Random House signs direct deal with author, cutting out agent.

I find it interesting that the author wasn't interviewed for the article. Sharpe snubbed his own agent way more than RH did.

ChaosTitan said:

I find it interesting that the author wasn't interviewed for the article. Sharpe snubbed his own agent way more than RH did.

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I would have liked more information in that area. It seems sort of obvious that the author chose to go directly with RH and bypass his agent because RH offered something...

If I were the agent I'd be more upset with the author than the publisher. Maybe relations weren't as good as they seemed and RH just offered better rates...

Wish we had more on that front.

I've not seen Sheil Land's agent-author contract, but I do wonder whether this action by Sharpe breaks any part of his agreement with his agent. It might not, of course: but if it does, then he might have just made a very expensive mistake.

Old Hack said:

I've not seen Sheil Land's agent-author contract, but I do wonder whether this action by Sharpe breaks any part of his agreement with his agent. It might not, of course: but if it does, then he might have just made a very expensive mistake.

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This made me curious as well. Haven't gotten near this far yet, but do most/any agent contracts deal with backlist books for which they were the original agent? Kind of a 'in perpetuity' clause?

Not necessarily, Shadow. When an agent makes a deal then that agent is the agent on record for the editions concerned; so long as they remain in print, the agent will get her cut of the author's royalties.

Once a book goes out of print, though, that's usually the end of the agent's association with it (unless the agent has a perpetual agent clause in their contract--Writer Beware blogged about this recently).

What I was referring to was the writer's contract with the agent. Good agencies usually have a clause which specifies that they will look after all their client's works, and if an author wants to do a deal without them then they have to agree it with their agent first.

Old Hack said:

What I was referring to was the writer's contract with the agent. Good agencies usually have a clause which specifies that they will look after all their client's works, and if an author wants to do a deal without them then they have to agree it with their agent first.

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Surely there's a major conflict of interest if the agent is also now a publisher?

We're probably going to see a lot more of this sort of in-fighting. The system's in turmoil and lines are being drawn in the sand every which way to Sunday. I, too, would love the inside scoop here, but won't be holding my breath. Clearly Sharpe is trying to do what's best for himself, which says a lot about is loyalty to his agent.

On a less serious note, beginning to wonder if this is the first sign of the coming zombie apocalypse: we're starting to eat our own.

Sounds to me like he's well-rid of that agent. I think when one's agent begins working to circumvent rules established to support ethical conduct in her profession, that agent sorta loses any rights to loyalty from business associates (like writers). The contract a writer has with an agent might create problems for a writer, like Old Hack said. But if your agent is willing to act unethically on one matter, hmmm, y'think maybe they'd be willing to do so on other matters, as well?

This is interesting, but I read this more as a conflict between a specific agent and author rather than a shot across anyone's bow.

But I'm not a big fan of blurring the agent/publisher line. It's so ripe for abuse. The agent is supposed to be your advocate. If they're the one offering you the publishing contract, who is there to tell you if it's beneficial or not?

I've discussed this with a handful of agents, directly and indirectly.

Most of them consider this a storm in a teacup which won't affect them at all. They're ethical, well-informed, and go out of their way to cut the best deals possible for their clients. They will continue to do all of that and more.

Things like this make the news because they're they're not commonplace; they barely affect most of the writers, agents and publishers.

dgaughran said:

In a possible shot across the bows of agents who have become publishers and those that are considering doing so, Random House announced a deal today to digitize an author's backlist, cutting out their agent.

The author is Tom Sharpe (veteran UK author, perhaps most famous for the Wilt series), and Random House have signed a deal to re-issue eleven titles as e-books.

The agent in question is Sonia Land of Sheil Land Associates (UK) who made news earlier this year by launching their own imprint to publish Catherine Cookson's backlist. They have also been vocal about removing the clause in the Association of Author's Agents which precludes agents acting as publishers.

In a strong statement, Sheil Land said "Does Random House now regard it as open season, so that in the middle of any difficult negotiation they feel they have the right to go behind authors' appointed representatives' backs?"

This could get interesting.

Full article from The Bookseller: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/sheil-land-shut-out-sharpe-random-edeal.html

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This bolded part seems silly to me, because in this case, the agency had become a COMPETITOR to RH, not just the author's representative. In fact, we can argue whether they were acting as the author's representative at all, at least when it came to these backlist titles.

So, the agency was acting either as a competitor and an author's appointed advocate, or as just a competitor, depending on whether you buy into their ability to be an advocate in this situation.

Either way, RH treated a competitor as a competitor. Why would this surprise anyone?

And even if the agency was capable of being an author advocate in this situation, the author clearly did not consider them his representative for this deal.

It seems to me that the author demonstrated some common sense in recognizing the obvious—that his agency was not his advocate when it came to this sale; rather it was another publisher COMPETING for the deal.

So the author sensibly looked at the two competitors and (presumably) took the better deal.

I don't see how this is surprising, or how it can be seen as a betrayal, considering the new role the agency CHOSE to take. The author didn't make that choice for them, so how can he be blamed for this inevitable new dynamic?

Chances are that Tom Sharpes agency contract predates ebooks, and unless the agency /agent has updated their contract with him, then he might not be in breach of any contract.

Also, it's worth noting that TS is a fairly high profile writer with a proven track record and a good following.

Worth noting also that TS's novels are currently published by Arrow (division of RH) so he is staying with his current publisher.

Random House Retaliate Over Cookson Backlist

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/sheil-land-shut-out-sharpe-random-edeal.html

Lesson: Don't bite the hand that feeds you.

Interesting.

Personally I'm not keen on agents acting as publishers, as, to me, it's a conflict of interests and the agent will clearly be seeking the best deal for themselves, and not for their writer.

It'll be interesting to see how this unfolds.

How is any of this newsworthy? Yes, there are small, niche publishers that also double as literary agencies, so it's hardly a shock if a major literary agency gets into the publishing business. Is is a conflict of interest? Well, duh, but just about every money making endeavor involves self interest. As far as a publisher dealing directly with an elderly author for ebook rights, there's nothing wrong with that either. Actually, I was surprised that Tom Sharpe was still alive. The world is changing, and it's clear that best selling authors will still need big-time packaging agencies such as CAA to negotiate film rights. Think Hollywood. What does that mean for dedicated New York and London Literary agencies? Some will evolve, although there isn't much room in an e-book marketplace that's dominated by Amazon and Apple. If the "Big 6" have been elbowed out of the ebook market, what hope is there for start-ups? CAA will survive. CAA will grow. CAA probably won't dabble in the legacy, paper publishing sector. That business is best left to the "Big 6," who do a very good job when it comes to stocking the limited book shelf space at your local Walmart.

How? How how how is this not unethical and how can an adendum get slapped on a contract without the agent knowing about it?

Am I blind or dumber than I thought I was?

I know that as an author, you have to look out for yourself in this mean, scary world, but I would always want the buffer of an agent between me and the publisher. The agent should be looking after his client's needs/wishes/monies - screw your agent over and you lose that buffer.

I don't see how the agent can question RH's ethics when they blurred the lines by becoming a publisher. What did the agent excpect?

AmericaMadeMe said:

How is any of this newsworthy?

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It's very newsworthy in the UK book trade I assure you, as it essentially represents a dirty war breaking out between a major publisher and a major agency. The first shots were fired when the Cookson backlist went direct to Amazon, which until that point had Not Been Done. Even Wylie backed down eventually.

The internet is made of disintermediation, as we all know. It's death to middlemen. Trad print publishing often has three or more middlemen between the author and the customer - agent, publisher, retailer - and we're all now turning on each other as we try to end up being the useful middlemen who aren't cut out of that equation in ebooks.

I happen to think that of all those three middlemen, we are the ones who add the most value (but then I would, wouldn't I.) However, I am not terribly worried about my job, as even if a retailer (Amazon, say) or an agency manages to cut out publishers from the chain, they can only really do that by becoming publishers themselves, and hiring in people like me to do publishing jobs.