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[Agency] Eddie Kritzer Productions

bkolts

Hi Everyone,

My wife just wrote a book and had it copywrited. Now she is in search of an agent, and someone named Eddi Kritzer asked for her manuscript on an exclusive basis.

First does anyone know anything about this person, and second, what is exclusive basis, is this normal?

Thanks for your herlp!
 

spywriter

exclusivity

I cannot help you with the agent, but I have a word or two about EXCLUSIVITY.

The first week I sent out my queries, I had FIVE agencies ask to read my manuscript. One of them was one of the biggest agents in the country. He asked for an 8 week exclusivity. I knew that if I gave my stuff to him and he chose not to represent it, I could lose on the others. It was a gamble, but the BIG GUY was so big, I rolled the dice. In the end, I wasted six weeks and gained 10 pounds waiting. MY ADVICE....

It's okay to grant exclusivity, but make sure there is a TIME LIMIT on it. Two to three weeks tops. Even though they made me wait 6 weeks, my rejection letter was dated 6 weeks earlier. YOU GUESSED IT.., he knew within 24 hours of receiving it that it wasn't for him, yet he made me wait. AGONY!:ack

It is also okay to say this, "While I understand your policy of exclusivity, I am unable to offer it to you at this time, as three other agencies are currently reviewing my manuscript. However, I will certainly contact you if I receive any offers of representation elsewhere."

GOOD LUCK TO YOUR WIFE....:thumbs

You are Super smart for doing your homework.
 

SavannahL

Re: exclusivity

Eddie Kritzer is a big time player in Hollywood. He primarily develops TV shows, as I understand it. You might want to check out this two-year-old discussion at Writers Net:

www.writer.net/forum/read...69/13669Vf

He's definitely legit, though. No worries there.

BTW, I agree on the "exclusivity" point. Of course agents want it -- it's to their benefit. But definitely (politely) put a time limit on it.

Best of luck!
 

spywriter

exclusivity

You can say something like....

"I am gladly willing to grant you three weeks of exclusivity, based on your outstanding reputation. However, if you find that the material is not suited for you sooner, I would appreciate being notified at your earliest convenience."

So your wife is headed for Hollywood....:money :money :money

:thumbs
 

vstrauss

Re: Eddie Kritzer

Um. Mr. Kritzer appears to be a small-time TV and radio producer with few verifiable credits; he also does infomercials. At one point, he was involved with crooked book doctoring company Edit Ink, which paid kickbacks to agents who referred rejected writers to it.

I'm not aware he has any significant record of script sales, and I've never been able to discover that he's sold a book.

- Victoria
 

bkolts

Thanks

Thanks for replying everyone. Your advice really helped. We decided to cautiously move forward with just a 3 week exclusivity, either way it works out, we'll let you know.
 

JennaGlatzer

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Ooh! Bad experience with him myself. Asked me all sorts of financial questions on the phone, wanting to know how I supported myself and if I had a rich spouse and other odd stuff. Then told me he would accept scripts ONLY by FedEx... which I suspected was another way he was checking to see who was willing to spend money. Never went further than that.
 

smallthunder

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"Exclusivity" entanglemen

I found this all very interesting, especially what 'spywriter' had to say, regarding exclusivity.

As I posted elsewhere, I had a pretty big NYC agent respond to my query by writing that he wanted to read several chapters on an 'exclusive' basis. At that point, I already had several agents reading chapters -- so, what could I do? Ask those earlier respondents to STOP reading my work -- STOP considering my novel -- so that I could give this guy the exclusive arrangement he requested?

Does any agent -- even the biggest, most-self-important -- realistically expect that?

I hope not, because I sent this chap my chapters with a letter explaining that I could not give him retro-active exclusivity, but if he were still willing to consider my work, I could promise not to send my manuscript to any additional agents.

I didn't mention any time limit on this possible future exclusivity arrangement -- was this a mistake? -- but I did say I would wait to hear from him if this was agreeable (before instituting this new "exclusivity" arrangement).

Should I have handled things differently? Please advise.
 

clara bow

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http://www.eddiekritzer.com/

If you take a look at the layout, 'nuff said. My husband didn't even say anything when he saw it. He just started laughing.

His IMDB listing has very few credits. Sounds like your wife should proceed with caution.

"SOLD! Live Ten Year Longer written by 92 year old Dr. Clarence Agrees Ten Speed Press."

wha...?

 
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zizban

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clara bow said:
http://www.eddiekritzer.com/

If you take a look at the layout, 'nuff said. My husband didn't even say anything when he saw it. He just started laughing.

His IMDB listing has very few credits. Sounds like your wife should proceed with caution.

"SOLD! Live Ten Year Longer written by 92 year old Dr. Clarence Agrees Ten Speed Press."

wha...?


I hope the good doctor lives those ten extra years or book sales will really suck.
 

yeyeman9

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[Agent] Eddie Kritzer

Hello, I sent a query to Eddi Kritzer Productions and today they accepted my request. They want to review my script but I just want to know if they are reliable? Are they to be trusted?
 

dpaterso

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A Google search on Eddie Kritzer produced several links including this message thread on this very board:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=718

You have to make your own mind up.

And I know this is probably a stupid question, forgive me, but if you hadn't already checked this person or company was reliable, why'd you send a query?

-Derek
My Web Page - naked women, bestial sex, and whopping big lies.
They fight like tigers. There hasn't been a battle like this since Errol Flynn took on Basil Rathbone in Nottingham Castle.
 

clockwork

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No idea.

But I found the same thread as dpat,

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=718

and a homepage...

http://www.eddiekritzer.com/

His website ain't exactly flooring but that may not be fair. The previous AW thread is less promising though. Having said that, who knows? Hopefully someone else on the board will have better information for you.

Like an alien with a yokel, you're gonna have to do some probing...
 
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yeyeman9

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dpaterso said:
A Google search on Eddie Kritzer produced several links including this message thread on this very board:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=718

You have to make your own mind up.

And I know this is probably a stupid question, forgive me, but if you hadn't already checked this person or company was reliable, why'd you send a query?

-Derek
My Web Page - naked women, bestial sex, and whopping big lies.
They fight like tigers. There hasn't been a battle like this since Errol Flynn took on Basil Rathbone in Nottingham Castle.

Thats a good question. But now that I queried I wanted to make sure they were reliable and from what I have seen, they really are.

Thanks a lot to both of you.
 

yeyeman9

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I kept reading and apparently they aren't reliable at all...
 

victoriastrauss

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Eddie Kritzer used to refer people to scam editing service Edit Ink. Later, he hooked up with scam agent/vanity publisher Martha Ivery. From what I can determine, he's a small-time TV and radio producer; he also does infomercials. I'm not aware he has any significant record of script sales, and I've never been able to find that he's sold a book manuscript.

- Victoria
 

Isadoredog

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I had a very recent experience with Eddie Kritzer that left me stupefied.

After reading Eddie's website where he is actively soliciting TV scripts and without doing any research at all, (I have changed that for the better) I sent him two separate queries; one for each of my TV pilots. I mailed them USPS with SASES included.

Sunday night of the same week I sent the queries my cell phone rang at 7:30 p.m. It was a terrible connection but eventually I understood that it was Eddie Kritzer on the line. He called me on that Sunday night on my cell phone to lambaste my query letter! Huh? He told me a number of times that my query didn't "grab" him and although the show had a "cute little name" that wasn't worth anything.

He was so far afield with his comments about my query that I seriously wondered if he had read it. He ended the conversation, none too soon for me, by saying "We see things differently". He is right. We do.

He left a highly unprofessional taste in my mouth. However, he was the catalyst I needed to seriously research agencies and agents and that was Eddie's gift to me.
 

victoriastrauss

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I've recently gotten several reports from writers who say that Eddit Kritzer called them and asked for an upfront fee to represent their book manuscripts.

His website lists projects he has supposedly sold--but two of the publishers he lists, Seven Locks Press and Blue Dolphin Press, are vanity publishers. Other references can't be checked out, or are very old. He touts his involvement in a project with Christina Aguilera, but the only references to him that can be found in connection with either her or the projects are at his website.

- Victoria
 

BarbJ

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He left a highly unprofessional taste in my mouth. However, he was the catalyst I needed to seriously research agencies and agents and that was Eddie's gift to me.

Why would he call if was simply a pass? Sounds like a strange one and, I would suspect, an unprofitable one. However, in his own weird way, he's a do-gooder! :D

And welcome! :welcome:
 

dj68

Eddie Kritzer Hmmmmmm....

I received a call from Mr. Eddie Kritzer today stating that he was very interested in one of my scripts. He says he'll read it and if he does indeed like it he will take it on. He also says that if it sells he will of course get 15% of what the total is, which is all good. I would then be sent a contract to sign and return with a payment of six-hundred dollars... That's not good!! I checked him out and he is a ligitimate producer, and has been in the industry for some time. However, this really bugs me that he would ask for money up-front. Everyone knows you don't pay any monies up-front. I am torn because he does have some credentials. Should I just pass on this one since I do have other people who are interested in this script?
 

Mac H.

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I checked him out and he is a ligitimate producer, and has been in the industry for some time. However, this really bugs me that he would ask for money up-front. Everyone knows you don't pay any monies up-front. I am torn because he does have some credentials. Should I just pass on this one since I do have other people who are interested in this script?
Why are you torn?

He's been doing this for years.

1. He used to get kickbacks for referring people to the scam editing service 'EditInk'.

In 1998 the New York State Supreme Court ordered Edit Ink to pay an estimated $6 million in restitution to more than 3,600 authors, plus $500 for each deceptive act, plus $2 million in civil penalties, plus costs. They shut down.

That was the kind of service you would have gotten off him in 1998.

2. After that, he switched to getting kickbacks for referring people to Martha Ivery. You want proof that Martha was dodgy?
In November 2006, Martha Ivery was sentenced to 65 months in Federal prison for her scams !

That was the kind of service you would have gotten off him 5 years ago.

3. And now he's asking for $500 to read your script, while looking for a cheap room to live.
(Ref: http://207.5.19.9/boards/showpost.php?p=394523&postcount=2 )

What credentials does he have? He hasn't produced anything according to IMDB .. the closest was being an executive producer for 'Kids say the Darndest Things' almost a decade ago. Does that indicate the fire power required to get a new series or film off the ground?

Mac
 
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Codyphx

[Agent] Eddie Kritzer

Oh, I should have checked here before I queried him. Listen up folks! This man is NOT legit. Not only does he demand $600 upfront in reading fees by check and FedEx only, but he doesn't even read the material submitted with the query! He claims to be a "big time" TV producer, but he hasn't done anything notable since 1998. I contacted him on a whim, and he called me every day four days in a row over New Years weekend demanding his money, saying sexually innapropriate things over the phone to me, and every day we repeated the exact same conversation, he had no recollection of having called the previous day! I did some research, he was linked to Edit Ink and Martha Avery, which he did not deny, and I contacted someone he used to represent, who strongly recommended that I not get involved with him. He "sells" books to self publishing companies and vanity publishers and charges a lot for it. SKIP HIM! PLEASE!

Cody
 

justintoxicated

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I just had a run with the guy and I fear a friend of mine has already been ripped by him. He talked fast but asked for $600 and 15% his stuff looks legit if you give the benefit of the doubt, so I called the writer's guild and they told me there was many complaints about the guy and seemed to know a bit about him. And honestly would the guy who produced Kids Say The Darndest Things legitimately be interested vile blue humor laden with jokes about mean things you can do to prostitutes? He was a very fast talker and claimed to have gone to Boston university and kept saying he was like me, and he seemed to know the area. I'm usually very skeptical but I knew optimism in this case was a bad idea.
 

martian

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I sent Mr. Kritzer a brief overview of one of my screenplays. He replied, asked me for $600 and wasn't really concerned about the marketability of the script. If I was an agent, I wouldn't try to peddle a script to my mother unless it was tight and right. Mine are but, he doesn't know that. Proceed with caution when ANYBODY wants money and doesn't care about the quality of your work.