"Content" agents, book scouts, etc.

David I

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Does anyone here know about production/management companies called "content providers" or "book scouts"? These are people who are in the business of finding books/comics/etc and passing them on to Hollywood for possible development.

Most of them seem to be low-profile operations--most of them seem to do business under a person's name, and most don't have websites.

I know how literary agents (of both the book and screenwriting flavor) work: The represent the property, and take a share of the monies that flow back to the writer.

Does anyone know how these content providers/book scouts operate?

Before anyone leaps in and tells me that all that sort of stuff is probably handled through your agent or publisher, let me say that doesn't appear to be the case: Many writers seem to have both literary agents and content agents. And some very well-established writers--Spider Robinson, for example--have "content" agents. (Or whatever they are called.)
 

victoriastrauss

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Since this is a general question, rather than an inquiry about a specific agent, I'm moving it to Ask the Agent.

I have to say I'm stumped as to the answer to your question. I know what a book scout is--they work for publishers and/or studios rather than authors--but I've never heard of a "content" agent. Some writers do have a literary agent and a film/TV agent--is that what you mean?

- Victoria
 

brianm

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I don't know about content scouts, but I always understood a book scout's job was to search out and find rare and unusual books to sell to collectors, etc.

I can't imagine there's much money in scouting out writers like they do in sports... where would you look? Bridges, dark recesses of a pub, ocean cliffs?:tongue
 
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Will Lavender

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I don't know exactly how they work, but if I understand it correctly scouts look for manuscripts to pass on to Hollywood or foreign markets. They will hear of a book, obtain it through a publisher, and then pitch it to an agent/editor in California or overseas, and probably get a kickback when the book sells.

My book was passed on to Hollywood by a scout at Warner/Grand Central. I hired my agent at CAA the day after my book's auction; the guy didn't even know the book had sold. Also, when I was dealing with foreign rights, I heard the word "scout" used many times, so I assumed the scout was working hand in hand with the foreign agent to garner interest from an overseas publisher.
 

IceCreamEmpress

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I don't know about content scouts, but I always understood a book scout's job was to search out and find rare and unusual books to sell to collectors, etc.


Those people are also called "book scouts" but David is asking about a different job.


The "book scouts" he's asking about work for studios and production companies in the Acquisition and Development departments. They identify potentially filmable literary properties.


As for "content agents", ain't no such thing.


I think, with Spider Robinson, you're confused by the name of his Hollywood agents--Content House. Spider is represented by a literary agency, Spectrum, and a film/video agency, Content House.

Many people have more than one agent for more than one genre; Neil Gaiman, for instance, is represented by Writers House (literary) and by Creative Artists Agency (film and television). Warren Ellis is represented by Lydia Wills (literary) and Creative Artists (film and television).

On edit: I Googled "content agent" and looked at the first 500 results. Apart from this thread (which shows up on the 7th page of results), the phrase "content agent" is used only to refer to a computer database structure. Content House describes itself as a "production/management company" that represents "intellectual property and its creators".
 
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David I

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I think, with Spider Robinson, you're confused by the name of his Hollywood agents--Content House. Spider is represented by a literary agency, Spectrum, and a film/video agency, Content House.

Thanks. Yes, I mentioned in my original post that Content House is a production/ management company. But that doesn't mean that they only make films, or only represent screenplays. They also find books and pass them on to Hollywood. Here, for example, is the opening of Kevin Cleary's bionotes:

Kevin Cleary is a partner of Content House, a production/management company specializing in selling books and comic books to film studios and television networks. Content House's client roster includes numerous intellectual property rights holders, screenwriters, comic book creators J.M. DeMatteis, Tom DeFalco, and Fabian Nicieza, as well as best-selling authors, including John Farris, Shirley Kennett, and Leon Wagener.

In the old days, the studio had in-house book scouts, but those are rarer today. Though there are vice-Presidents in charge of acquiring literary properties, most apparently prefer to do this armslength through some sort of agent--which might be the secondary-rights department of the publisher, or might be a literary agent, or might be a independent book scout. (Or, as they are increasing calling themselves--undoubtedly because of the web--content providers.)

Here's an article that touches on the topic. But darned if I can sort out the mechanics of how these places work.

http://www.observer.com/node/46861

It seems straightforward enough when the scout/agency is hired by a studio. If anyone can figure out how the independent scouts/agencies work, I'd like to hear about it.
 
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IceCreamEmpress

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Thanks. Yes, I mentioned in my original post that Content House is a production/ management company. But that doesn't mean that they only make films, or only represent screenplays. They also find books and pass them on to Hollywood.

They work the same way as every other Hollywood agency does--they sign clients and represent their intellectual property. Seriously, I don't know what you're confused by--they work the same way as CAA, Endeavor and the rest.

In the old days, the studio had in-house book scouts, but those are rarer today. Though there are vice-Presidents in charge of acquiring literary properties, most apparently prefer to do this armslength through some sort of agent

The acquisitions and development department of the studio or production company contacts the agents of the author/creator of the properties identified.

which might be the secondary-rights department of the publisher, or might be a literary agent, or might be a independent book scout. (Or, as they are increasing calling themselves--undoubtedly because of the web--content providers.)

I've never seen anyone in this field call themselves a "content provider" or "content agent". Do you have any links to anywhere that someone does that?

Here's an article that touches on the topic. But darned if I can sort out the mechanics of how these places work.

http://www.observer.com/node/46861

It seems straightforward enough when the scout/agency is hired by a studio. If anyone can figure out how the independent scouts/agencies work, I'd like to hear about it.

A scout is like a matchmaker--they try to put an intellectual property together with a studio or production company that's looking for something like that. When they can make a deal happen, they get either a flat fee or a percentage from each party--kind of like a buyer's broker in real estate. My sense is that this isn't a growing field at all, and the article to which you link confirms that.

The Firm, for instance, which is mentioned in the article, is a pretty traditional literary and screenwriters' agency in Hollywood. If they, a big-ticket agency, can't afford to hire a literary scout, there probably isn't much money floating around for these folks.

I have two friends who are film producers. One is an independent producer who formerly worked with one of the world's largest studios, and one works with a largish production company in New York. They have agents pitching them properties constantly. It's not clear that scouts add much to the mix, or that their input is needed.
 

victoriastrauss

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I've never seen anyone in this field call themselves a "content provider" or "content agent". Do you have any links to anywhere that someone does that?
I too would be interested to see this. I'm equally unfamiliar with the term "content agent." I've seen the term "content provider"--but used in the sense of "someone who provides content," as in people who write for websites.

Scouts work for publishers and studios--and of course for themselves--but not for authors. If a scout happened on your book and brought it to a studio or a foreign publisher, the studio or publisher would then deal with you or with your agent. Here's an example: Maria B. Campbell Associates, which has been scouting since the 1980's.

Here's a more irreverent--and up to date--explanation of scouting.

- Victoria
 
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David I

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I too would be interested to see this. I'm equally unfamiliar with the term "content agent." I've seen the term "content provider"--but used in the sense of "someone who provides content," as in people who write for websites.

Scouts work for publishers and studios--and of course for themselves--but not for authors. If a scout happened on your book and brought it to a studio or a foreign publisher, the studio or publisher would then deal with you or with your agent. Here's an example: Maria B. Campbell Associates, which has been scouting since the 1980's.

Here's a more irreverent--and up to date--explanation of scouting.

- Victoria

Enjoyable article! Thanks, Victoria, and thanks also to IceCream.

"Content agent" is a term I was told was being tossed around at a recent conference, so I came here to ask about it. I suspect it grows by analogy out of web jargon "content provider," which, as you say, is someone who furnishes intellectual property (including people who own reproduction rights on photos, etc.)

I'd gladly use another term (which is why I included "book scout," but most people think that's someone who hunts for rare editions). If anyone knows the term for the kind of Hollywood agent who represents the movie rights to specific already-published intellectual properties, I will happily, gleefully adopt that term!

I had seen the Campbell website--it appears to be an agency that represents certain publishers to a studio. I guess that's one of those things I don't need to understand the details of, since I never plan to be a publisher or a studio.

I am, however, interested in understanding how this aspect of the business works for agencies that are representing specific already-published intellectual properties on behalf of an individual author. Content House appears to me to be doing this.

To answer IceCream's comment:

"They work the same way as every other Hollywood agency does--they sign clients and represent their intellectual property. Seriously, I don't know what you're confused by--they work the same way as CAA, Endeavor and the rest."

Perhaps this is all just my misunderstanding. I wasn't aware that agencies like CAA would sign a client who had published, say, a comic book, and take on the role of attempting to get the studios to option the comic. How does it come about? Does the author query them and say, "I own the subsidiary rights to my recently published novel Death to Hollywood, and was wondering if you would like to represent me? Or, erm, those rights? Or, well, maybe I mean that property?"

Anyone who hangs at this site can explain in great detail how agents are obtained; what a typical query package looks like; and they can tell you off the top of their heads that 15% of royalties is typical, etc, etc.. And it's pretty easy to find similar info for people who are trying to get representation for screenplays.

Does anyone know what the query package/process/whatever looks like for whatever those kinds of agents are called?

IceCreamEmpress, if you, say, owned the movie rights to a novel you had published, how would you find and approach an agent at, as you mention, CAA? What is the standard practice?
 
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victoriastrauss

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I'd gladly use another term (which is why I included "book scout," but most people think that's someone who hunts for rare editions).
Not people in publishing. "Book scout" is an accepted and recognized term for people who do what we've been discussing.
I had seen the Campbell website--it appears to be an agency that represents certain publishers to a studio. I guess that's one of those things I don't need to understand the details of, since I never plan to be a publisher or a studio.
This is not quite right. Campbell Associates--like other book scouts--looks for literary properties that foreign publishers might be interested in publishing, and film studios might be interested in optioning or producing. As the article I linked to indicated, they are the spies of the literary world, with their noses to the ground in search of books that might interest the publishers and/or studios with which they have arrangements.

Again, book scouts work with publishers and studios--not with authors. They're an extension of the publisher's and the studio's acquisitions efforts--except that instead of receiving submissions, as editors and their studio equivalents do, they go out and hunt for literary properties. A book scout finds you, not the other way around; you, the author, cannot engage a book scout to represent you. It's an area of the business that's worth understanding, but it's also something that you may never actually encounter. If you want to sell your film/dramatic rights, you're much better off working with a competent agent than hoping that a book scout will somehow find your book.
IceCreamEmpress, if you, say, owned the movie rights to a novel you had published, how would you find and approach an agent at, as you mention, CAA? What is the standard practice?
If you have an agent, s/he may have the expertise to represent your film rights to studios, or may employ someone in the agency to do that. If s/he doesn't have the necessary expertise--and many agents concentrate just on the book market--s/he may engage a co-agent who does have the necessary expertise. Subsidiary rights of all kinds are sold via co-agent arrangements. In such cases, you're charged a higher commission, because two agencies are involved--typically, 20-25%, with the agencies splitting the commission.

If you don't have an agent, you'll have to research and query film agents the same way you'd research and query book agents, making it clear that you're querying for film rights for an already-published book. Having an already-published book probably makes it more likely that your query will be paid attention to, but there are no guarantees. Most books never do sell their film or dramatic rights.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing you don't have a book agent? If not, finding one might be a better strategy than trying to find a film agent. A film agent will only rep your film rights; a book agent, on the other hand, can rep not just your film rights, but any other subrights your publisher allowed you to retain.

- Victoria
 

David I

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Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing you don't have a book agent? If not, finding one might be a better strategy than trying to find a film agent. A film agent will only rep your film rights; a book agent, on the other hand, can rep not just your film rights, but any other subrights your publisher allowed you to retain.- Victoria

Thanks, Victoria. Excellent thoughts.

I did indeed have a book agent--a senior agent at one of the most venerable NYC firms--but we parted company because we had very different perceptions about various issues--especially about whether or not overseas publication would be wise.

She contended my book was "too American" to be of interest overseas, but turned out to be "too controverial" to be sold in the US. The book is doing well in Europe, has had some nice reviews, and is going from hardback into a mass-market paperback edition later this year. They have an option on my next book in the genre, and I'm quite happy at present, so I'm not in any great hurry to find a literary agent just yet--and I'm not sure if I should be seeking one in the US or in Europe.

In the case of that book, the publisher has a massive subrights department, and there is no question that they could do a better job of marketing subsidiary rights than I could, and they are beavering away at it. So I'm not worried on that account.

On the other hand, I just (by just, I mean in the last week) sold another manuscript that has been mouldering in a drawer in a hardback deal to a small publisher. It isn't going to make Publishers Marketplace reel in shock (and the splash from the publication would be no more than a blip on the radar screen of your career). It's no big deal--a 5,000 copy initial run, decent distribution.

But it's a book I like. It's also a book that plenty of agents liked, and one I have a lot of affection for. It's also a book that falls between every possible stool. A "grim cyberpunk political romantic comedy" is probably the best way to describe it, which may be why so many agents sat on it for so long before saying, "I can't sell this but I'm sure somebody else can." Some of them even (very kindly, I love them all) gave me recommendations to other agents. Too sci-fi for the mainstream folks, too quirky for most sci-fi folks, too "techno-thriller" for a lit-fic agent who liked my other work. Well...I'm sure you know the kind of thing I'm talking about.

(Side note: I just had a request via telephone for the full ms. from a good NY agency that admitted sheepishly they'd had the partial since 2002. Is that a record? Do I get a prize? I may post that question over on Writing Novels.)

I'm not willing to hang out with this ms. while yet another agent looks at it and decides--I already have the glimmerings of a career in a totally different genre, and this book with the small publisher was five novels ago from my current WIP.. But I'd like to see it between covers rather than sitting on my hard disk. And some readers. including agents, suggested it wasn't really a novel, but a "hip summer movie" or "more of a graphic-novel thing."

The interesting thing is: I have all the subrights in my lap; the publisher keeps only North American print rights (as long as they keep it in print; then they revert.) So when I heard about agents who represented specific published properties, I became curious.

I've been lucky in my research since I posted. It's a little bit of an odd business, in that they might be representing a book, or a comic, or a video game, or a theme-park ride, or, in principle, a t-shirt. So there isn't really such a thing as a set of standard "query packages" (Q+syn, Q+syn+first three chaps, etc.) the way there are for books. And some of these folks have made their names and livings by selling properties where the literary agents and publishers had dropped the ball long ago.

Anyhow, thanks for the info--I really appreciate the time you took and the advice you provided, which was well beyond the call.
 
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David I

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Seriously, I don't know what you're confused by--they work the same way as CAA, Endeavor and the rest.

Can you point me to the CAA guidelines for submission/query packages for representation of published intellectual property? I'm really not aware of them. In fact, some pretty successful Hollywood people tell me there aren't any formally published guidelines...which is why I came here asking the question.

If anyone would like to go check, here's a great place to start--CAA's vastly informative website: http://www.caa.com/ If you haven't been there, you really ought to give it a visit. It gives you their addresses and main phone numbers. And that's all. One page.
 

Will Lavender

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Can you point me to the CAA guidelines for submission/query packages for representation of published intellectual property? I'm really not aware of them. In fact, some pretty successful Hollywood people tell me there aren't any formally published guidelines...which is why I came here asking the question.

If anyone would like to go check, here's a great place to start--CAA's vastly informative website: http://www.caa.com/ If you haven't been there, you really ought to give it a visit. It gives you their addresses and main phone numbers. And that's all. One page.

I really don't know much about this, but I highly doubt you could personally query CAA, David. Or you could, but you probably wouldn't get very far.

My agency farmed out the film rights because their agents don't do film or foreign in their office. I talked to a guy from ICM (the agent who had sold the rights to Big Fish, BTW) and another from CAA, and I chose the one from CAA. Phonecall would've never, ever happened if not for my literary agent.

Cograts on selling the new manuscript, by the way!
 

David I

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I really don't know much about this, but I highly doubt you could personally query CAA, David. Or you could, but you probably wouldn't get very far.

Thanks, Will. Yes, that was exactly my impression as well.

I'm actually not interested in speaking to CAA in the first place. I was simply advised earlier in this thread that everyone repping intellectual property works the same way CAA does. I thought someone might explain, then, how CAA works.

But as it turns out, it's not a relevant question. I've had quite an education since yesterday. Not everybody repping intellectual property in Hollywood works in the same way or even does the same sorts of things. And not all the people repping intellectual property in Hollywood are at what we would think of as "agencies." It's a whole new weird world.

In any case, hope to see Obedience coming soon to a theatre near me!