First off, who’s Mike?

MIKE FARRIS graduated cum laude from Texas Tech University School of Law in 1983. Upon graduating in the top 10 per cent of his class, and having served as an associate editor on the Texas Tech Law Review, he then practiced law for fifteen years with one of the largest law firms in Dallas and was named a partner after six years. In 1998, Mike left the law firm to pursue personal interests, primarily writing and free-lance editing, and continued to practice law, including entertainment law, on a contract basis. In 2002, Mike and his wife, Susan, also an attorney, formed Farris Literary Agency, Inc., in Dallas, Texas.

As an agent, Mike placed several award-winning novels for publication, including Balaam Gimble’s Gumption by Mike Nichols, winner of the 2004 Texas Institute of Letters John Bloom Humor Award, and Dreams to Dust: A Tale of the Oklahoma Land Rush by Sheldon Russell, winner of the 2006 Langum Prize for Excellence in American Historical Fiction and the Oklahoma Book Award for Fiction for 2006. Mike represents various university presses and has successfully placed mass market paperback rights to their publications with major New York publishers. He has also negotiated the sale of movie rights to producers and Hollywood studios, including Universal Pictures. Mike is much in demand as a presenter at writers’ conferences around the country, speaking on topics ranging from legal issues for writers and understanding publishing contracts to how to get published.

Shalla: Hello Mike, how are you? Thanks so much for joining us to share your expertise on book deals.

Mike: Thanks, Shalla. It’s nice to be here.

Shalla: Okay, so let me just fire away with the questions. First of all, please tell us what a basic book deal is like. Is it an outright sale (reserving no rights and allowing the purchaser to do whatever she wants with it) or more complex than that?

Mike: A basic book deal is an outright sale of, at a minimum, the publishing rights but you can, and should, try to reserve certain other rights. Other than basic publishing rights, most rights are open for negotiation For example we always recommend that clients reserve movie rights. A factor to consider is whether the writer thinks they will actively exploit certain rights. In some cases, the publisher stands a better chance of exploiting them than the writer does, so fifty percent of something is better than all of nothing.

Shalla: What are subsidiary rights? And do authors retain the right to publish an excerpt, a chapter or a scene in their book in a publication or a magazine?

Mike: Subsidiary rights are those other than publication rights. They include book club rights; serial rights (a serial is an excerpt that appears in a magazine or another book; first serial means the excerpt appears before your book is published, second serial means it appears after publication); audio rights; dramatic rights; motion picture, TV and radio rights; merchandising rights; and electronic rights. Standard practice has been for the publisher to keep all reprint or paperback rights, book club rights, and second serial rights. The author should keep performance and commercial/merchandising rights. The others are pretty much negotiable.

Shalla: In a basic book contract, do authors retain their right to their characters? For instance, if the author decides to write a short story for publication, can they use the same characters from their book?

Mike: The author typically retains the rights to his or her characters, but it may depend upon what your contract says. I have seen some contracts, typically with smaller presses, where the publisher acquires the rights to characters. Motion picture agreements usually address that question specifically. If you wish to retain the rights to your characters and you’re nervous because the contract is silent on the issue, you can ask to specifically reserve those rights in the publishing contract.

Shalla: Should authors have at least a basic understanding of publishing contracts? Or should authors leave that to their literary agents and just sign on the dotted line?

Mike: I think all authors should have a basic understanding of publishing contracts. That’s why we often speak on the topic of contracts and legal rights at writers conferences. We believe that you’re best protected when you know what you’re signing instead of simply relying on someone else, no matter how much you trust that person. I also think it’s a sign of professionalism to know as much about the business of publishing as you do about the art and craft of writing.

Shalla: Do you have any tips for authors about book deals? Anything to look out for? Anything authors must make sure is included?

Mike: If you’re not represented by an agent, it’s a good idea to hire an attorney with expertise in the field to review your contract. You certainly want to look at the issue of what rights you’re selling and what rights you’re reserving. In addition to some of the things we’ve already discussed involving the subsidiary rights, you also want to look at things like the territory – are you granting English language territories or are you granting worldwide territory; the term of the contract, including conditions under which the rights may revert to you – for example, if the publisher lets the book go out of print, can you demand return of the rights?; the royalty terms, including rate and schedule of payment; do you have enough time to meet the delivery date; do you have the right to rewrite if your delivered manuscript is unacceptable to the publisher; is there an option for the next book – and what kind of option is it: first refusal, last refusal, first negotiation?

Shalla: Preditors and Editors, a free online guide to literary agents and their credibility, had an Editor’s note next to your agency that says, “Screenplays are read by Farris for AEI Online, an agency which is not recommended.” Would you like to elaborate on this? How is AEI and are you still working with them?

Mike: One of the things that P&E, and others, criticize is agencies that also offer editing services. AEI has such a service and, as I understand it, that’s why they are not recommended by P&E. Farris Literary Agency, Inc. is not involved with that editing service, nor do we offer any editing service through our agency. Our role with AEI is limited to “screening” screenplays. If we read something that might be of interest to AEI, we pass it along with our recommendation. That’s the extent of our involvement with AEI. I first met Ken Atchity of AEI several years ago when I was president of the Dallas Screenwriters Association and brought him in as a guest speaker. Based on that, he asked for us to serve as a screenplay “screen,” which we agreed to do.

Shalla: These next couple of questions may be featured in first issue of SHALLA Magazine: Are you open to short story collections? And do you look for talented authors by scanning around literary journals and literary reviews like the Harvard Review, Zoetrope: All Story, Granta, etc.?

Mike: We don’t handle short stories, whether collections or otherwise. We’re always looking for talented writers, but don’t typically scan literary journals and reviews. We do, however, make regular appearances at writers conferences where we have found a number of clients.

Shalla: Thanks for sharing your expertise, Mike! For more on Mike Farris and the Farris Literary Agency, Inc. please visit http://www.farrisliterary.com

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