[Agency] Rights Unlimited, Inc.

Eileen--I don't like the $250.00 upfront fee at all. I didn't even have to read further than this. Such fees, if they are at all deducted would come out of the advance as standard fare. Ask him who he represents and for his past year's record of sales. That will tell you everything about him. Sound like a typical fee agent to me.

Wait for someone else to chime in here.

Triceratops

DoF, here's all you need to know: Author shall provide the Agency AGENCY with a non-refundable reimbursement of $250.00 per title upon signing of this agreement for photocopying or submitting other copies of Author’s material to third parties.

That's an out-of-pocket fee. You're with a crap agency. Get out before you sign.

As for returning our work, don't worry about it (unless, heaven forbid, you sent him your only copy). Agencies like this can't sell manuscripts, so it's not like they can steal yours and sell it somewhere. If you don't plonk down the $250, they'll toss the MS in the trash and move on to trying to bilk someone else.

Aconite said:

DoF, here's all you need to know: Author shall provide the Agency AGENCY with a non-refundable reimbursement of $250.00 per title upon signing of this agreement for photocopying or submitting other copies of Author’s material to third parties.

That's an out-of-pocket fee. You're with a crap agency. Get out before you sign.

As for returning our work, don't worry about it (unless, heaven forbid, you sent him your only copy). Agencies like this can't sell manuscripts, so it's not like they can steal yours and sell it somewhere. If you don't plonk down the $250, they'll toss the MS in the trash and move on to trying to bilk someone else.

Click to expand...

You beat me to it. So, in big, bold letters. DO NOT SIGN! RUN, RUN AWAY!

If you have that contract in an electronic file, I'd like to receive a copy of it. By the way, what's the agency's business name?

Please, everyone, remember this. It is not libelous to mention an agency by name while asking if it's okay. So, mention the damn names! It gets tiring going back and forth trying to give out information when these questions can be answered in one exchange if you gave out enough information to begin with!

• The initial term of this Agreement shall be three (3) years from the Effective Date, renewable automatically for two (2) consecutive terms of one (1) year each, unless terminated earlier pursuant to paragraph 13 below.

[/QUOTE]



This is another part I don't like. It is, in effect, a five year contract. That's too long. Look for a contract of one year. Someone else has already mentioned the up-front money issue. While there are a couple of legit agencies that ask for small upfront postage, 250 is way too much. Any money is iffy, and you'd have a hard time finding an agency that makes sales and still collects such a large fee.


David

Any upfront fee is too much. Some of those scammers go in for quantity knowing that many individuals won't question the loss of $25 or $50 dollars if told it was for postage and phone calls. Get a hundred authors sending in either of those amounts and you have a fairly substantial income each month.

Remember, the IRS has only the scammer's word about how much he actually earned each year. He can claim most of that incoming money was used for business expenses when very little or none of it was used in that way. So long as the business expenses remain reasonable, it's unlikely that the IRS will perform an audit. End result? The scammer has a nice income each month from only a few hours of effort. In fact, he could probably claim so little as income that he might even qualify for food stamps and other assistance.

I'm not going to argue the feasibility of a small upfront postage fee. I agree that 99 percent are scammers. But it's been said on this board that there are some out there with verifiable sales and still have a small fee. To label ALL of them as scammers would thus be incorrect.

I will no longer go with one with a small fee, but that doesn't mean that others can't have a sale that way.

David

There are several issues I have with this, including that certain clauses seem a bit contrary. I'm also not 100% comfortable with the $250 up front (per title!). Thirty days to remit funds seems bit long to me. I would want it to be no longer than ten business days from the day the check clears, if not sooner. I would say that there is no point to a "term" of the Agreement if the Agreement may be terminated upon 90 days' notice. Also, the 90 days' for termination is a bit long for domestic. For foreign, it could make sense.

I suggest you run this by an attorney who knows something about agency agreements, or the Authors Guild legal department. Please note that I am not an attorney and the advice given here is not to be construed as legal advice.

I think it makes sense to ask ANY agent who he represents and how he might approach your book. I have an extensive website demonstrating who my clients are and what projects I've sold or handled. What's he got?

Best,
Andy

My agency agreement did not ask for money up front, nor did it state the agent was entitled to any free copies of my book. It also is for a term of one year, renewable, not three and not automatically.

Compare with this AAR agency's agreement, published for all to see:
http://www.larsen-pomada.com/agree1.html

Edit: Check out this article on agents and up-front fees:
http://www.sfwa.org/beware/agents.html

Every agent requires copies of the books for subsidiary rights purposes. And I'd guess every representation agreement says the agent can order copies and charge them back to the author. This one is unusual in that it LIMITS the number, actually.

Oh Dear...

Some of these clauses may be "normal," but that doesn't make them "good"… or even "acceptable." The numbers correspond to the bullet clauses in the original posting; may I suggest that the original poster mark the correct numbers for clarity?

3. This is inconsistent with AAR standards, which require a ten-day turnaround. And, frankly, there's little excuse for anything more than that, except in those rare instances in which the agent is gone and the entire office is closed. (The agent might also argue constructive v. actual receipt, but an agent with a record of prompt and accurate payment will get appropriate slack from the client.)

4. Remember Yog's Law, the short version: Thou Shalt Sign Checks Only on the Back. The author is already providing substantial capital to the agency in the form of intellectual property; if the agency is so cash-tight that it needs to charge up front for photocopying (not to mention that $250 per work is absolutely exorbitant), is that really the best agency for an unpublished author?

10. Some ridiculous landmines hidden in here. For one, it requires the author to reimburse the agent immediately for costs—which, in light of that $250 per work deposit, there shouldn't be—even if the agent terminates the author (and not the other way around). Ordinary contract law would allow the agent to recover extraordinary expenses; that's all that an author should accept.

Guys, there are two threads going on this topic. Would a Kindly Moderator please consolidate them? The other one is in the "Ask the Agent" area. I've said my piece there.

My agent told me that many submissions to publihers are via emai, i.e., no expense at all.

I looked at agentquery and writersmarket and this agency is listed on both, which doesn't mean anything one way or the other. It is possible that this is one of the rare legitimate agencies that charges an upfront photocopying/messenging fee.

However, agentquery says they don't want to list agents with any upfront fees, so I wonder if someone should blow the whistle on them.

I also note that they list no clients or sales--saying that those parts of their website are under construction.

I will grant the fact that their agents seem to have had a legitimate work record prior to establishing this agency. One worked at Peter Rubie's agency.

I'd proceed with caution. Ask a lot of questions--including sales and possibly asking to speak with other clients about their experiences.

Reply to All - A Longden

Dear Friends and Colleagues,



I have been reading this thread for the last while and thought that it has become more than appropriate to try to set the record straight. First, Rights Unlimited IS a legit agency with over twenty years in the industry. We have had the privilege of representing authors such as Dr Robert Atkins, Dr Ruth, John Grisham, Richard Steinberg, Gyo Fujikawa, Mercer Meyer and countless others for both foreign and domestic rights (and more recently movie/theatrical rights as well). Our emphasis over the last year has been to garner more domestic authors and less foreign rights transactions but we have a long history of doing both. I came to the agency in January having been a Publisher within the Harcourt family of companies for over six years and a consultant in a myriad of matters to such firms as the Associated Press, Mia Vita and The American Bible Society. All tolled, I have over 27 years within the publishing industry in a variety of executive positions. My dealings with the Daughter of Faulkner were unfortunate and unintentional and had nothing to do with her unique abilities as a gifted writer. The sample contract DofF was given was supplied by a new agent who is no longer with us, who insisted that our agreement was out of date. As it turned out and as you already know, she was incorrect. Rights Unlimited has never charged nor ever will charge or collected an upfront fee to any author.



As to the other points discussed, Andrew Zack clarified many as it relates to copies for foreign rights use. The contract term (though 3+1+1) in general is flexible depending on the client and whether there are multiple titles involved and can be terminated with a 90 day notice for any reason. The 90 days may appear lengthy but is again, intended for clearing the foreign rights pipeline.



In closing I hope this has clarified some of the issues related to this thread and I would hope that I can contribute to any other questions about agent/author/publisher relations as they come up.



Thanks, as always, Al Longden