Special Surtex 2013 Series – Exhibiting Artists

Surtex is in less than two weeks! I am almost done with my show preps although I am still printing tear-sheets and painting new art; I will post the pictures of my booth after the show and starting today we will only post promotional images from exhibiting artists, including mine. We will post 5-6 beautiful images every day, all week long.

Watch out for your favorites and share them with your contacts through your favorite social media - good luck to all of the participating artists, and have the best show ever!!

Inspiration or Infringement?

It is my opinion that we should share ideas and activities within our community and with the world at large; however, I really cringe when I see really beautiful pieces of art, high res or large images, posted on Facebook pages with no copyright caption, notice or watermark on them. They are very inspirational indeed but they also encourage not-so-bright or not-high-integrity netizens out there to copy or download them to use without permission - or to be more blunt, use them illegally. Hopefully the artist has at least copyrighted them but chances are that they haven't, especially if the artist is posting on a regular basis. This is one of the many ways you can get your work easily copied or infringed upon.

There are also cases where other artists blatantly copy your work from your website, blog, products, photographs, and so on. The stories are many, as clearly illustrated by these two blog posts: artist Rachel Anne Miller and SweetEvenTide.com. In fact, there have been at least five similarly unfortunate tales that I've read about in the past three days. Coincidentally, I already had in mind to start a thread about this very issue.

Inspiration or Infringement?

Not all allegedly copied art is really copied or used illegally. There are instances of similar styles and pieces that are honestly created by two different artists without copying one from another. If you study them carefully, you can tell the difference in hand although maybe the colors and compositions are similar. People can also make mistakes. These are not real copycats so before you expose or accuse someone of copying you should do your homework. This is a highly emotional and touchy topic to discuss, yet it is best to be aware about it.

There are some preventive actions you can take, including registering your work at www.copyright.gov, reading helpful posts, articles and ebooks about protecting your creative property, or hiring a good intellectual property attorney - or all of above. Note: I am not endorsing any of the books or articles, I am just using them as examples. Each individual artist should do their own homework and decide what's right for them.

I am launching this new series of editorials about Legal Issues in Art Licensing to give some forum to these issues. This series will include articles on copyrights, contracts and other legal aspects of the business with special guests including property attorneys, consultants, and of course the personal experiences of artists themselves.

As an additional note, I am myself learning about these legal pitfalls as I enter the licensing arena and get my own bruises - bogus contracts, copyright violations, and all the like are not fun to deal with. But, you're likely to run into them at some point or another so you might as well learn ahead of time as much as you can and, who knows? ...it might not even happen to you!

This month I want to welcome artist Jill Meyer and publish her essay about her own experience with copyright infringement:

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"Has another artist blatantly knocked you off?

I have been knocked off (unauthorized versions of an original work) many times - it began years ago and continues today. I think it happens to most of us. I have tried to stop it in different ways. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I think that by this time I am a living legend on POLYVORE. My work has been "borrowed," unauthorized of course, and has appeared there in abundance for many, many years and continues to this very day!

Once I had to write to a very established artist who had unmistakably and very obviously copied my work. I said that since we designed for the same product and our products were in the same stores on shelves next to each other, it would be nice if she did not use my design for the base of her design and then borrow liberally from all of my details as well! She wrote back, took responsibility for her error, and told me that she would try to be more creative and careful the next time she designed something from my work. She never did it again. I could have notified the company with whom she licensed her work, but I didn't wish to damage her credibility or reputation. Anyone can make a mistake and she at least acknowledged her mistake in an amusing way. I myself, in fact accidentally, inadvertently, unknowingly, and completely unintentionally, once used something of someone else's design. When the artist informed me of the error, I immediately and very apologetically rectified it. Again, anyone can make an honest mistake. However, when an artist makes the mistake over and over that's when things become a little dicey.

A brief exchange I had recently with a publisher got me to thinking about this area of licensing. The publisher mentioned that she had seen work done by another artist whom the publisher felt had knocked off my work and idea on a series of images in which she, the publisher, was interested. The images she wanted from me had already been licensed elsewhere so she was not able to license them from me. However, she confided that she was not going to pursue licensing from the other artist at all, even though the images were quite similar to mine. She said, among other things, there was just too much liability associated with working with this kind of artist.

I thought about this extensively after that exchange. There really is a mountain of liability if there is an actual copyright infringement. But there is also the nasty and inevitable blowback of getting the reputation among colleagues as a person who will, after adding a little camouflage here and there, happily use other people's work and ideas and represent them as their own.

There is a big difference between using an existing artwork for "inspiration" and as a place to jump off from for creating a new and different work or copying the artwork and its essence so closely that a publisher or manufacturer could use the two works interchangeably. If they are close enough to use interchangeably, then they might be close enough for an infringement lawsuit and a jury may be asked to decide on the question of how similar they look.

I register all of my images with the U.S. Copyright Office and so should you! If there is an infringement that you and/or your agent wish to pursue, the registration certificate is your ticket into Federal court. Copyright infringements are heard in Federal court and your case will not be heard if you do not have a registration certificate for the works that have been infringed. These certificates are dated, of course, and show the images that have been registered on the certificate. This is also your proof of the date you created the image. The infringer needs to show similar proof of when they created the image. If yours was created first and the infringer had access to it on the Internet or otherwise, then a jury might not need too much more evidence to make a decision.

When someone sues for copyright infringement, they frequently sue everyone who is involved in the infringement. That would include the artist who infringed, the agent who licensed the infringed work, the manufacturer who made product using the infringed work, and the retail outlets who carried and sold the infringed work. The purpose of the lawsuit is to go after those who are liable and especially those who have the deepest pockets for damages, either specific or by statute.

My understanding is that the damages for copyright infringement are extreme — a range of $750 to $30,000 per infringement. Willful infringement can result in even higher damages of up to $150,000 and in some cases there can be criminal prosecution.

So an artist who is inspired to do work that is very close to someone else's registered work does present an interesting dilemma to those agents, manufacturers, and retailers who might use the work. It puts all of these people in harm's way for as long as the image is being marketed. If the copycat has managed to license the work and it becomes a sizable moneymaker, that is a huge incentive and a great big fat invitation to the artist who did the original art work to sue for infringement. It could be a really gigantic payday and excellent retribution, so why not?

The choice of course is up to each artist. There is certainly nothing wrong with being inspired by someone's work, and using it to energize your creativity so that you can make an entirely new and different work. If you are guided by your own vision, decency, and integrity, then it is not likely that anyone will think that you have used his or her work as a basis for your own.

If you choose to use someone else's idea and you pass it off as something that you alone created, then it may very well beg the question of whether you are an artist at all or just a person who can copy and use a smokescreen to try to veil and conceal your lack of originality and your deficiency of ethics. It may also lead you and your associates into a world of hurt that you were not expecting.

Even if there is no lawsuit filed for infringement, it seems that getting a reputation as a person who copies work probably does not bode well for the long haul.

For most of us, it is not really worth even considering this path for so many reasons and on so many levels. These kinds of choices define the kind of person and the kind of artist you are and they have long lasting and far-reaching consequences.

Regrettably, there will always be some who justify engaging in this less than admirable behavior. Pity the unknowing people who support them who are jeopardized by this!

Let's all agree to play fair, and play nice...yes?" ~ Jill Meyer

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An Art Licensing True Story - Learning to Take a Leap by Artist Jill Meyer

I like to tell stories but mostly I like to listen to them. It's not only fun and entertaining but I always learn something new from them. So I asked a few artists to tell us their stories. This week I want to share artist Jill Meyer's tale.

When asked, she realized immediately that her precise story is not important at all, she said. "But what may be important for others is to know that I have redefined my life many times and have lived to tell the tale! I have often had to overcome the uncertainty and anxiety that comes with making a life change, turn off the rhetoric in my head that said I could not do it, pull all of my resources together, grit my teeth, and move forward on an unknown path."

© Jill Meyer

She still has a vivid memory of sitting on the classroom floor when she was in kindergarten. She said she was blissfully making artwork by coloring, cutting and pasting. She wanted to continue doing this forever, but that activity was over all too soon. "I think the reason that art, design, and color play a role in each of my lives and links them all is that I never really did get enough coloring, cutting and pasting in kindergarten, and I still want to continue forever! This connecting thread is somehow always involved in my various pursuits and passions, and they all hark back in some way to that blissful experience in kindergarten!"

Jill also adds, "When I become interested in something, I pursue it full throttle. I need to learn everything I can possibly learn about what I am interested in and sharpen my skills as much as they can be sharpened, and then I dive into whatever has become my passion head first with no life preserver in sight." After a certain length of time, doing what you do on a daily basis can become stale - she explains.  "I know when that happens to me because I notice that I do not approach my endeavor with the same enthusiasm or excitement. I always try to do my best when I am engaged but I know the signs now when the blush is beginning to come off the rose. When I make it a point to be aware of my own behavior and I am honest with myself, I usually know when it is time for me to change my direction. It took me several bouts of misery to learn to pay attention to these signals." She knows for sure, she says, that she is ready to make a leap to something new, when she hears herself saying that perhaps "I have stayed too long at the fair!"

© Jill Meyer

Jill had been a teacher at every level, kindergarten through high school. Several years before she left her last teaching position she developed a burning interest in calligraphy. She was fascinated by and studied the nuances of every historical hand and practiced her lettering at every spare moment. With an eye toward a new career, she also studied for and received a state license in real estate. After many years in the classroom she happily left teaching with the idea that she would begin to buy, redesign, and sell houses. "I had no real experience in this but it seemed to me that after managing and teaching a room full of children and getting them to do what I wished, that it might not be any more difficult to wrangle a group of construction workers! I wanted to be able to take a tired, worn, and dated older house and give it a fresh, current, and more attractive look, and then sell it to someone who would be thrilled with it.

I commandeered every penny of my teacher's retirement money and launched my new business. A very scary move indeed, but I committed to it, overrode the thousand reasons I knew that it might fail, and jumped in. Every house I revamped was sold immediately and profitably and my new business was a success. I used some very basic design (less is more) and color ideas (neutrals appeal to most) to re-do my houses and they were a hit!" She also adds that she became very experienced at "flipping" houses and the results were bankable but after several years in, she knew that the market was changing and the time was coming to find another direction. "I had no idea what the next step in my life would be, but I knew for sure that I was not going to 'flip' any more houses."

"I had a successful background in teaching and over a number of years I had developed good skills and a good repertoire in the different historical hands in calligraphy, so on a wild notion I called some of the local adult schools and asked the principals if they would be interested in offering a calligraphy class, taught by me, in their adult school program. Each one was thrilled to include me in their curriculum and could not wait to sign me up! Now, I had to actually develop the classes and teach adults, which I had never done before! Classes were to begin only a few short weeks after my initial inquiries. I was completely panicked and beyond nervous, but I had no time to worry about the fact that I did not know what to do, I just knew I had to do it! My calligraphy classes were packed from day one."

Jill eventually expanded her schedule to include classes in some of her other interests and hobbies. She taught classes in card making, paper crafting, papermaking, paper marbling, and another passion of hers at the time, making fully articulated teddy bears. "What fun!" she says. "I met and worked with some of the nicest people on the planet. Many of them were seniors who were completely young at heart and spirit and with whom I had many raucous laughs and made many friendships. After teaching these classes for several years (and finally realizing that I was burning out and exhausted from my demanding teaching schedule), one student shared some art rubber stamps that she brought to class in a shoebox."

© Jill Meyer

At the time, there were very few art rubber stamps available, she tells, and she had never seen anything like them. "I fell instantly and completely in love with them! Within the next few days I had purchased every art rubber stamp that I could find and any inkpads or accessories that would enhance their use (many years later, I have well over 5,000 rubber stamps, and an entire room full of accessories)." She also found out whom the handful of companies were who made these marvelous objects. At that time, each stamp company had a distinctive look to their stamps. One could tell who the company was by simply looking at the stamp style. "I was putting on a brave face, but by now I was joylessly teaching calligraphy. In a timely, seemingly heaven-sent fluke, I came upon a want ad in a calligraphy magazine. A rubber stamp manufacturer was seeking to employ someone with a calligraphy or art background who knew how to use art rubber stamps. Yes! Yet another change in direction!"

She finished her commitments in teaching calligraphy and she became a demo artist for the rubber stamp company that placed the ad (and shortly thereafter, all of the other rubber stamp companies as well)! "I had never given a demonstration in a store before and I did not know what to do or how to do it, but I knew that I loved working with rubber stamps and I hoped that the people seeing my demonstration would forgive any amateur awkwardness that I might have as a demonstrator and be charmed by the delightful things that could be done with the stamps. The stamps, (and I think my enthusiasm for them) worked their magic."

© Jill Meyer

So she learned how to swim in different ponds and to show the distinct styles of each stamp company to its best advantage, she says. "This diversity in style is still seen in the art that I do currently for licensing." Her demo artist career grew to include a number of other companies that manufactured different products for art and crafts. Jill expanded her demos from stores to working at huge craft shows, trade shows and conventions for both fine art and crafts manufacturers.

"I used to walk these shows on my breaks and I noticed that there were a number of magazines dedicated to art and to crafts. I spoke with some of the people in the magazine booths and said that I demonstrated a lot of art and/or craft products and made loads of sample projects to show off the products. They told me that if I could make interesting projects and then write an article about them and step them out for the readers, that they would pay me for the articles. I really had no clue about how to do any of this for magazines but I took everyone's business card and said I might give it a go." Jill tried a few sample projects because she had no idea of what projects they wanted or how to do the articles. She sent the sample projects and her sample articles off hoping that she might get some feedback on what to do and how to do it correctly.  

All of her sample projects and sample articles were published in several different magazines. "I never looked back from there. I spent years doing projects and articles and having them published in what became a very long list of magazines. I had a project and article in at least two or three different magazines each time a new issue published. I always enjoyed doing the projects and writing the articles, and these proved to be very financially rewarding as well. This wasn't actually a change of careers but just an offshoot in another unexpected, unplanned, and really fun direction. Who knew??"

Although she remained madly in love with rubber stamps, her taste became more sophisticated and she realized that she could not find any stamps that really spoke to her on an artistic level. She designed a set of 12 large collage stamps which were the types of stamps that she wanted to use in her work. "I not only wanted an artistic stamp but also one that told a story. I showed my designs to a stamp company for whom I was doing demos. They in turn took the artwork to a trade show and asked their customers (mostly the large art and craft chain stores) if they would ever sell anything that looked like these stamps.

When the stamp company returned from the trade show they offered me a license to design stamps for them and told me that the 12 stamps which I had designed would immediately be going into several large chains across the country as soon as they could manufacture and ship them." Jill then goes on saying, "Those stamps and a number of others that followed were very popular and picked up by loads of stores both in the U.S. and in Europe. They were and still are very popular in the UK. I moved on from the original company but immediately licensed my work to another large stamp company.  They ultimately grew my line to 250-300 stamps. We all enjoyed the rubber stamp ride for six or seven years."

© Jill Meyer

During this time she also developed a craft product, Transfer Ink! which transferred a rubber stamped image to another substrate and gave the transferred image a soft, watercolor effect. "I licensed my product and it was manufactured and sold by a large ink company. Because of the runaway success of my stamps I was asked to license my artwork to a scrapbook paper company. I had no experience with scrapbook paper. I barely knew what it was. All of my rubberstamp work was done (of necessity) only in black lines on white and I did not know how to use color in the overall design for scrapbook paper." She said to the woman who wanted to license her work that she did not know anything about designing scrapbook paper and the lady said to her, "you'll learn!"

She did learn, and it was grueling, she says. "I had a short deadline and I had to learn everything that I needed to know, from the ground up. I worked through the day and then through the night many, many, times. I finally was able to design a line of vintage looking vellum papers and a number of sheets of vintage stickers to complement the papers. The papers and stickers became a huge commercial success." They were on QVC five times in the U.S. and the UK and sold in record numbers. So Jill was invited to scrapbook paper buyer's meetings where she was actually asked to sign autographs - apparently, you become an instant star when your product sells in great and glorious numbers, she says. It was fun for the moment but it did not remain on my long-range radar. She enjoyed the learning process and was proud that she had done well under very difficult circumstances, but somehow did not want to continue in this particular situation.

© Jill Meyer

Then the rubber stamp market became mature and changed drastically. "I knew that it was time for another change in direction for me as well. Although some of my stamps are still in many of the large chains, the rubber stamp industry ultimately dwindled to a shadow of its former self."

"I knew that there was at least one other area of business outside of crafts that licensed artwork. I had an agent at the time that asked to rep me after hearing of my successes in rubber stamps and scrapbook papers and stickers. He got me a badge to Surtex where he was showing my work for Fine Art and I walked the show. I knew immediately that I was going to be an artist in the stationery/gift, area. I wasn't sure what to do to make this happen but I was sure that it was going to happen."

It was a definite challenge, Jill adds. She had no idea that her artwork, which was so popular in crafts, was not viable in her new chosen market. "I worked very hard but was simply spinning my wheels. Finally, someone who was savvy enough and kind enough told me that my craft style of artwork was not going to work for stationery/gift. Once I had a clue, I researched and studied and worked very hard on changing the look of my coloring, cutting and pasting until it seems that I finally 'got it.' After I licensed my first image in stationery/gift, the floodgates opened and my images have been licensing well ever since. I'm still very enthusiastic, excited, and interested in what I am doing so I will definitely continue doing it…for now."

So, as it turns out, she is still coloring, cutting and pasting. Not in exactly the same way, or with the same tools that she originally used in kindergarten, but nonetheless she is still doing various forms of that original process, she says.

© Jill Meyer

"Change is always scary and disquieting; I have taken lots of leaps and re-invented myself many times so far in my life. I probably will do it again before the final story is written. I always hoped that the net would appear after the leap and it always did, but not always as expected! I think that the essence of what may be useful to others about my story is that I finally grasped the idea that staying in a situation when I could go no further with it was a good way to make myself unhappy. So, when I saw an opportunity or could make an opportunity to make a change in my life, I learned to require myself to say "Yes!" and take the jump, despite the angst and the undeniable fact that often I was flying only by the seat of my pants! So far it's been working out..."

Jill's website: www.jillmeyer.com - she's also the author of the article: Finding a New Agent.

Finding a New Agent, by Guest Author Jill Meyer

This is the first post being published on this blog that has been written by a Guest Author. We thought that her article could be helpful to other artists. Please feel free to let us know your thoughts about this topic.

Artist Jill Meyer

FINDING A NEW AGENT, by Jill Meyer. You think it might be time to find a new agent to license your art? I knew it was time for me to find a new agent when the agent with whom I had been working and signing licenses with for more than a year, misspelled my name on my Surtex banner! That, along with a number of other unimaginable and unexplained gaffes made it undeniable that it was time to seek new representation.

Artists usually pay 50% of their royalties to their agents, and the agents usually demand that the artist designates them as their exclusive representative. However, in this deal, the artist is not the exclusive client of the agent. So when you are paying 50% of your royalties to an agent, you do have a right to expect that agent to represent your interests and protect your brand at their highest level of excellence and competence, 100% of the time. Not just when it is convenient, or when they feel like it, or when they are having a rare good day. I think that some agents become so self-absorbed that they forget that they actually work for, and are paid by the artist. The artist does not work for them!

So, my path was a clear one. Find a new agent. Hopefully this time, one who could spell, who could communicate with kindness, and who would pay closer attention to the work for which they were getting paid!

© Jill Meyer

My first step on this journey was to tidy up my web site. I blew away all of the cobwebs, polished up all the buttons, and spruced up my web site until it was a true representation of the current work that I was producing. I made sure that my site was very easy to navigate and I presented my artwork samples on one page, in a very simple, and straightforward manner. I was aware that everyone was busy, and I thought that if I could show my work to prospective agents in a very efficient few seconds, I would have a better chance of having them actually look at the work. Sweep, tidy, dust, polish, and I finally had my web site ready to work for me.

I had in my possession the famous list of 50 Licensing Agents (thanks Joan Beiriger). I looked at the web site of each and every agent on that list. I had to make some basic decisions immediately. I knew the kinds of situations which would work best for my temperament and personality, and I wanted to follow the guidelines that I felt would give me the greatest shot at success with a new agent. Everyone has different parameters and requirements for an agent, and it is a good idea to make a list of your "must haves." I decided that I wanted a small agency which represented no more than around 15 artists. I wanted an agency where my work would fit but not be too similar to any other artist in the agency. I hoped as well to find an agent who was based in my time zone. Perhaps most importantly, I was looking for good "chemistry" with the new agent. I like to work in an atmosphere of kindness and respect. If I can share a few jokes and have a little lighthearted fun with my work mates, then that's even better! But working with a kind and respectful person is a necessity for me and was at the very top of my priorities.

No agent ever advertises kindness and respect on their web site, but all agents do have reputations that they have earned throughout their careers. Some agent reputations are impeccable, glowing, and sublime, and some are, perhaps unknowingly, being dragged around like a sack of three-day-old fish! If you listen carefully when you are doing your interviews on the phone with agents and their artist references, you will quickly pick up on many things, including how this agent handles their interactions with others. People will always tell you exactly who they are if you listen closely to what they say to you.

I eliminated those agents whom I thought were not suitable for me. I did focus on the agent sites where the artwork and the artists looked as though my work might fit in well. That is, if an agent handled only artists who did cartoons, I eliminated that agent, because my work would not fit in with that look. I culled the list of 50 agents down to 25 possible candidates. I composed a short e-mail note which said that I was looking for new representation, and I included a link to my web site.

I sent this note to the 25 agents on my list. I did not really expect any answers, especially because I sent my query immediately after Surtex and everyone was busy with follow-up, but I thought that it wouldn’t hurt to try this approach first. I figured that I would definitely need to come up with a Plan B, but trying Plan A was my first option.

I actually had to pick my self up off the floor, pinch myself, and do the Happy Dance, because over the next few days I received 18 replies from agents. All of them had visited my web site and were positive and complimentary about my work, and most of them were seeking to represent me. I was really delighted, because to tell the truth, I was having a really hard time coming up with a Plan B!

The long list of agent replies now presented me with a new problem. Who were all of these people and which one could best represent me? I decided to ask everyone I could think of if they knew and could tell me about these agents.  ...No,that didn’t work. I could not find anyone who could or would share information about any of these agents.

I re-visited all of the web sites of the agents who had replied and I studied the sites carefully, and was able to exclude a few agents that way. If a site looked sloppy or did not showcase the artist's work well, or the mechanics of the site simply did not work properly, I eliminated the agent. Details, neatness and careful presentation count for a lot in this business…, really in any business. If I was put off by an agent's site, I imagined that art directors and clients would also be put off and this would not be the way I wished to be represented.

I had a few agents write me copious e-mails, complimenting my work, and offering me immediate art opportunities for licenses that they were sure I would get if I signed with them. I replied that I had a number of responses and I was just going to carefully speak with each agent before I made a decision, and that would take me several weeks, if not longer. A few more e-mails from these agents, complimenting me, and saying how much they wanted to rep me, and then…nothing more. I guess there are people who rush in, and try to make a quick deal, and when they are asked to wait a while, they re-think or do not wish to compete, or who knows what motivates people's behavior? I had one agent tell me that although she was very interested in representing me, that she felt that I had too many licenses and she was more comfortable signing only artists who had no licensing experience at all. Maybe, that's good news for artists who are just starting out, or maybe not. I was actually happy to be able to eliminate a few more from the list of replies.

I had a pretty solid list of 12 now. I e-mailed each and asked to make appointments to speak with them personally on the phone.

This was a defining step. Some of them never answered my e-mail and I eliminated them (or did they eliminate me? I'm confused!). I did speak with a number of agents on the phone. One of them would only work with artists who gave up their copyrights on all of their work. NO! Never (not something I do)! A woman agent was actually quite belligerent, snarky, and a little mean (been there, no thanks). I told her immediately that I didn't think we would make a good team. I checked the meanie and the copyright buyer off the list. The elimination process was getting easier and easier!

I asked every agent with whom I spoke to send me their contract and to send me the contact information for several of their artists who could be their references. All of them sent the contracts; a few did not send references. I eliminated those who did not send references. This is a pretty basic tell, but an important one to note. You need to speak with the people who are given as references and not just assume that you will not get helpful information from them. This is actually where I was able to gather some of my best information.

I perused the contracts of each agent. All of them were different, and all of them, to a large degree, defined how the agent viewed their relationship with the artist. There is no "standard contract." I always view that phrase with suspicion and mistrust. Anything in a contract can and should be up for negotiation. Some of the contracts were very fair and balanced, and some of them sought to advantage only the agent and to disadvantage the artist in unfair and onerous ways. The contract clauses which describe "the parting of the ways" when the contract terminates or is canceled are very telling. That is usually when the problems surface.

Then lawyers for each side lick their chops, put on the gloves, and turn on their meters. If an agent sought in their contract to continue collecting royalties, and hog-tie the artist well beyond the end of the agency contract, or the end of the existing licenses, then for me this became an agent to avoid. If an agent included the words "mutually agreed upon" in these clauses, I became instantly chirpy. With apologies to Neil Sedaka, "Breakin' Up" with an agent should not be hard to do.

Now I am down to a manageable list of a few agents. Whew! I seemed to have blown through that long list fairly rapidly, but a girl has to have her standards and I had some exacting ones. I wanted to get the agent thing right this time. I have had other agents in the past and they have all been, for one reason or another, a disaster for me. In fairness to me, I never actually had the opportunity to carefully select any of my other agents; I just sort of backed into them fortuitously. This time I was able to choose and I was determined to decide as wisely as possible.

I had precise requirements because I view the agent/artist relationship as a partnership, and I wanted to be able to work with the best partner for me well into the future.

I interviewed the remaining agents on my list, and I had a wonderful time speaking with them, and was thoroughly delighted to meet them! I called the references for each agent, and again, I had a lovely time meeting and speaking with the artists who were candid, and generous, and thoughtful, and delightful. Some of us have become friends, and I hope we will remain friends for a long time.

For my top choices, I settled on two of the agents who were both very pleasant, had most of the important requirements, and with whom I felt very comfortable. I had spoken with each of them on the phone and we had exchanged a number of e-mails. I had also spoken with the artist references that they provided. The agents were fairly equal in their appeal and it was difficult to decide which would be the final choice. I needed a tiebreaker. I read very carefully through each of their contracts again. I knew at that point that I needed advice.

I cannot emphasize enough how important the next step is. It is worth every dime and any time it costs you upfront, and it is nothing compared to the time, money and grief it will save you in the long term. Even after you have read through the contract of each agent, have an attorney review the contract of any agent with whom you plan to sign.

I am lucky that my husband is an attorney (as well as a darling husband), but I also have an Intellectual Property attorney (sarah@artlawlawyer.com) who handles contracts and copyright issues for me. She specializes in handling contracts for artists. She knows all of the ins and outs and is a master at resolving any of the issues that crop up when negotiating contracts. She always seems to have just the right brilliant and/or creative idea to suggest. It is ideal when both she and my husband collaborate and review my contracts.

One of the agency contracts (of my top two agent picks) was very fair and well balanced. It did not disadvantage the artist in any way, it had a very favorable split and it was written clearly and concisely, in language that was easily discernable. It was abundantly clear that this agent wanted to work with the artist as a partner and every paragraph in the contract testified to this.

The other contract was long and verbose, and so unclear in many of its clauses that I could not understand it, nor could either of my lawyers. When the agent explained the meaning of those clauses and the inequitable intentions that were attached to the ambiguous language, which she represented as "the standard of the industry," I was advised by both lawyers not to sign that contract under any circumstance.

I chose the very pleasant agent with the fair and favorable contract. One cannot predict the future of course, but it seems that life is made up of a series of choices. Lessons learned in the past lead me to believe that if one makes a careful choice, based on a prudent, well–advised plan, that there is a better likelihood of a good outcome going forward.

I am hopeful that I will have just that. Here we go!