms of this paragraph, the Agency will have no rights, including the right to receive commissions, in and to the Work and any derivations thereof.

If any controversy, claim, or dispute arising out of, or in connection with, this Agreement, or the breach thereof between the Agency and the Author, cannot be resolved, then the Author and the Agency agree to arbitrate their differences in [agent’s state] in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association, and judgment confirming the Arbitrator’s award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. The Agency agrees not to sign any contract for the Author or to otherwise make any commitment on the Author’s behalf without written or oral authorization from the Author.

Any written notice called for by this Agreement must be sent by registered U.S. mail, return receipt requested to the addresses set forth in this Agreement.

This Agreement represents the complete understanding between the Author and the Agency, supersedes any prior oral understandings, and may not be amended except in writing signed by the Author and the Agency.

If the foregoing is acceptable to you, please so indicate by signing your name below.

Sincerely,

[agent name]

ACCEPTED AND AGREED TO:

Name ______

Social Security or Federal I.D.# ______