Q: I received a letter from an agent saying yes, he wanted to read my whole manuscript. At the same time, he sent me a 2-page mini-contract that focused on my not suing him if he rejects it and down the road, there's a similar book written. Is this normal?

A: It wouldn't say it's typical but it's definitely OK.  These are called "release forms" or perhaps "a submission release," and they are very, very common in the screenwriting biz. You can't submit anything anywhere without signing one of these.  There are a lot of ideas going around and people are afraid of getting sued.  If you're interested in seeing what a release form looks like, you can see one here. It was provided as part of the Willamette Writers' Conference, which draws a lot of script managers/agents and producers. 
       It’s rare to see these in the literary world but they are not something to be afraid of.  As always, look online and do some searching to make sure the agent is reputable and connected.  Protect yourself always.

Strangely enough, I had not one but two important conversations about book advances yesterday.  First, I was talking with my agent, Sorche Fairbank, who relayed some good news: The first book proposal we worked on recently attracted a good publisher and that publisher had offered us a book deal.  (A book deal!)  But then came the not-so-good part.  The advance was a lot smaller than we first hoped.  
      In exchange for the low advance, we're trying to get some other concessions that will make the deal work.  (I will keep you posted.)

Now - later that afternoon, I had the pleasure of sitting down with agent Sharlene Martin, who was in the building here talking with some people.  She brough up advances again - saying that they're slowly going away or getting smaller.  This is happening for two reasons, she said.  
      First, 90 percent of books don't earn out their advances; and second, we're in a recession and places are looking for ways to cut costs. 

All this said, there are two strategies to lowering book advances.  There is the strategy that you just pay authors less and keep your publishing house afloat.  And then there is the strategy that you pass less on the front end in exchange for a much better deal on the back end.  For example, instead of earning a standard $1 royalty per book, maybe you earn $4.25?  The publisher pays no money upfront, and the publisher and author are tied to the book's success together in an integral way.

Hmmm ... I wonder how this all will play out.  Thoughts?

This is a response to a recent post
(below) about copyright and
protecting your work.

Q: I am puzzled.  You state in your coverage of copyright that a writer should not put text of a manuscript online as it could lead to the lifting (paraphrasing here) of the material by another writer. These days, so many publishers and agents ask that writers do just that: send the first five pages or more in the body of an e-mail. This certainly can lead to this very thing, although I am not the suspicious type. It does happen, doesn't it? Then why are writers asked to put their ideas in jeopardy of this is the case?
      - Sylvia

A: You sound suspicious for not being the suspicious type.
      Regarding my advice to not put portions of your work online, I'm not talking about e-mail.  I'm talking about placing chunks of text (chapters, usually) online on your Web site.  Sending your work in an e-mail, or as an attachment, to an agent or editor is quite safe.  Like I said before, agents and editors don't steal work; writers steal work.
      Putting part of a novel or short story online for no one in particular to see is usually a mistake, because very little good can come from it.

Q. Do I have to get the rights to use trademarked or copyrighted material in my manuscript, or will my agent do it for me?

A. Copyright is such a complicated area of law with so many grey areas that a scholar could scour dozens of volumes of literature on the subject and still not have an answer to this seemingly simple question. Some important concepts to keep in mind are: One owns the copyright to what one writers, whether the copyright is registered or not; anyone can sue anyone; and ideas are not copyrightable.
      When you use other people's copyrighted works in your work, it is important to obtain a formal written and signed permission form from each person whom you quote. Authors are responsible for determining whether permissions are necessary and they must procure them - not agents. Publishers will often assist in this endeavor by providing the permission forms and guidelines, but most publisher-author contracts will put the entire onus on the author to find out whether permissions are necessary to obtain for extracts and quotes, and to procure them. Even when publishers do help, the contracts will usually require the authors to indemnify the publisher against all claims (even frivilous claims), suits and judgments related to this aspect of the publishing agreement. Persistent agents are sometimes successful at getting some publishers to take responsibility for frivolous claims, but it's rare that they'll take the responsibility for obtaining permissions. When in doubt about questions of copyright, it's always advisable to consult an attorney."

      - Sheree Bykofsky, literary agent and author of The Complete Idiot's Guide To Getting Published. Reprinted from the 2007 edition of Guide to Literary Agents.

Also on the topic of copyright law
and vetting memoirs, stay tuned to
the blog for an upcoming interview
with attorney and literary agent Paul Levine.

Q. Do agents usually hold out for a good deal on a book or do they take the first acceptable offer that comes along?

A. Well, an offer in your pocket is always better than none. Certainly, if an agent feels she can demand more for a book, she should hold out; however, usually the editor who makes the first offer is the most enthusiastic and thoroughly understands the book, and may turn out to be the best editor and in-house advocate for the book. The most money is not necessarily the best deal for the author. That enthusiasm, commitment and support from all divisions within a publishing house often means more than those dollars in your bank account.
      - Laura Langlie, founder of her own agency in Brooklyn; printed from the 2008 edition of GLA.

Q: Under what circumstances are manuscripts (or series) auctioned? I have seen this mentioned in several book deals and am just curious about it.
      - Tara

To help define both an auction and
a pre-empt, I'll just pull a paragraph
from the 2008 GLA:

A: "Your book may be bought in a pre-empt. That's when a publishing house tries to beat other potential buyers to your work and offers a solid price in the hopes of securing your book early and avoiding a bidding war. An actual bidding war - or auction - happens when a work is so stunningly marvelous that every house in town wants it bad enough to compete against each other, offering different perks such as a large advance and guaranteed ad dollars. Traditionally, the best deal (read: most money and enthusiasm) wins and signs the reader. After the auction was finished for Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian, her advance was a cool $2 million. (Note: First-time novelists will likely get an advance of $50,000 to $75,000, but hey, anything can happen!)"

Kristin Nelson, literary agent with the Nelson Literary Agency , has posted plenty of good material on her blog  in recent weeks. Of note are her posts where she demystifies the agent-writer contract.

She broke the long (and confusing) topic down nicely in a four-post series:

Anatomy of an Agency Agreement: Part 1
Anatomy of an Agency Agreement: Part 2
Anatomy of an Agency Agreement: Part 3
Anatomy of an Agency Agreement: Part 4

Her blog was recently awarded a "Truly Useful Site Award" by Preditors and Editors . Check it out!

In a recent conversation with a writer, we were discussing the Internet, and the writer mentioned how he was posting some of his unpublished book manuscript online for people to read. This was not the first time I'd talked to a writer who had this idea.

Though something like this may seem like a good plan—especially if you're actively looking for advice and/or feedback—posting material from an unpublished book on the Internet is a big no-no if you still want to sell the book.

First of all, as detailed in a previous post on copyrights , you're inviting other writers to steal your idea. Secondly, posting material online makes it less valuable to publishers, and therefore, less attractive to agents. Material that's available online for free is less probable to sell, hence agents' hesitancy taking on such projects.

Perhaps your goal is to put good material online in the hopes that someone such as an agent or editor will come across the site and contact you. Unfortunately, the odds of this are very, very low. If you really are looking to get your work noticed by agents without going through the traditional submission process, my best advice is to get short stories published in prominent journals, or get your nonfiction articles published in prominent magazines. Agents read those publications, and they sometimes contact writers out of the blue and say something along the lines of, "I enjoyed your article in Prominent Magazine. Do you have representation? Have you ever considered writing a book-length manuscript?"

And that's when you say, "Well ... funny you mention it, because..."