For this particular blog post, I want to discuss the logistics of, and the details surrounding one specific path in entertainment management: literary management. When referring to literary management, I am talking about representing clients that are in the business of novels, short stories and other written works being sold for profit. Though an entertainment system in general, representatives of literary clients have a slightly different task than for those representatives of clients in athletics, Hollywood or music.
For the purpose of this specific post, I want to highlight the major similarities and differences between literary entertainment management and film entertainment management. These comparisons and contrasts will touch on daily job duties, expectations and logistics of specific jobs including salary, locations and trends.
APA is one of the most notable literary agencies in the country. For more information on APA and literary management, please click here.
While working with clients in the film entertainment industry, it is mostly expected for an agent or manager to work on a day to day basis with studio heads or people higher up in the film business in order to gain jobs for their clients. These kinds of entertainment managers would spend a majority of their days negotiating contracts, setting up potential meetings, networking their clients around the city in order to gain jobs, or traveling with their clients for jobs that required it. Literary entertainment representatives would spend their days a little bit differently. Instead of negotiating with studios and finding and setting up meetings to gain jobs for their clients, these representatives would focus on selling the art created by their clients. More specifically, if a client were to write a specific piece of work, say a novel, it would be the representatives job to sell the rights to this novel to publishers for the best possible deal.
In this regard, the job description of a literary agent is less intensive and strenuous then for other fields, but that doesn’t mean it is any less challenging or rewarding. Furthermore, if a client’s work becomes famous and successful enough, it can be the job of his or her representative to negotiate with the film industry in order to purchase the rights to create a visual interpretation. In the real world, authors like Stephen King and George RR Martin have seen their novels become world famous in a visual art form, including The Shining and Game of Thrones
When looking at aspects of this field, such as salary and hours, it is safe to say that there are a multitude of differences between literary and film entertainment management. For one, since a majority to the money made by a representative comes through commission from the money earned by clients, it is not difficult to understand that the wage gap is prevalent. Since the film industry, and clients in said industry make more money for themselves than novelists and poets alike, representatives money compensation would be affected just the same. Furthermore, since the requirements and expectations for tasks for a film representative would also exceed those of literary representatives, it is clear that hours and expectations for film representatives would exceed those of literary agents.
I believe that is necessary for college students like us nearing graduation and looking to enter this career track to understand the inherent differences between the two types of entertainment management. Based on what particular side a student would find themselves more comfortable with, they would most likely choose a certain career track and that is what I have hoped to achieve through this post.
Angad Kanwal 