Abusive Agent - What Can I Do?

iamsoanonymous

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I have long relied on Absolute Write and the generous souls on here willing to provide guidance to fellow writers. It's a competitive field and those who help instead of hinder are really, truly exceptional people.

You guys helped me get a query written.

You guys helped me get an agent.

You guys were there to celebrate with me when I did.

You guys helped me wait out the long submission process to publishers.

You guys were there when my book series inked its deal.

But now I am in a terrible position, and I have tried to do my own research elsewhere online so as not to bug you guys (and avoid typing out a huge explanation for what's going on without, I don't know, pointing fingers at anyone or slandering anyone or causing even more of an issue) but I couldn't find anything online and I knew that you guys would be the only ones who could help.

For legal reasons I certainly can't disclose, but that I am not culpable for, there is reason to believe my book might face litigation from an outside party. It's a groundless lawsuit. But it has shown me, clearly, how very willing my publisher is to throw me under the bus to save money. And, you know what? That, I expect. They're a corporation, they have hundreds of authors and franchises they have to manage. Expedient solutions that cost them the least money possible are how they keep the publishing house going. No hard feelings there.

But my agent -- I expect my agent to give me the time of day. To hear me out. To give me patient, if stern or firm, advice. And today I received a phone call from her where she was literally shouting at me into the phone, not listening to me at all as I tried to reason with her. It wasn't flat-out abusive (no profanity), but from prior email correspondence she is aware that I am in a delicate emotional condition (recovering from a protracted illness and a family tragedy) and I frankly don't ever want to speak to this woman again. I see no future working with her. She was unfeeling and unreasonable and the definition of unprofessional and I ended up having to rush her off the phone and hang up.

She got the deal for the book series. The installments in the series are scheduled for release over several years. I am bound to her, I think, for the duration of the series.

But my fear is that my current agent will not truly attempt to sell the other projects I have in the pipeline. Projects I need to sell in order to pay my mortgage, clothe my body, feed my family. My fear is that, now that she has crossed the line and behaved so unprofessionally, I will not be able to manage simple, professional conversations with her for these future projects.

What are my options in a situation like this? I want an agent who has the clarity of mind to listen to me, even in worst-case-scenario situations. She doesn't have to listen and agree. She just has to NOT scream senselessly at me on the phone and accuse me of things I have not done.

(I might add that this is the second phone call of this nature I received this week. The first, less intense encounter occurred when I was unable to answer her while driving. She was incensed that I did not pick up the phone.)

This is a stressful situation and those always bring out the worst in people, but I thought an agent, being, you know, someone who takes a cut of your paycheck, is someone working for you, and not trying to impose their will upon you.

Am I wrong?
 

mccardey

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And this is your first post here, join date September 2012.

caw

Don't fret, bird - I suspect the OP is just being anonymous on this issue for professional reasons.
 

Katrina S. Forest

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To the OP, I'm sorry I have no advice to give you. This is so outside my realm of knowledge I wouldn't know where to begin. Just wanted to say that I hope things get sorted out and a more experienced member is able to point you in the right direction.
 

EMaree

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I'm afraid I have no idea what to do in this situation, but I think Victoria Strauss (co-founder of the 'Writer Beware!' blog) might be one of the best people to contact regarding this. You can PM her on here anonymously or her e-mail address is beware [at] sfwa.org.
 

Terie

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And this is your first post here, join date September 2012.

caw

Seriously? You can't figure out on your own that this person was permitted to have a second user ID for obvious reasons? Sheesh.

To the OP, I, like others, have nothing useful to contribute other than sympathy. {{{Hugs}}}
 

iamsoanonymous

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And this is your first post here, join date September 2012.

caw

I started a new account so that I wouldn't be traceable. As noted, legal issues abound. But thanks for being rude to someone already going through a tough time.
 

iamsoanonymous

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Seriously? You can't figure out on your own that this person was permitted to have a second user ID for obvious reasons? Sheesh.

To the OP, I, like others, have nothing useful to contribute other than sympathy. {{{Hugs}}}

Thank you for the virtual hugs. Much appreciated.
 

iamsoanonymous

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To the OP, I'm sorry I have no advice to give you. This is so outside my realm of knowledge I wouldn't know where to begin. Just wanted to say that I hope things get sorted out and a more experienced member is able to point you in the right direction.

Thank you anyway.
 

Cyia

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I'm sorry you're in this position, anon. I can't give you advice on how to proceed, but I can tell you that if you leave your current agent, yes - she will retain the sales she's made for you, but that doesn't mean you have to stay in an unhappy situation until those books are delivered.

I've got a series with the agency my first agent was a part of when I signed with her. She switched agencies, so while she's the agent of record, her prior agency is the agency of record. When I get advance payments on that book, they come through that agency.

I've got a stand alone with the same agent, at a different agency, which I'm now no longer signed with. When I get advance payments for that book, they come through that agency.

I've got a new series about to go out with my current agent, for which she will be the agent of record.

Old deal obligations can still be fulfilled, even if you're no longer with the agent / agency which sold them. Your advance / royalty checks will simply be funneled through the old agent / agency.

Hopefully, you'll be able to talk to your agent and come to a resolution that's palatable to you both.
 

Transatlantic

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I'm too much of an amateur to help beyond googling stuff you'll have already found (e.g. this thread). But I wanted to say I'm sorry you have to deal with this now -- the shit always seems to come all at once, no? :( I have certainly been there.

And also: what does your contract say? Does it bind you to her and her alone to represent all your projects?

Can you afford an appointment with a lawyer to discuss the situation? Or talk to a lawyer friend of a friend? Or is there a legal aid sort of place where you live?

PS Think I cross-posted with someone else's much more helpful post. I hope you can rid yourself of this toxic agent soon.
 

Mr Flibble

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I haven;t got much to offer except sympathy, and perhaps the thought that if you're a member of a writer's association they might have some advice? Or perhaps something like this, which may help to find someone advise on legal matters (like your contract with the agent and the impending legal doom)?
 

Jennifer_Laughran

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Are you a member of the Author's Guild? If so they may be able to offer you pro-bono (or v inexpensive) legal advice... which is what, sadly, it sounds like you need here.

Not that a bunch of strangers on the internet aren't AWESOME... but this sounds like a problem for a professional to handle.

BEST OF LUCK! :(
 

JBuck

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I'm truly sorry you are going through this.
Sending (((hugs))) and positive vibes your way.
 

ChaosTitan

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This is a stressful situation, and I wish I had better advice for you than what's been given. You need to have a conversation with your agent. Not an argument, but a conversation, in which you both speak coherently without emotions getting in the way.

But my fear is that my current agent will not truly attempt to sell the other projects I have in the pipeline. Projects I need to sell in order to pay my mortgage, clothe my body, feed my family.

I wanted to comment here, because this distresses me a little bit. I don't know what your other book deal was for, or what the advance was, but I get nervous when I see folks posting that they need book sales to pay for their basic needs. Unless you are a big name bestseller, there is no guarantee that your next project will sell, period. Or that it will sell in a timely manner, or for a similar advance. Publishing doesn't care that you need to pay your mortgage, or that your kid has an ear infection or that your car broke down.

Publishing is in flux right now. Sales that were good enough three years ago aren't good enough now. Authors are getting dropped all over the place. I don't want to add to what's already a stressful situation for you, but I also don't want you to end up in a terrible place in the future if book sales don't go as you plan.


Best of luck.
 

WeaselFire

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The only practical advice I have is to check your contract and have your lawyer look it over as well.

Jeff
 

Namatu

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You've gotten some good suggestions already and Victoria Strauss will likely have very helpful advice. It's an awful situation you're in. I don't respond well to people screaming at me. My reaction is to remove myself and shut them out, but you can't reasonably do that in this situation. For the time being, at least, you do have to maintain some kind of relationship with your agent, preferably one in which she's not yelling at you. For whatever reason, she may not be able to get a grip. My suggestion is to pull out the no-nonsense professional approach to try to neutralize the bad direction your relationship with her is going and get back on track.

(Preface: I'd wait on the below until you get a response from Victoria and other professional orgs you've consulted so you go in fully armed with an objective big picture.)

Send your agent a (neutral) email saying that you understand she's as upset as you are about what's happening, and you'd like to have a calm conversation with her about the situation and how we should move forward.

It sucks that such an approach would be necessary, but in phrasing it that way you 1) acknowledge her feelings in a way that subtly reminds her of yours, 2) lay out your expectations for a real dialogue, and 3) put the two of you together as a team.

You may want to propose a length of time for the talk - "Do you have twenty minutes..." so that there's a limit to the call - and an agenda. "I'd like to discuss the biggest issues of this and that first." So you have a time frame, the topics to be discussed, and a clear invitation to work together.

If she agrees but starts screaming during the phone call, suggest (or, you know, insist) that the discussion be rescheduled for a time when she's less upset.

I hope this helps somehow. :Hug2:
 

mirandashell

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I'm so sorry you've got all this to deal with at the same time. It must be rough.

But to supplement Namatu's advice... I've worked in customer service and the best way to deal with someone who is screaming at you over the phone is to move the phone away from your ear and say nothing until they stop screaming. Absolutely nothing. Just let them scream.

Then, when they've stopped screaming, in as calm a voice as you can manage, say you understand but...... (your bit). Don't get upset, don't cry, don't get angry, and definitely don't argue back, even if they are talking bull. That's why you move the phone away from your ear, so you don't get tempted.

Act like the professional in the relationship. That will remind your agent that she is meant to be doing a job, not taking her problems out on you.

It's not easy to do, but I've always found it the best way to cope with someone ranting on the phone.
 

victoriastrauss

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Just to note: I've heard from the OP, and have let him/her know that I'm glad to give advice privately and in confidence, but need more specifics and context in order to do so.

- Victoria
 

Meems

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OP, since you've been working with this agent for a while and things have been good (I assume), is it possible that the stressful situation itself made her act in such a manner?

As an agent, I assume that she's getting a lot of pressure from the publisher about the law suit issue and that her own reputation is going to take a hit because of it, no matter how groundless the law suit is.
The agent-writer relationship is a business relationship. It comes down to cost vs benefit. And unless you're making her major money, I wonder if she's feeling that you're costing her a lot more than you're worth.

That does not excuse her at all for screaming at you, or acting so unprofessionally, but if you looked at it from a perspective where she was just really stressed herself, and lost it when talking to you, maybe it would be easier to talk to her again.

At the end of the day I am sorry that you have to deal with all this and I hope that it works out for you.
 

Maryn

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On behalf of writers everywhere, thanks, Victoria. I hope the OP finds a way to share what the steps taken were and what the outcome was.

Maryn, soul of discretion
 

CrastersBabies

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Not much advice here, just sending you support (for life and writing). Something to consider is that many agents make their money off YOUR work. I don't imagine an agent would purposely throw your work under the bus because isn't that like shooting themselves in the foot? Financially?

I don't know your agent, but I'm of the mind to try and reason with people, to let them blow off their steam and revisit the conversation at a later time. I'd probably start with email. At the very least it's a paper trail if this does get ugly.

I'm sorry you have to go through this all! (big hugs)
 

Jamesaritchie

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First, tehre isn't enough detail here for anyone to give much advice. We're hearing only one side of teh story, and not much of that.

Second, how does your publisher know there might be litigation on this book? Did someone contact them and threaten to sue?

Third, don't worry about litigation until you're actually in court. All sorts of people threaten lawsuits, but abandon the idea when they find out how much it's really going to cost. And unless you knowingly committed plagiarism, committed copyright infringement, knowingly libelled someone, or cut someone out of a book they helped you write, your publisher may have to stand by you, whatever the contract says. The publisher will almost certainly be named in any litigation, and if the lawsuit really is groundless, you should have no worries.

Anyway, some things you don't sweat until they actually happen. If you do sweat it, you need to do so to an attorney, not to an agent.

As for the agent, I kind of see both sides here. She does sound somewhat less than nice, but an agent's job is to sell you books. And agent's job does not include being a friend, a confidant, a hand-holder, a shoulder to cry on, a lawyer, or a counselor. The only advice an agent should ever give, should ever be allowed to give, is about which publisher to go with, what the best approach is for subsidiary rights, and whether or not a contract needs changes before you sign it. That's it. Emotional problems, illnesses, and family tragedies, and even litigation, are not part of an agent's agenda, unless she is name din any lawsuit. All else matters only when and if they delay the writing of a contracted book.

I'm not at all sure what you wanted her to be understanding about, or what advice you expected her to give?

As for being bound to this agent, yes, you probably are bound to her for the books mentioned in the contract, at least monetarily. But there should be an escape clause that allows you to leave this agent and find another for any books you want to write outside this series.