The best way to get an agent

slm22186 said:

I'm currently working on 9 screenplays for film. I was wondering what was the best way for me to get an agent? Can you give me a step by step rundown of what I need to do to get someone to represent me. I know I need to finish my screenplays and get the copyrights, so don't put that as step one. If you can give me links to help write a good query letter that would be helpful or if you can tell me that would be fine. Just any advice you can give besides the obvious will be appreciated. Thanks.

By the way: I'm in Oklahoma...so you can't recommend I hang out some where in Cali. cause I'm not out there.

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9 screenplays is a lot to work on at once! Wow!! I doubt many people here, apart from Aceinc (he's so prolific it hurts ) could keep those balls in the air.

I'd perhaps concentrate on one at a time, finish the first draft, then move to a new one for that fresh feeling.

If you're a newbie it might take 2 or 3 complete re-writes of your best story to even begin to pique an agent's interest, and I found when I was starting out that I seemed to get a lot further leveraging off contacts, getting referrals, buying endless coffees etc than in just querying.

Also, it is extremely likely that all your first drafts will need considerable work, and this often takes much longer than writing the thing in the first place. I'd pick your best 3 projects, do them one by one, and keep the other 6 on ice. I think you say you've stalled on a couple of them anyway so it's really just a reflection of the reality of trying to write 9 things concurrently.

Good luck whatever you do but don't show your work til a very good second re-write that's had coverage from someone you trust and that won't burn your bridges.

PS - it may be indicative that each of yours has stalled at the 20-30 page mark.

Writing a good act 2 (the whole middle bit of your film) is IMHO harder than writing a good act 1.

You really need to focus on one story. If you were one of my collaborators I'd suggest that perhaps the stories needed work because it's an odd place to stall/stop on all three...it's kind of when things normally get quite exciting!

In other words, your output is telling you something.

You said "besides the obvious", so I'll skip the suggestion of working on one draft of one screenplay at a time (see what I did there).

There's a list at the Writer's guild website that mentions what agents are willing to take on new writers. Make sure you have a marketable script and look for agents in LA.

And you will, after you finish your screenplays and are sure you're ready, have to hangout in Cali at some time.

And we don't call it Cali.

slm22186 said:

When I said I was working on 9 screenplays I didn't mean all at once. I meant one at a time. So I guess I'm working on one...but I have 9 concepts in mind. I guess I should have worded that better. Oh and to Kullervo...you may not call it Cali. but I do.

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This is something I wrote for another NG in answer to this same question.

You should realize that it's a few years old and some of the numbers about how many movies are released every year are out of date.

In fact, there are even fewer movies being produced, being released, fewer scripts being optioned, fewer spec scripts being bought, fewer made for TV movies (in fact, that business is almost dead).

Not looking to be downbeat. Just trying to provide accurate information.

http://www.panix.com/~mwsm/faq.html

NMS

First step... finish one. Second step... finish two more. You'll get that agent when she has something to read (something they'll like). Good luck and have fun
Rai