When should an author sign up an attorney to clinch a book deal, rather than an agent? It’s a delicate question in the book world, but here’s one straight-up answer: when you’ve got a six-figure-plus deal, and you’re one of the most famous faces on the planet. “Mrs. Clinton’s deal was publicly known to be $8 million,” says Robert Barnett, the Washington attorney who played a prominent role in negotiating it. “She would have paid an agent a million two. My bill was about $35,000.” Simple arithmetic: He charges by the hour; agents don’t.
Barnett, a Senior Partner at Williams & Connolly whose 170 author clients include, besides two Clintons, Lynne Cheney, Dan Quayle, and Tim Russert, says he spends about 25% of his time on authors, the balance being litigation and corporate work. “I feel immodestly that I do this as well as anybody,” he adds, “and I know I do it more inexpensively.” It all started with a book deal for Geraldine Ferraro, and then came David Stockman, who was Reagan’s budget director. “At that point I had done one Republican and one Democrat, and I just started getting a lot of books,” Barnett explains.
Beyond the cold cash, other attorneys say, they can offer one-stop-shops for authors’ agenting and legal needs. “Lawyers provide all the same skills that agents do, but provide a whole range of skills that agents don’t,” argues Ronald Goldfarb, citing fair use questions, freedom of information act requests, first amendment issues, and libel readings — all of which mean retaining a lawyer. Plus, he says, he knows publishers and editors as well as anyone. “My little black book has been going for 30 years now, and I know their beach numbers and office numbers and which ones to go to.” Goldfarb charges a contingency fee, as an agent would, and bills separately for spinoff legal work.
Attorney Ike Williams, whose Kneerim & Williams agency now resides within the Boston office of intellectual property firm Fish & Richardson, notes that established law firms also offer logistical support unavailable to agents who fly solo. “A lot of money flows through an agency, and that takes a fairly developed back office,” he says, pointing to nuances of cash flow easily handled by large legal firms, such as filing under reciprocal tax treaties with foreign countries. Williams’ agency has about 400 clients, managed with Co-director Jill Kneerim. (They are joined by Elaine Rodgers and Alexis Rizzuto, plus New York–based agents Rob McQuilkin and Brettne Bloom.) Fees are based on a standard agent commission, but, says Williams, “The difference is you have legal advice included in that 15%.”
Moreover, says Mary Luria, Partner at New York–based law firm Davis & Gilbert, any book with serious legal problems will benefit from having a lawyer brought in at the contract stage. Lawyers also make sense for authors with multiple deals at a single house, where contracts may just need a lawyerly once-over. “One author told me it didn’t make sense that he was parting with a percentage every time,” Luria notes. Ideally, wise authors will figure out the most cost-effective strategy: “If I can add value to ICM’s comments for a client whose business interests I understand, the net result is the best contract for this author.” (Luria’s firm was recently joined by Martin Garbus, who tells PT that while he represents about 5 authors as an agent, he has no plans to take on further agenting work.)
By contrast, J. Stephen Sheppard, Partner at Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard (and formerly an agent with the Paul Reynolds agency) specifically does not do what agents do — and that goes for Ellis Levine, newly Of Counsel at the firm — arguing that it does a disservice to the authors. Agents know the marketplace, the editors, and the judgments that go with placing an author, he says, although he works closely with large agencies to handle contract negotiations and other legal matters.
In the end, for most authors, agents may still be the front-line literary gatekeepers. But Barnett says he turns down 20 authors each week — indicating no shortage of interest in his services — and he’s got a few plans of his own. “My hope is to get into the world of big fiction,” he says. “Most of those are cookie-cutter deals. And those people could literally save hundreds of thousands of dollars using someone other than an agent.”
