I've received a contract from a publisher and contacted one of the agents who is considering it to let her know that I will soon make a decision. She wants to know who is the publisher. Is it okay for an agent to ask me which is the publisher that has extended me a contract? Should I disclose it?
disclosure to agent
- Thread starter dwriter68
- Start date
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2011
- Messages
- 8,943
- Reaction score
- 3,151
Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)
If you want the agent to believe you, you'll certainly need to say who the publisher is. Especially if you want the agent to negotiate for you.
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
If you want the agent to believe you, you'll certainly need to say who the publisher is. Especially if you want the agent to negotiate for you.
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
If you don't tell her she's likely to think you're either lying about the offer or that it's an offer from a disreputable publisher...
Of course you should tell her what publisher. How else does she know if it's PublishAmerica or Random House?
Makes a difference on her end.
Makes a difference on her end.
Way I see it, you'll get one of four responses from an agent after you say who the publisher is:
Best of luck,
Jim Clark-Dawe
- Thanks, but no thanks. Why don't you go with the publisher.
- I can help you get a better deal with this publisher.
- You'd be nuts to go with this publisher, and this is why.
- What the publisher is offering you is a good deal. If you want I can look at the contract for $XXX, but you don't need representation.
Best of luck,
Jim Clark-Dawe
This is only good news if you've checked the press out and they're legit. If you've done that, and they are, then YAY!
Good news indeed, but you probably know little about contracts; what is standard and what isn't. Getting an agent to check it out and negotiate a better contract on your behalf can only makes things better.
Just in case this deal doesn't go through, you're usually better off querying agents only and then, once you've run out of agents to query, approaching pubilshers direct.
If you query agents and publishers together and then find an agent, you're likely to have reduced the potential numbers of publishers your agent will be able to approach.
If you query agents and publishers together and then find an agent, you're likely to have reduced the potential numbers of publishers your agent will be able to approach.
Thanks for all the advice. Thankfully, I did have some knowledge
before starting the querying process and moved from a list of agents to publishers. The situation with this particular agent has been lingering for six months with extended period of times between communications. A fact that makes me wonder about working with someone like that.
Anyway, I truly appreciate the input. This forum is an invaluable tool.
before starting the querying process and moved from a list of agents to publishers. The situation with this particular agent has been lingering for six months with extended period of times between communications. A fact that makes me wonder about working with someone like that.
Anyway, I truly appreciate the input. This forum is an invaluable tool.
Agents earn nothing from reading submissions so they're not a priority for them. Once you're a client of theirs, they'll almost certainly respond swiftly to your communications. It'll be different then.
An agent is not a lawyer so not really the right person to advice you concerning contracts. If you already got the publisher you could hire a literary lawyer to help you negotiate the contract. You will have to pay a fee but you won't have to pay 15% for the life of your book, nor have the possible Agent drama.
I'd say an agent is precisely the person you want advising you on contracts. Plus, there are several agents who are also lawyers. But, all experienced agents have extensive experience with contracts so they know what they're doing. Yes, if you're going it alone you can certainly hire an IP lawyer, but I'd say an agent is a better bet.
quan lot nu triumph do lot nam dep ty gia chan vay cong so nu thoi trang cong so nu chup anh da ngoai dep nhat
I'm not sure what you mean by "Agent drama" though. Perhaps you could clarify?
Last edited:
On the contrary, negotiating contracts is what an agent is for, among other things. A good agent will keep you from getting taken to the cleaners by the publisher.
Thirding the comments regarding agents vs. lawyers. A lawyer won't help you negotiate a contract; he'll only advise you on what it means. He is unlikely to be able to tell you what would be better for you, and your book. An agent will do all of these things and collect the money for you whenever it's due, and make sure you're paid promptly and in full.
If that's not worth 15% to you, then get an IP lawyer with specific experience in publishing contracts.
If that's not worth 15% to you, then get an IP lawyer with specific experience in publishing contracts.
A lawyer knows the law and knows when a contract is being unlawful; an agent if he's not also a lawyer won't know that.
I myself have experience reading and signing contracts, but that would not make me think I'll be able to hold the contract to the laws of the country like a lawyer could.
Why give an agent 15% for something that I possibly could do at least as good, with the difference I know for sure I'm 100% fully after my own interest.
Do you really think an agent with a few years experience (like most of them have) will have more experience with contracts than people having corporate experience?
By the way, a lawyer would negotiate a contract for you if you pay him to do that. A literary lawyer will know the ins and outs of publishing contracts and what is allowable by law, and they are efficient in law speak.
Agent Drama: Agents not returning calls. Agents wanting to receive the whole royalty amount instead of publisher splitting the pay. Agent not paying in time. Muddy administration. Agents not wanting to shop for a book. Agents demanding rewrites. Agents thinking about them firsts. Agents thinking you are their employee instead of the other way around. Agents thinking they know best how your story should be written (Are they the writer?) And more...
These kinds of things you don't risk having with a lawyer, the lawyer does his thing, you pay him, and bye, bye.
I myself have experience reading and signing contracts, but that would not make me think I'll be able to hold the contract to the laws of the country like a lawyer could.
Why give an agent 15% for something that I possibly could do at least as good, with the difference I know for sure I'm 100% fully after my own interest.
Do you really think an agent with a few years experience (like most of them have) will have more experience with contracts than people having corporate experience?
By the way, a lawyer would negotiate a contract for you if you pay him to do that. A literary lawyer will know the ins and outs of publishing contracts and what is allowable by law, and they are efficient in law speak.
Agent Drama: Agents not returning calls. Agents wanting to receive the whole royalty amount instead of publisher splitting the pay. Agent not paying in time. Muddy administration. Agents not wanting to shop for a book. Agents demanding rewrites. Agents thinking about them firsts. Agents thinking you are their employee instead of the other way around. Agents thinking they know best how your story should be written (Are they the writer?) And more...
These kinds of things you don't risk having with a lawyer, the lawyer does his thing, you pay him, and bye, bye.
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2008
- Messages
- 4,151
- Reaction score
- 951
- Location
- Manchester, UK
- Website
- www.teriegarrison.com
With the exception of lawyers sepcialising in publishing contracts (which are few and far between), lawyers don't know a good publishing contract from a bad one. There are countless tales of lawyers vetting and approving of abusive publishing contracts, such as PublishAmerica's, because they don't know the publishing industry.
I suspect that your knowledge of agents is substantially less than you think, and much of it built on inaccurate myths rather than actual facts.
Absolutely. And if you want other opinions, you should disclose it here, too.
Look, you are seeking the services of an agent for representation. Why on earth wouldn't you provide this information?
Unless you yourself have misgivings about the publisher, maybe?
Which is another good reason to disclose it here. Have you visited the Bewares forum? Or consulted Preditors and Editors? There are some verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry unsavory "publishers" out there who extend contracts to the unwitting.
caw
What fact do you allude to?
What have I said that isn't something that happens?
My mention of a lawyer is relating to publishing, so when I mention a lawyer I mean literary lawyer. If we were talking about divorces and I mentioned a lawyer I would assume others understood I meant a divorce lawyer.
Good literary agents are well-versed in contract law. They have to be: it's a major part of their job.
If you really could do the job that a literary agent does for her author-clients then you're right: there's no point in having one. But you don't seem to realise all a good agent will do for her clients: it goes far beyond the reach of checking a single contract. Agents ensure contracts are adhered to; they collect royalties on time, and check that the correct amounts are paid; and they find and negotiate new deals on all subsidiary rights, which are worth a lot of money. Could you find yourself a Polish publisher, a Czec one, a Spanish, German, French, Australian, Brazillian, UK, US, Portugese, Irish, Icelandic, and Latvian publisher, negotiate with them in their own languages, and oversee all those contracts whilst selling magazine serialisations, large print rights and audio rights? Because so far, that's what the agent of a good friend of mine has done for her.
Lawyers won't go out and find you deals. Agents will. And good agents are qualified to negotiate those deals and check the contracts for you, too.
So will a good agent, while doing a whole lot more besides, and without charging you anything upfront for doing it all.
You sound not only ill-informed about how agents work, but bitter about them too. How many agents have you worked with? How long have you worked with them? Have you ever had an agent? Your idea of what goes on in the agenting process doesn't correspond with my direct experience of it, I'm afraid.
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2007
- Messages
- 8,049
- Reaction score
- 770
- Location
- Clearlake Park, CA
- Website
- www.strokingthepen.com
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2008
- Messages
- 4,010
- Reaction score
- 4,825
This.
Plus, the value of a good agent is that they have often already negotiated base contracts with publishing houses, so they start the negotiations for each client already with the advantage of the preferred, previously negotiated base contract. And then work from there.
Not all agents are equal, just as not all lawyers are.
A lawyer who has never, or infrequently, negotiated literary contracts won't have the expertise necessary to provide the best representation. Similarly, a bad or inexperienced agent likewise will not have that experience.
Blanket statements are bad, and often wrong.
To the OP - congratulations! If you have checked out the publisher, and it meets your expectations for your project, then you have nothing to lose by telling the agent. The agent will either be interested or not, and then you can decide whether the agent's experience and representation going forward is worth the 15% to you.
~suki