There is only one thing in the world that I want, need, dream of night and day.
One thing that will make me a success.
An agent.
Please tell me how I can get an agent of my very own.
Help me Paige!
Despairingly,
Ari Longing
Dearest A.L.,
You are not alone.
Countless writers believe that landing an agent is the Holy Grail of the screenwriting business.
“Oh, if I only had an agent, life would be perfect.”
Here’s the short answer, although I’m not certain it will leave you satisfied.
HOW TO GET AN AGENT?
The best way to get an agent is for someone inside the business to recommend you to an agent.
A vicious conundrum, yes?
But not an impossible quest.
Here’s how:
1) Do your homework.
If this is your chosen business, educate yourself on the players.
The Internet offers countless ways to learn about who is working in the industry, their studio deals, their projects, and their staff, plus all the contact info you could want provided you’re willing to pay a few bucks.
Bone up on who’s doing what. ReadVariety, The Hollywood Reporter or Deadline Hollywood for information on new deals, new projects, executives with new jobs and newly promoted agents and execs. Check out what new companies are looking for and what buyer or buyers they have relationships with. These articles are a wealth of information. And information is the currency that agents deal in. Information is powerful because it leads to sales.
2) Invest in your career.
Pony up some cash to get up to date, specific contact information such as with IMDbPro.
They offer a free 30-day trial and then the option of monthly or annual plans. It is a veritable gold mine of information on individuals, companies, projects past and in pre-production, plus trade articles that have even more scoop. There is in-depth contact information. There are even blogs on how to make the most of the information, such as How to find entertainment industry professionals I want to work with?
3) Aim low.
Hunt for people who are hungry. They need you! They’re looking for you. They’re starving for that great idea or talented new writer. Be the needle in the haystack, Grasshopper.
You have the best shot with newly minted development execs and assistants eager to become dev execs, as well as agency assistants hoping to become agents. They have the most to gain from “discovering” you or your project.
Don’t make the mistake of only going for the Big Fish. He’s not hungry. Know what their boss likes – whether it’s from reading about their projects/sales or interviews with them, and pitch that to them.
4) Aim carefully.
Target your query letters specifically to them. Know what their boss/company needs – whether from reading about their projects, sales, online interviews or job announcements – and pitch that to them. Do your homework!
If you find the hungry exec at a production company where the company principal, aka 3000 lb. Gorilla, might be interested in your project, they are THE perfect person to get you an agent. Asking the right person to read your script can lead to asking them – or them offering – to get you an agent.
5) Heading for happily ever after.
Young Exec gets points for finding a potential project and a promising writer. Since she has been busily building relationships with new agents who are moving up the ranks side-by-side with her, she knows Eager Agent who needs clients. Young Exec offers him a known quantity, not a script that was just “thrown over the transom.” She’s pitching the agent a writer she thinks is talented, possibly with a project that’s already getting some traction.
It’s the film industry version of matchmaking.
If Eager Agent and Aspiring Writer “hook up,” Young Exec is everyone’s darling. She will likely get a little special consideration: an early look at Aspiring Writer’s next project, and will be “on the list” when Eager Agent goes out with Aspiring Writer’s next spec. It’s a Win-Win-Win.
This is how career-long industry relationships are cemented.
The Win-Win-Win is the Number One Secret to breaking into the industry.
There are lots of steps that go into making The Win-Win-Win happen, and the time to start is yesterday! Do not wait until you’ve completed a script to start building relationships. Find all the scoop on how and why to network to pave the way for your own Win-Win-Win in my article, The # 1 Secret to Getting Read & Getting Ahead.
It’s essential to be in the know about the specific politics and etiquette of the industry as you build relationships to avoid any mistake or blunders. Read up on the inside jargon and pointers in my article, Inside Screenwriting Industry Politics to master the strict yet unspoken rules you must navigate to survive and thrive.
Without meaning to shatter your dream entirely, I must add one more thing.
A.L. are you sure you need an agent?
Maybe you need an entirely new perspective. First, check out this video “Be Your Own Agent:”
How and why you should hire yourself to be your own agent.
Trust me, A.L., it’s empowering.
Second big thought: Perhaps you should focus on getting a manager first.
Many writers find this to be an easier, more accessible path. A good manager will guide your career, read your work and give feedback, offer invaluable advice on what to write next, and yes – they will recommend you to an agent when the time is right!
Not to blow your mind with this suggestion. All of these practical pointers apply to meeting your Dream Manager. Until then, find out how you can make the all important decision, “What to Write Next” here.
Ooh, it’s getting late Mr. Longing, I’m heading to bed.
Time to address a little correspondence from that overflowing email in box of mine.
You need answers. You deserve good ones.
I’m handing over today’s Q & A to the scintillating and smart Dr. Paige Turner.
I have every confidence she will deliver.
H-e-e-e-e-r-e’s Paige!
B.E.
Dear Doc Turner,
Long time reader; first time writer.
I have this fantasy that I just can’t get out of my head. I’m sitting in a well-appointed office. I’m enveloped in a big, leather chair. Everyone in the room is focused on me, waiting with baited breath. I can tell that they want me.
I’m taking a meeting.
A real, live, industry movie pitch meeting.
But that’s where the fantasy ends.
I’m simply dying to know what happens next.
Please tell me how this torrid tale plays out!
Eager Beaver
Dear Beav,
There’s nothing wrong with fantasy. Indulge yourself, you naughty writer you! Let your mind run wild with thoughts of driving off afterwards in the back seat of a limo.
But that’s a bit of a stretch. Here’s a taste of reality:
You will kill yourself to get to the meeting on time. When did LA traffic get this bad? Why doesn’t the studio map make sense?
Then you will wait. Your heart will pound with excitement and nerves. This meeting could change your life. Or you could throw up.
While you wait, you will be given water. If you take a lot of meetings, you will accumulate an impressive collection of half-drunk water bottles rolling around in the backseat of your car.
Trust me Beav, if there’s any rolling around going on in your backseat, it ought to be you and a companion.
Eventually, you will be ushered into the inner sanctum. Introductions are made.
Next, comes a charming ritual dance, performed to the tune of “Who Sits Where.” This game of musical chairs is ever more entertaining the more people there are in the room. You may have a co-writer with you or a producer. The Exec may have a Junior Exec along for the ride. Everyone grasps the convoluted subtext here and will do-si-do accordingly.
Mr. Big has his own, personal chair. Wait for him to sit so you don’t inadvertently park your own toochis in it. Once his position has been determined, then seat yourself. Here’s the important part – ensure that you are in his direct eye line.
Greet the Junior with enthusiasm! They may well rise up through the ranks one day. Then ignore them. Their little head will be hunkered down in frantic note-taking as, at present, that’s their sole purpose in the room.
Your producer should seat themselves where they can watch Big’s reaction, not you. This way, they can give you feedback in the post-meeting debrief on what’s working and what’s not.
If, by some chance, you do not have water at this point, Big will insist on having you watered as though the success of the entire meeting depends on your being wet. Regardless, you will barely have a chance to take more than a single sip.
NOTE: If you are at Disney, the Big Studio Exec will put his feet up on the table, sit on the back of the chair, or in some way oddly interact with the furniture in the pitch meeting.
I do not know why this is so. I can only say that I have observed this phenomenon many times. Far too many for it to be mere coincidence.
I suspect a secret Disney Studio Exec Handbook exists advising that intentionally treating the furniture as if you were hanging out at home injects a pseudo sense of laidback casualness into a meeting.
In fact, it is simply perplexing.
Once everyone is settled in, it’s time for the chitchat.
There will definitely be some. The Exec will lead the way, but it doesn’t hurt to have some lines of your own. Remarking about the weather is painfully cliché. You might bring up a successful recent film release; an exciting casting coup. A likely topic is the script that got you through the door. There has to have been one, otherwise, what’s the point of him meeting with you anyway?
BOOM! Foreplay is over in minutes.
Time to get down to business. If you’re there with a producer, they should have a tidy preamble all prepared; hit a few key points, then toss the ball to you. If not, it’s your job to shift seamlessly into the movie pitch, setting the tone of your film as you do.
When you reach Fade Out, it’s time for a little after play.
Exec will inevitably have some questions. And you will have good answers. If he simply gushes, you are probably dead in the water. Best-case scenario, he makes a few suggestions. Why? It’s how he makes his imprint on your work. To be blunt, he’s peeing on your story. You gamely praise his ideas. If you think they are truly off base, even “cray-cray,” throw in a “Hmm, fascinating! I’ll have to give that some serious thought.”
Perhaps you bat ideas back and forth. Fabulous – they’re engaged! They might ask what else you are working on. You have a succinct answer targeted to the company’s taste and mandate. Hopefully, they like what they hear and ask you to keep them posted. Bravo! A line of communication has been opened! Chances are slim that this pitch is going somewhere, but he likes you and your work enough to want more.
A little cuddling is ok, but don’t overstay your welcome.
We all know that a writer’s life is a solitary one. You struggle, isolated and alone. Suddenly, there you are in a room full of people hanging on your every word. It feels pretty damn good. Of course, they don’t want to hurt your feelings, but there’s no way you’re staying for breakfast.
When a writer doesn’t realize a pitch meeting is over, a skilled exec will start throwing signals.
Uncrossing their legs. Capping their pen. Leaning forward and scooting to the edge of the chair as if about to rise. Be sure to catch them. If you’ve spotted all of these, you have overstayed your welcome. Say something charming and make your exit, souvenir water bottle in hand.
Seems simple, doesn’t it? What could go possibly go wrong in a pitch meeting?
It’s the film industry version of matchmaking.
