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ST Literary Agency, Inc. is prepared to offer you a contract for acceptance as our client for Agency representation based on the manuscript you submitted and the AIF form you filled out.
Please read the following information carefully. Due to the fact that we only accept a limited number of writers during certain time periods this contract offer is good for 14 business days from receipt. (This deadline can be automatically extended by 10 days if you contact us via email and request an extension). The reason for the deadline is that it helps us manage the process so that we don't have open contracts "hanging out" for weeks or months. Writers are sometimes an indecisive lot (not you of course).
WHAT BEING ACCEPTED BY ST LITERARY AGENCY MEANS TO YOU:
Being accepted by means that we believe we can sell your work and that we will pitch your work to buyers in the marketplace and write you the all-important and necessary cover letter saying that you have Agent representation. Almost all publishers, studios and producers require that you are represented by an Agent before they will even accept your work for review. Whether we find you a prospect, or whether you find one on your own, the fact that you are represented will help you advance to the next level in your career.
Some authors ask "why did you accept me?" Frankly, the answer is that we believe we can sell your work, make you money, and make us money. It is that simple. Your work is as good as, or better than most, and we think we can sell it.
We look forward to working with you. Congratulations again.
.
Best regards,
Jill Mast, VP Acquisitions
ST Literary Agency, Inc.
The Contract is 3 Pages Long and Begins on The Next Page
AGREEMENT FOR LITERARY AGENT REPRESENTATION:
Page 1 of Contract
This "Agreement" is between ______________________________ [the "Writer/Producer"] and ST Literary Agency, Inc. [The "Agent"] as of _____________, 200__ for only the work entitled:
_____________________________________________________________________
(Hereinafter "Work")
(Later, after we have been through one complete marketing cycle together, you can submit other works directly.)
The copyright and ownership is specifically retained by the author for this work and all author's works submitted to, and accepted by, the Agent.
The Writer warrants that he is the sole and exclusive owner of the Work and that the work does not infringe on any other copyright. The Writer agrees to indemnify Agent against any judgments, liabilities, damages or loss related to copyright or ownership. The term of this contract shall be two years from the above date and must be renewed in writing for each successive term. The Writer/Producer may terminate this Agreement after 90 consecutive days of no sale by Agent. Renewals and terminations via email are deemed acceptable.
The rights granted in this contract in exchange for good and valuable consideration, pertains to written creative work prepared by the Writer/Producer for print, television, radio and motion pictures to be sold in the geography of the United States of America.
The Agent may not have any conflicts of interest with regard to any specific contract or employment negotiated under this Agreement. If any such conflict arises, he must relinquish his commission.
The Agent is entitled to a ten percent [10%] commission on gross compensation accruing to the Writer/Producer from any contract negotiated under this Agreement. This paragraph shall survive termination of this Agreement. (This means that if we find you a buyer, you can't fire us and take away our commission).
Any Administrative fees approved, by, and paid by Writer for services performed by Agent will be reimbursed from Agent proceeds in the event of a sale. The Writer is NOT RESPONSIBLE for any administrative fees not specifically agreed to by Writer in advance. The Agent is not responsible for damage or loss or return of any material.
The Writer/Producer shall do his utmost to finish his work on time as per the terms of contracts he has entered into. The Agent at his discretion may use the Writer/Producer's name or pen name and the name of the work in promotions for the Agent and to promote the Work.
The Writer/Producer also agrees that all leads, contacts, communications, documents, emails, forms, and business processes employed by the Agent are considered confidential and
Page 2 of Contract
trade secrets and as such shall not be disseminated in any form or format without the express written permission of the Agent. This clause survives termination of the Agreement.
The Writer/Producer will supply the Agent with an electronic version of their creative work in a common word processing format (rtf, doc, pdf) for the Agent to submit the work to potential clients.
Both parties will make themselves available to each other within reason for any purpose outlined in this Agreement. Both parties agree that any disputes will be settled in the County of Palm Beach, Florida, governed by the laws of the State of Florida.
This Agreement is binding on the Writer/Producer and Agent and their respective heirs and assigns. However in the event of a sale, insolvency or other change in the ownership or operation of ST Literary Agency, Inc., the Writer at his sole discretion may choose to terminate this Agreement on 90 days notice. In the event of a termination both parties agree to not disparage the other party in any form.
In the event that this Agreement is terminated for any reason, the Agent, his heirs and/or assigns may continue to collect all commissions due on existing contracts negotiated under this Agreement. If an existing contract between the Writer/Producer and any client is renewed, the Writer's Agent/heirs and or assigns may collect commissions on renewals until the existing contract with that client is terminated.
This is the entire agreement. All changes shall require signatures of both parties.
WRITER/PRODUCER HAS THE RIGHT TO CANCEL THIS CONTRACT WITHOUT QUESTION, WITHOUT RECOURSE, FOR 72 HOURS AFTER MAILING.
The Author may specifically EXCLUDE a contact that you have already made who might sell or buy your work write them in here, up to a maximum of 3. If a sale occurs to, or through, any of the following people or companies the Agent is NOT entitled to a commission. (In other words, if we don't find the buyer, we don't deserve a commission. You will find that we are very straightforward in our business dealings.)
1 ________________________________________________________
2 ________________________________________________________
3 ________________________________________________________
Page 3 of Contract
Self-Published authors please note: Your existing contract must give you the right to cancel or must clearly state that you maintain all rights. If you are in doubt please check with your attorney.
THE WRITER/PRODUCER ALSO ACKNOWLEDGES THAT AT NO TIME AND IN NO FORM HAS AGENT GUARANTEED THAT A SALE WILL BE MADE. _______ Writer Initial here.
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT I AM OLDER THAN 21 YEARS OF AGE. _______ Initial here.
ST Literary Agency, Inc. Writer/Producer
_____________________ ____________________________
Robert Fletcher - President
Address: ____________________________
City/State/Zip: ____________________________
Phone: ____________________________
Email: _______________________________________________________
PLEASE BE SURE YOUR EMAIL IS LEGIBLE!
Pay particular attention to 1,l,0,O,2,Z, etc.…
* If possible, please type address and e-mail.
Please do not staple the contract.
Please see the remaining pages for further instructions on completing this package.
******************** End of Contract ************************
Please Continue to Read the Remaining Pages for Final Instructions
UNDERSTAND WHAT BEING ACCEPTED BY AN AGENT DOES NOT MEAN:
First of all, do not quit your day job. We still have to find the buyer for your work. Finding the buyer for your work may take some time. It may take years. It may never happen. However this is time that you should use to continue to refine, improve, and enhance your work. During this time we will also help you hone your "pitch" so that when opportunity meets preparation, magic just might occur.
Being accepted means you have enough promise as a writer that we will represent your material to the marketplace. Our job is to find you a buyer. Our job is not to critique your work or edit your work. Our one mission is to sell your work.
Now, our work now begins in earnest. The industry has changed dramatically in recent years. The industry has changed to a "pull" model instead of a "push" model. What this means is that publishers and producers are looking to fill certain needs, genres, or niches. It has become a marketing driven industry, not a content driven industry. Your work may leap into a sale right away, or it may await a certain trigger in society to become the next "hot" item. Unfortunately committees now rule the day and the decision cycles are longer too.
HERE'S WHAT IS NEXT
The prior three pages contained the Literary Agency Representation agreement. It is simple and straightforward and we have used it for years. It is non-negotiable. You can ask for clarification, but please don't ask for a material change, you will be wasting your time and ours. In other words, if you can live with the agreement great, if you can't, we are not interested in spending any more money with our lawyers to make revisions.
Signing contracts can be scary. Realize that your "out" is that you can fire us if you don't like us, or our performance. Please note: You can have multiple agents, just not multiple agents for the same work.
After we receive your signed agreements we will send you the Online Pitch Page (OPP) form which is very similar to the AIF form that you have already filled out. If you send in your contract and, after allowing for mailing times, you haven't heard from us in 2 weeks, that typically means that an email has been missed. Phone us immediately on our Toll Free number, 866-226-9866 and push Option 2 - Administration.
Once you fill out your OPP form your information goes directly into our database and onto the web to assist our Agents while they are on the phone to buyers. This is the database that we search whenever we receive notification of an opportunity for our writers. We believe this database and web technology is just one of our competitive advantages.
If you have any questions please email (contract@STLiteraryAgency.com ) If you simply wish to hear a voice you may call 866-226-9866 (EST) with any questions you may have. Yes, this is the first time we have given out our phone number. As you probably realize most Agencies simply have too many applicants to answer the phone for people that we haven't offered contracts too. You are now almost 'in the family' and we are happy to speak with you if you desire. If you are requesting an extension please do so via email to contract@stliteraryagency.com.
What is this Online Pitch Page Form?
PREPARING YOUR WORK TO BE SOLD:
Please see www.demo.STLiteraryAgency.com for examples of the Online Pitch Page (OPP) for a screenplay and a book. We use the OPP extensively in our sales process when we are on the phone pitching your work to producers and publishers. You can also direct your contacts to your OPP. We find that if someone has an interest, they want information NOW, and directing them to your OPP on the web can advance a deal for you very quickly. THE OPP IS NOT DESIGNED TO SELL YOUR WORK DIRECTLY. IT IS DESIGNED TO PROVOKE INTEREST.
There is a one-time intake fee of $79 for the building of the website Online Pitch Page and a one-time fee of $50 for setting you up in our database system that we will use for the term of our engagement. ($79 for the OPP and $50 for the database and setup processes = $129 total).
Note that in the contract these administrative fees are reimbursed to you from our 10% commission if we are successful in placing your work.
Also, we realize that you may be nervous about sending money and we offer you the following guarantee. If for any reason you are not satisfied with the quality and professionalism of the Online Pitch Page we will refund your money, no questions asked.
About the Admin Fee. This is NOT a reading fee. You have already been accepted. It is a website building fee and it is only a one time expense. There are no hosting or additional charges. However, many writers are aghast that they would be charged anything for anything! They complain loudly and vociferously to all who will listen. If this one-time fee troubles you please do not sign with us. We negotiated a very good deal to get this for only $79 for you.
This is such a slowly changing industry that most buyers still won't take your work electronically. If we are asked to mail a printed copy of your work (a very good thing), then we ask your assistance to cover printing, binding, and shipping and handling. The costs vary. Children's books are about $5 each to print, bind and ship. Most screenplays and manuscripts are around $10-14. You will be informed of, and approve of, all copying and mailing fees before any submittal is made. There will be NO SURPRISE CHARGES. We promise. It's in the contract too. You approve every expense first. Our best relationships occur with professionals who understand the inherent costs of running a business in today's hyper-competitive environment and who understand that the odds are stacked against new authors. Our core desire is to allow more emerging and unpublished writers to have their chance at success. By defraying our administrative costs we can more aggressively promote your work and increase both of our chances of success. We can also afford to spend the time needed to answer your questions and give you more personalized services. As you have already seen, we take pride in responding to every email or communication quickly and professionally. That time is already 'sunk time' from an accounting perspective.
Whew… the final page is next….
What you can expect from us:
First we will receive your contract and send you our "Welcome Pack" via email (usually within 1 week, excluding holidays.)
Next we will build your Online Pitch Page and help you sharpen your presentation (usually 2-4 weeks depending on how quickly you return the materials to us).
Then we will have a telephone marketing conference where we strategize who we will send the work to and to plan the marketing campaign and launch the initial campaign to potential buyers.
We want to sell your work. We don't want to edit your work or agonize over it. We are going to create a professional presentation of your work and then we are going to put it and your work in front of buyers as rapidly as possible. It is a simple business model and we are quite mercenary about it. We hope you can appreciate our candor and directness.
To Accept this Agreement and Complete this Application:
1) Please remit a check* or money order for $129 to ST Literary Agency, Inc. 2) Mail it, and a copy of your signed contract to: ST Literary Agency, Inc. Attn: Contracts P.O. Box 272503 Boca Raton, Fl 33427
Once we receive your paperwork we will email you the Welcome Package immediately. You will receive your signed copy of the Agreement in about 2-3 weeks via regular mail (subject to vacations, holidays, sick leave, children, and all the other little things that get in the way of stated deadlines).
* A personal or business check is fine. Don't worry about, or spend extra money on cashiers checks, etc. At this stage we certainly trust you and look forward to a long relationship. Also, there is not a need to use Express Mail and pay the extra postage. Regular or Priority mail is fine.
Other Payment Options (Especially for International Authors):
We accept credit cards and PayPal and wire transfers from international authors. Use JohnRain@STLiteraryAgency.com for Paypal. If you pay with Paypal please note that you did so on your contract when you send it in. If you wish to wire transfer please email us at contract@STLiteraryAgency.com for the wire account information. If you wish to pay with credit card you may write the card information here when you mail it in.
I hereby authorize ST Literary Agency, Inc. and their credit card processor Zephyr Associates, to charge my credit card a one time fee of $129 USD only. Card Number: ________________________________________________ Exp. Date: __________ Name on Card: ___________________________________________________________________ Exact Billing Address of Card: ____________________________________________________________ City, State Zip, Country: ____________________________________________________________ CVV2 Security Code: (3 digits on back of card; 4 on the front for Amex) ______________
In conclusion, I congratulate you again on making it this far in your career. We very much look forward to working with you.
If you do not receive our emailed "Welcome Package" via email within 2 weeks of mailing your contract please email us or call us immediately because it means that an email was missed.
Sincerely,
Jill and the ST Team
A few final thoughts now that my relationship with you has reached this point.
My job is to manage the acquisitions process. I probably will not be working with you after this. However, don't worry! You will enjoy working with the rest of our team as much as I hope you have enjoyed working with me.
Some authors ask, "who will my Agent be?" After you send in your paperwork and we build your OPP you will be assigned to either Robert, Ray, Mark, or Georgina (yes, we have 4 Agents now). You will be assigned based on the genre of your work and the timing and workload of our team.
Finally, from this point forward you have about 4 weeks to 'finalize' your manuscript before we put it in front of buyers. We'll let you know when that time occurs.
Once again, I have enjoyed working with you to this point and I wish you the absolute best in your writing career!
JM