Art of Submission
11-28-08
Usually when you send out query letters asking a studio, producer or company to look at your screenplay, novel, album or product; these major corporations or individuals will respond with a request to sign their ‘Submission Agreement’.
Normally these Submission Agreements have a few clauses that can make your spider-sense tingle.
For Example:
Since they may be developing a product similar to the one you are thinking of submitting, they have to protect themselves and their investment in the projects they are currently working on. In their Submission Agreement there will be a clause that states that you will not seek legal action or sue them should they develop a similar product or project as the one you have created.
If you are not comfortable with this, don’t submit anything. However, that leaves you with the daunting task of developing your project on your own.
My agent and other entertainment professionals I know, tell me that it is very rare for someone or a company in this business to steal ideas/products from creators. I’ve been told, it is much easier for a producer, studio or company to just purchase your submitted idea, than risk a potential future law suit.
I am only aware of two such situations where a submitted project was developed without prior agreement or involvement of the originator of the concept (read Fatal Subtraction – The Inside Story of Art Buchwald versus Paramount by O’Donnell & McDougal) and another writer who got nothing when a teleplay he submitted got developed into a television series.
Read the book Fatal Subtraction just for the sneak peek into the way Paramount runs their business with creative accounting and the legal story of how ‘Coming to America’ starring Eddie Murphy got made.
In the second situation, the writer’s agent at the time (who submitted the television episode) called one day and told him she had just watched a new television series that was very close to the original teleplay he had submitted to another show.
Later it was learned, that the writer’s teleplay was short listed but then rejected because it took the lead characters in a different direction than the show runner wanted to go. However, one producer of that show developed the writer’s script for a totally new television program for which six episodes were created and broadcast. Yes, this new show was altered from the original idea, but the main plot points were visible enough that his agent knew it was his concept. She recommended to not sue the producer and network because the writer could end up being black-listed by the industry. She emphasized how small the entertainment business was but also told him that if the new series was a hit, that suing might be an option. The new show faded away after only six episodes aired and everything has since been forgotten.
So when you sign and send in a Submission Release Agreement with your product, you are believing everything will be on the up-and-up, but they call it a Submission for a reason.
If you are a good writer-creator, you will have many products/concepts to submit and with luck one will hit. Sure the major company or producer will reap the lion’s share of the profits but if your project is developed, it should make you enough money to create other products/concepts for future submissions. Or maybe even earn you enough funds to develop your own projects and become the lion.
The best advice is to only deal with known entities in the industry you are in. Ask others you know in the industry for a recommendation on who to submit your project/product to.
Have a lawyer talk to their legal counsel to ensure everything is copasetic.
Many authors/creators submit their work hundreds of times before getting any interest. So remember, persistence is omnipotent!
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