Writing partnerships
Gail Renard outlines some key considerations when writing with a partner
Writing partnerships can end up as Brad and Angelina, or as a replay of Sydney Poitier and Tony Curtis chained together in The Defiant Ones; but whatever happens, you should have a simple letter of agreement between you. It doesn’t have to be the Treaty of Versailles or be drawn up by a lawyer.
The WGA West offers a sample Collaboration Agreement (pdf), which you can download from their website; but American law differs greatly to ours, so you might want to adapt your own British version. Or you can ask your agent, should you have one, to write it. One page will suffice, clearly stating your positions and expectations; dated and signed by you both (though not necessarily in blood.)
Both parties should keep copies against future eventualities, which is especially helpful if you have different agents.
Robert Taylor, writer, Guild Treasurer and lawyer recommends that any agreement should be signed and sealed before the actual writing starts. He advises the basics should include:
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What work is covered, and what is not
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Who owns what
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How the shares will be divided
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How the work will be developed, and marketed
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When the collaboration will end.
Robert adds: “Writers might also want to consider if they want to decide on a strategy for breaking deadlock… popular ones are Russian Roulette and Texas Shootout…”
Work it all out now. The time to argue the toss isn’t when problems present themselves further down the line, when time, animosity or circumstance make it almost impossible to judge the situation fairly.
An experienced agent advises that the best way to share is usually 50/50, even if you feel you’re doing 90%. (The odds are you aren’t, and your partner feels the same.) Hopefully this is an ongoing creative partnership, but it won’t be happy very long if one of you carries a grudge.
It’s especially important to have a written agreement if you’re co-authoring with a producer or director. Again, set the ground rules in writing in advance, and you’ll be able to write fully protected and with a song in your heart.
Speaking from experience, a happy writing partnership is a thing of beauty and a joy forever. (Was that worth an extra 10% to me, John?) But it’s also sad and surprising how many great partnerships fall out, and parting becomes acrimonious. Breaking up is hard to do under any circumstances, but the writing equivalent of a pre-nup will make the divorce easier and cleaner.
Gail Renard is Chair of the Guild's TV Committee.
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