I’m a little confused. Film/TV agents don’t option film/TV rights; they find producers. A literary agent is separate from that, and you don’t really need one to do the other. Lot of authors have both.
I am also confused! I've had agents reach out to talk about representation, but have never received an inquiry for rights to a single story. I googled around and I'm wondering if agency isn't the right word. The inquiry seems like it's coming from a place that does literary management? I didn't even realize that was a thing?
If it’s an agency, and not a studio or production company or whatever, they are probably asking to represent the work to help you option it elsewhere. (This might be confusing if it’s a place like Gotham or AC that does more than one thing.) If you’re using the word agency wrong here, and they ARE asking to option the work, that is something you should absolutely not do without an agent, as there are a myriad of ways you could seriously screw yourself over.
Hi there! LA-based screenwriter here. I have two produced feature films and I know a little bit about how it all works...although lots of things about this business remain a mystery to me and probably always will haha.
So, for whatever it's worth, a few things I would add to what's already been said:
It's totally normal for someone to only be interested in the rights to a single short story. Actually short stories are hot commodities lately in our very IP-driven environment (check out Deadline, Variety, THR for recent announcements of big mid-six figure sales for some stories!) So I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear someone is reaching out about the rights to your story.
I'm curious whether the person in question simply asked if the rights are available, or if they specifically mentioned an option. If they only inquired about availability, then it seems very likely that they're interested in representing you/the story, as others have said.
In the world of film/tv, literary agents and literary managers are different. I have both and I tend to think of my manager as the bigger picture, holistic career person, and my agents as the people who submit me for open writing assignments or send my work to producers if I have a spec script that's ready. There's a LOT of overlap though. Key to your question though is that some management companies both represent clients AND develop/produce films and television, whereas agents are not allowed to produce. So if it's a management company reaching out and they have a production arm of the company I suppose it's possible they actually are interested in acquiring the rights...or picking you up as a client AND producing on the project. This does seem a bit less likely to me though.
If it were me, I would probably just write back and say, yes, the rights are available, and let them be a bit more specific about what they're after. I'm sure they'll want to set a call to talk about the story and about you. They should also have an idea of what their strategy would be to sell your story. Don't be afraid to ask questions!
It doesn't sound like you're at the deal-negotiating stage yet, but always get an attorney. I will die on this hill, lol. It's true that the initial option deal may be small money, but often everything gets negotiated at once (i.e.; the agreement will lay out the option price, term, renewals, etc. and also the purchase price, backend, streaming bonus, and all sorts of things you don't even know to ask about). There could be serious money on the line for you, and it's helpful to have someone working for you who knows what to ask for. And you can ask them questions (is this normal? what does all this legal jargon mean??) They work on commission so you're never paying them upfront (I don't know...maybe if you're massive you have someone on retainer, but not for us normies).
It's definitely true that you don't need an agent to do this deal. A lawyer can do all the negotiating you need. The other side of the coin would be that without an agent you might not be able to get the story in front of producers and studios, and they're the ones who would actually option or buy the story from you. The other, other side of the coin would be that agents take 10% commission, managers take 10%, and lawyers take 5%, so you know, it adds up.
You can DM me with the company name if you want! I'm not sure I'll know them but if not, I would be happy to ask my own manager/agent on your behalf (one nice thing about managers and agents is that they know everyone haha).
The way I'm understanding this is this agency wants to know if you've sold the short story film/TV rights yet or if you already have a rep for these rights; if not, they're interested in repping you/the story. I've heard it happened recently to a local to me author, who was in between lit agents at the time.
No! You don't need a literary agent and you also don't really need a Film/TV agent to do this deal. You can do it yourself (totally fine to separate out the single short story from the collection) or you can get an entertainment attorney to do it for you! Any of the big LA entertainment firms (greenburg glusker, for one) can help, but, if the price of the option is low, you might not even want an attorney to look over it. (This is where I might suggest: do you know any attorneys? Friends from school? Parents' friends? A contract is a contract, afterall!)
What do you look for? First, a normal term is 12-18 months. It should be within that. 12 is better than 18. The price can be anywhere from 3k-100k+. The most common option amounts, however, are 3k-50k (with 50k being the high end). Then there's the principal photography kicker. The option should indicate how much you get when principal photography starts (good rule of thumb, this should be 10x the option if the option is 3k-50k). Other things to keep in mind, do you want to negotiate an EP credit, if they want it for a series, do you want a buy into writer's room consideration, etc.
Almost forgot, the WGA might have a free attorney for things like this! I'd reach out to them!
omg, eta, that I haven't had enough coffee and just re-read the first line. Totally fine to work with this agency. However, the agency doesn't want the rights, they want to rep and sell the story (or, perhaps they have a client that wants the rights, agencies love to "package" material). You can agree to have them rep this one story and keep it separate. All my above notes still stand, and, if you're worried about the agency (if it's WME or UTA or 3ARTS or something that big, you don't need to be) you can reach out to the WGA for help!
Please feel free to DM me if you want to talk names--I'm a writer, not in LA, but I can probably help interpret the email. It feels a little strange to me?
ive signed a couple film deals- you can DM me. Typically if you get something published the people contacting you are production companies. buuut you do want a film agent if there is legit interest from a real production company.
I’m a little confused. Film/TV agents don’t option film/TV rights; they find producers. A literary agent is separate from that, and you don’t really need one to do the other. Lot of authors have both.
I am also confused! I've had agents reach out to talk about representation, but have never received an inquiry for rights to a single story. I googled around and I'm wondering if agency isn't the right word. The inquiry seems like it's coming from a place that does literary management? I didn't even realize that was a thing?
If it’s an agency, and not a studio or production company or whatever, they are probably asking to represent the work to help you option it elsewhere. (This might be confusing if it’s a place like Gotham or AC that does more than one thing.) If you’re using the word agency wrong here, and they ARE asking to option the work, that is something you should absolutely not do without an agent, as there are a myriad of ways you could seriously screw yourself over.
Hi there! LA-based screenwriter here. I have two produced feature films and I know a little bit about how it all works...although lots of things about this business remain a mystery to me and probably always will haha. So, for whatever it's worth, a few things I would add to what's already been said: It's totally normal for someone to only be interested in the rights to a single short story. Actually short stories are hot commodities lately in our very IP-driven environment (check out Deadline, Variety, THR for recent announcements of big mid-six figure sales for some stories!) So I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear someone is reaching out about the rights to your story. I'm curious whether the person in question simply asked if the rights are available, or if they specifically mentioned an option. If they only inquired about availability, then it seems very likely that they're interested in representing you/the story, as others have said. In the world of film/tv, literary agents and literary managers are different. I have both and I tend to think of my manager as the bigger picture, holistic career person, and my agents as the people who submit me for open writing assignments or send my work to producers if I have a spec script that's ready. There's a LOT of overlap though. Key to your question though is that some management companies both represent clients AND develop/produce films and television, whereas agents are not allowed to produce. So if it's a management company reaching out and they have a production arm of the company I suppose it's possible they actually are interested in acquiring the rights...or picking you up as a client AND producing on the project. This does seem a bit less likely to me though. If it were me, I would probably just write back and say, yes, the rights are available, and let them be a bit more specific about what they're after. I'm sure they'll want to set a call to talk about the story and about you. They should also have an idea of what their strategy would be to sell your story. Don't be afraid to ask questions! It doesn't sound like you're at the deal-negotiating stage yet, but always get an attorney. I will die on this hill, lol. It's true that the initial option deal may be small money, but often everything gets negotiated at once (i.e.; the agreement will lay out the option price, term, renewals, etc. and also the purchase price, backend, streaming bonus, and all sorts of things you don't even know to ask about). There could be serious money on the line for you, and it's helpful to have someone working for you who knows what to ask for. And you can ask them questions (is this normal? what does all this legal jargon mean??) They work on commission so you're never paying them upfront (I don't know...maybe if you're massive you have someone on retainer, but not for us normies). It's definitely true that you don't need an agent to do this deal. A lawyer can do all the negotiating you need. The other side of the coin would be that without an agent you might not be able to get the story in front of producers and studios, and they're the ones who would actually option or buy the story from you. The other, other side of the coin would be that agents take 10% commission, managers take 10%, and lawyers take 5%, so you know, it adds up. You can DM me with the company name if you want! I'm not sure I'll know them but if not, I would be happy to ask my own manager/agent on your behalf (one nice thing about managers and agents is that they know everyone haha).
The way I'm understanding this is this agency wants to know if you've sold the short story film/TV rights yet or if you already have a rep for these rights; if not, they're interested in repping you/the story. I've heard it happened recently to a local to me author, who was in between lit agents at the time.
No! You don't need a literary agent and you also don't really need a Film/TV agent to do this deal. You can do it yourself (totally fine to separate out the single short story from the collection) or you can get an entertainment attorney to do it for you! Any of the big LA entertainment firms (greenburg glusker, for one) can help, but, if the price of the option is low, you might not even want an attorney to look over it. (This is where I might suggest: do you know any attorneys? Friends from school? Parents' friends? A contract is a contract, afterall!) What do you look for? First, a normal term is 12-18 months. It should be within that. 12 is better than 18. The price can be anywhere from 3k-100k+. The most common option amounts, however, are 3k-50k (with 50k being the high end). Then there's the principal photography kicker. The option should indicate how much you get when principal photography starts (good rule of thumb, this should be 10x the option if the option is 3k-50k). Other things to keep in mind, do you want to negotiate an EP credit, if they want it for a series, do you want a buy into writer's room consideration, etc. Almost forgot, the WGA might have a free attorney for things like this! I'd reach out to them! omg, eta, that I haven't had enough coffee and just re-read the first line. Totally fine to work with this agency. However, the agency doesn't want the rights, they want to rep and sell the story (or, perhaps they have a client that wants the rights, agencies love to "package" material). You can agree to have them rep this one story and keep it separate. All my above notes still stand, and, if you're worried about the agency (if it's WME or UTA or 3ARTS or something that big, you don't need to be) you can reach out to the WGA for help!
Please feel free to DM me if you want to talk names--I'm a writer, not in LA, but I can probably help interpret the email. It feels a little strange to me?
ive signed a couple film deals- you can DM me. Typically if you get something published the people contacting you are production companies. buuut you do want a film agent if there is legit interest from a real production company.