Authors don't always know what questions to ask (or are too timid to ask) about the policies, practices, and services of agents. As a result of several conversations between RWA and representatives of the Association of Authors' Representatives, the AAR has developed a checklist of topics which can be used by authors seeking to enter into a professional relationship with an agent. It is the hope of the AAR that this will help to create a more comfortable relationship among authors and agents, demystify agent activities, and reduce misunderstandings.
1. Is your agency a sole proprietorship? A partnership? A corporation?
2. Are you a member of the Association of Authors' Representatives?
3. How long have you been in business as an agent?
4. How many people does your agency employ?
5. Of the total number of employees, how many are agents, as opposed to clerical workers?
6. Do you have specialists at your agency who handle movie and television rights? Foreign rights? Do you have sub-agents or corresponding agents overseas and in Hollywood?
7. Do you represent other authors in my area of interest?
8. Who in your agency will actually be handling my work? Will the other staff members be familiar with my work and the status of my business at your agency? Will you oversee or at least keep me apprised of the work that your agency is doing on my behalf?
9. Do you issue an agent-author contract? May I review a specimen copy? And may I review the language of the agency clause that appears in contracts you negotiate for your clients?
10. What is your approach to providing editorial input and career guidance for your clients or for me specifically?
11. How do you keep your clients informed of your activities on their behalf? Do you regularly send them copies of publishers' rejections letters? Do you provide them with submission lists and rejection letters on request? Do you regularly, or upon request, send out updated activity reports?
12. Do you consult with your clients on any and all offers?
13. Some agencies sign subsidiary contracts on behalf of their clients to expedite processing. Do you?
14. What are your commissions for: (1) basic sales to U.S. publishers; (2) sales of movie and television rights; (3) audio and multimedia rights; (4) British and foreign translation rights?
15. What are your procedures and time-frames for processing and disbursing client funds? Do you keep separate bank accounts segregating author funds from agency revenue?
16. What are your policies about charging clients for expenses incurred by your agency? Will you list such expenses for me? Do you advance money for such expenses? Do you consult with your clients before advancing certain expenditures? Is there a ceiling on such expenses above which you feel you must consult with your clients?
17. How do you handle legal, accounting, public relations, or similar professional services that fall outside the normal range of a literary agency's functions?
18. Do you issue 1099 tax forms at the end of each year? Do you also furnish clients upon request with a detailed account of their financial activity, such as gross income, commissions and other deductions, and net income, for the past year?
19. In the event of your death or disability, or the death or disability of the principal person running the agency, what provisions exist for continuing operation of my account, for the processing of money due to me, and for the handling of my books and editorial needs?
20. If we should part company, what is your policy about handling any unsold subsidiary right to my work that were reserved to me under the original publishing contracts?
21. What are your expectations of me as your client?
22. Do you have a list of Do's and Don'ts for your clients that will enable me to help you do your job better?
This article originally appeared in the AAR Newsletter Fall 1994.
