Why Do We Have Representation Agreements?

When a writer appoints an agency, the agency usually sends them an agreement setting out the commitments they make to each other.  We see a variety of reactions: usually happiness but sometimes, when it suddenly seems very legal, it gets daunting.

Worth saying at the outset that this records the business relationship. The writer isn’t handing over their work, or any IP rights, to the agent.

What an agency is setting out as their terms is usually standard, but not necessarily graven in stone.  For instance, an agency works best when handling all the writer’s work.  We like to co-ordinate selling work, cash flow, etc in consultation with the writer, for the writer’s benefit.  Agents worry that it would get confusing if they sold some projects, but the writer sold others independently. Worse, it would break an agent’s trust if they felt the writer was selling the valuable projects behind their back.  Not only do agents need to eat too, but we can capitalise on the big projects to the enhancement of the smaller ones.

However, when (for instance) we take on a journalist who’s been placing their articles for years, we wouldn’t expect to start getting commission on this; it wouldn’t be fair to impinge on their ‘dayjob’.  Agents like to be paid for what we’ve actually done.  But even where a deal arrives out of the blue, without our input, we would expect the contract to be done by us.  It’s swings and roundabouts: there’s plenty of work we do for no pay, or where the commission doesn’t cover the amount of work.

So overall, here's what I think should be the checklist:

1. Agency rates of commission, and when we pass on money to the client(often within 5 working days from bank clearance, although I believe some agencies pay weekly or monthly);

2. Writer puts all their work through the agency, unless otherwise mutually agreed.  In other words, the writer allows us to handle contracts for all their work, collect the money and send them their share (after commission and, if applicable, VAT).  In some cases, the agent may have expenses they want to deduct, such as posting books or (if something particularly tricky has come up) legal expenses.  Any large expenses should be with prior agreement by the client.

3. Writer guarantees the work is owned by them

4. Termination mechanism if the relationship breaks down, or if one party has not lived up to the agreement (for instance, if one party is dishonest; honesty is a big thing in our business).

5. Data handling (GDPR)

An agent should talk you through all the aspects, and fine-tune it to you as an individual. Appointing an agent is a big leap of trust, so it’s good not to base that trust on a set of assumptions, but have it clearly written down.

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