Manager approached me and now negotiating representation, I think I need help!

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  • Manager approached me and now negotiating representation, I think I need help!

    Newbie here (in so many, many ways) but I've been pouring through the forums and learning a lot.

    Long story short, I'm an author who was approached by a reputable manager after reading one of my books. The manager is eager to represent me because they feel they have a couple contacts who would be interested in turning my book into a movie/show. Yay! They put me in touch with an entertainment attorney (also reputable and well-known) and I've been staring at the contract/terms ever since.

    Everything seems simple enough but we're having a bit of a back and forth on one point and I'd like a few other opinions. I write under a pen name and have set up everything related to my writing under an LLC. The attorney is insisting the language of the agreement has to be done with my legal name. I'm saying the whole reason I have an LLC is to protect myself, both personally and financially.

    Can anyone offer any advice or wisdom here? I appreciate it!

  • #2
    Re: Manager approached me and now negotiating representation, I think I need help!

    Originally posted by ExcitedButWary View Post
    Newbie here (in so many, many ways) but I've been pouring through the forums and learning a lot.

    Long story short, I'm an author who was approached by a reputable manager after reading one of my books. The manager is eager to represent me because they feel they have a couple contacts who would be interested in turning my book into a movie/show. Yay! They put me in touch with an entertainment attorney (also reputable and well-known) and I've been staring at the contract/terms ever since.

    Everything seems simple enough but we're having a bit of a back and forth on one point and I'd like a few other opinions. I write under a pen name and have set up everything related to my writing under an LLC. The attorney is insisting the language of the agreement has to be done with my legal name. I'm saying the whole reason I have an LLC is to protect myself, both personally and financially.

    Can anyone offer any advice or wisdom here? I appreciate it!
    I'm no expert but I'd imagine in most pen-name situations, the attorney is one of the few people who knows the writer's real information. If he's your attorney, it's all confidential... right?
    Write, rite, wright... until you get it RIGHT.

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    • #3
      Re: Manager approached me and now negotiating representation, I think I need help!

      Originally posted by asteven50 View Post
      I'm no expert but I'd imagine in most pen-name situations, the attorney is one of the few people who knows the writer's real information. If he's your attorney, it's all confidential... right?
      The problem isn't my attorney or manager knowing my name, it's the protection provided by the LLC I operate under I'm most concerned about. If someone really wanted to dig, they could find my real name in connection to my work.

      But the LLC protects my personal assets from lawsuits involving my work. Like, say someone flies off the handle and kills someone using my book as inspiration and the victim's family sues me. They'd actually be suing the LLC, not me, and as such, I wouldn't lose my house, etc.

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      • #4
        Re: Manager approached me and now negotiating representation, I think I need help!

        without knowing more, it's a bit of a red flag that a "reputable manager" would want a written contract. most reps in LA typically don't

        that said, i doubt any manager would enter into a client relationship with the client's LLC. for all the same reasons you listed that an entity protects the writer, the manager could get screwed out of a lot of money if it ever came to a dispute with the client

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        • #5
          Re: Manager approached me and now negotiating representation, I think I need help!

          It's hard to advise without additional info, but my understanding is that your contracts with the lawyer/manager need to be under your legal name since that is a personal contract with YOU regarding representation. (This is how I had to enter into contracts with both my agent and lawyer, and I also have an LLC.)


          You don't write romance novels, by any chance, do you?

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          • #6
            Re: Manager approached me and now negotiating representation, I think I need help!

            That's what I suspected, thanks Thought to get some clarification from people who have been there before. I'll send you a PM MysteryLady!

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            • #7
              Re: Manager approached me and now negotiating representation, I think I need help!

              Originally posted by JoeBanks View Post
              without knowing more, it's a bit of a red flag that a "reputable manager" would want a written contract. most reps in LA typically don't
              No, sorry, this was for the representation from the attorney, not the manager Thanks for replying!

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              • #8
                Re: Manager approached me and now negotiating representation, I think I need help!

                Excitedbutwary, just sent you a PM.

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                • #9
                  Re: Manager approached me and now negotiating representation, I think I need help!

                  If it's a representation/retainer agreement with your attorney - he'll be representing both you and your LLC's interests. Makes sense to have your name on it. I assume he's got the LLC in there as a client?

                  It sounds like you are worried about doing something that would allow a future plaintiff to "pierce to corporate veil" and come after you personally. Signing a representation/retainer agreement with your name on it allowing for an attorney to represent you and the LLC shouldn't be a problem. You might as well ask your future lawyer if this is the case just for peace of mind.

                  Also, just be aware, that in a lawsuit like the one you describe - having an LLC doesn't prevent you from being named personally in the lawsuit. Though, eventually, as long as there is no reason to disregard the corporate form, you would be dismissed (hopefully with prejudice) from the suit.

                  All that said - congrats and good luck going forward!

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                  • #10
                    Re: Manager approached me and now negotiating representation, I think I need help!

                    Can you include a clause that indemnifies you personally? I was under the belief that even with a pen name contracts have to be written in the author's real name. It seems logical that anyone your LLC could potentially go into debt with would demand you personally guarantee the potential debt.

                    Do you have liability insurance that covers your LLC? Your major concern regarding being personally sued by someone due to something you wrote seems similar to product liability insurance, where something manufactured causes harm and someone sues the company who made the product or the company that sold it to them.

                    I deal with these at work, and as a distributor we require manufacturers to provide a Certificate of Insurance that names our company as an additional policy holder, so if we sell their product to someone who gets injured by said product, it never touches us, and goes directly past us through to the manufacturer's insurance. It seems that you could be an additional insurer on your liability insurance for your LLC. At least, it might be worth looking into.

                    http://publishlawyer.com/qa-pseudonyms-in-contracts/

                    The above is a short explanation and has an interesting suggestion of having an NDA signed by your representation that they cannot legally reveal your identity.
                    "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy b/c you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -- Edward Snowden

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                    • #11
                      Re: Manager approached me and now negotiating representation, I think I need help!

                      Get a second opinion from another attorney.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Manager approached me and now negotiating representation, I think I need help!

                        wait what? flies off the handle and kill someone using your book as inspiration?

                        oy.

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