15% for dramatic deals (including motion picture and television)
20% for foreign deals (UK and translation)*
We reimburse the company for expenses incurred on behalf of clients while marketing their work. Some examples of these expenses are postage, messenger fees, overnight/express mail fees, photocopying expenses.
We have a written author-agent agreement for clients to sign before we get going. Part of this agreement is a client's assurance that we will be representing the client exclusively. We also have an agency clause which becomes part of each contract negotiated on behalf of a client.
Dunham Literary develops writers' careers and does not handle clients on a book by book basis or only a certain type of book. For example, sometimes we are approached by a writer who has literary representation for part of his or her career but that other agent doesn't handle books in a particular area, Dunham Literary would not handle only the area that the other agent doesn't handle. Frequently, we are approached by writers who have adult non-fiction representation but need a fiction agent. We are also often approached by writers who have adult representation but not children's book representation. These are not the type of relationships we prefer to form.
We do not charge a reading fee.
* In some emerging markets the fee is 25% due to higher co-agent fees in countries still developing in the field of publishing.
Dunham Literary provides representation for clients which includes the following services:
Submit projects and solicit offers
Negotiate contracts
Collect and distribute monies
While editorial services are not officially part of an agent's job, we often give editorial suggestions that will help make a project more salable. We do not demand that these changes are made. No author should change his or her artistic work if it doesn't seem right. We do reserve the right to say we don't feel strongly enough about a project to submit it in which case the client has three options: revise the project, put the project aside and focus on a different project, or find other representation.
We do not offer critiques to writers who are not our clients.
We do not negotiate contracts for writers on a flat fee basis.
We do not handle publicity once the work is published or for self-published books. Dunham Literary is a full service agency. This maximizes both the book's earning potential and author exposure. In addition to domestic book deals, Dunham Literary works with the Taryn Fagerness Agency to sell rights around the world.
Dunham Literary also represents all media for its clients including licenses for:
Dramatic adaptations (movie, television, musical, live stage, etc.)
Commercial and merchandising products (mugs, toys, t-shirts, etc.)