Charlotte Gusay Literary Agency

Sending a screenplay to agency with a caution note. bad?

So the charlotte gusay agency wants to ready my screenplay, but it is only a first draft. It's not perfect yet. I am thinking about putting in a note that says, "please note that this screenplay is a first draft and is open to editing". Is that a turn off to agents? other things to consider is that I think my story is one of a kind and I don't that there is anyone else that knows as much about the story as I do (It's inspired by true stories and it's about AID's) (I dont have AID's) (Just saying) (Haha). So i dont think it can be duplicated very easily. So would it be ok to add a note saying its a first draft and open editing? O and I dont really have time to edit it because there is a lot and my parents are getting all on my case about how I can't start college next year and it has to be right now. thanks

Seriously? You submitted a first draft? Even with a note, an agent will tell within the first three pages, even less. They'll think you're an amateur with no hope for success and send a form rejection. They'll take one look at it and figure if you can't be bothered to send them the best damned possible screenplay you can, then why should they even bother reading it? Why should they bother representing you and sending your script out on spec to studios?

O and I dont really have time to edit it because there is a lot and my parents are getting all on my case about how I can't start college next year and it has to be right now.

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Hate to break it to you, but there's no such thing as "right now" in this business, unless you self-produce/publish. If you can't make the time to edit a first draft script, you can't expect to have a career, especially as a first-timer right out of the gate.

You will need to take the time to read, write, read some more, write some more, edit, edit some more, read some more again, write some more again, edit some more again, lather, rinse, repeat until dead. It's necessary for short story authors, it's necessary for novelists, it's necessary for playwrights, it's necessary for screenplay writers. You need to know your craft and the business up one side and down the other if you expect to make it.

(This also applies to your forum posts here. This is a writer's forum, and you will be held to the tightest scrutiny for your grammar and spelling errors.)

And if you do just a smidge more research, you'll find plenty of scripts based on true stories of the AIDS pandemic that have been produced for both stage and screen, so you'll have to find the angle about what makes yours the most unique out of the rest and sell it from that point.

haha, don't start worrying yet. I'm pretty sure I said that I never sent it and that I'm thinking about it. So I'm guessing I shouldn't send a first draft. dangetttttttttttttttttt, more work.

O, and my story is about the true stories of the people that intentionally infect people with AID's and it shows the reasons why they do it and they show us how disgusting american culture is even though theyre doing something 10x worse... I look around and no movie or anything was about that.

The305itself said:

So the charlotte gusay agency wants to ready my screenplay, but it is only a first draft. It's not perfect yet.

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If she hasn't changed her ways then she won't care:

Used to work for Charlotte Gusay Literary Agency. She works from her home, as many agents do. Unpaid interns answer the phones and handle all the query mail.Charlotte seemed to get upset whenever fewer checks were being received. So, unwritten policy among the interns was to generously request sample material from authors in order to receive the accompanying $35 check. As everyone probably already knows, sample material may not be given much of a serious consideration.

Ref:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4258168&postcount=70

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Is she still asking to get paid for the honour of reading your screenplay?

Mac

Well, you've misspelled AIDS (stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), so you're off to a strong start. Not sure why you'd think it required a possessive "s" in any event.

Screenwriting is the most difficult writing field to break into of all, and they're all extremely difficult. Your work has to be both stunning and pretty much perfect, and then it has a teeny-tiny remote chance of being taken seriously. Anything less than that has no chance whatsoever.

There are hundreds of thousands of people trying to break into screenwriting, and almost none of them succeed. Your screenplay will be in 'competition' with all of those others' work. It has to stand head and shoulders and waist and even knees above them to possibly be noticed, and even if it is noticed, it's still highly unlikely that anyone will be interested.

Finally, just because you haven't seen a movie about something doesn't mean that no one else has written about the subject. Could very well be that others have done, just not in an interesting enough way to get attention.

The fact that you've asked these questions (combined with the many writing errors in your post) show that you're probably not ready yet. Sending a first draft of a screenplay to an agent would be very much like showing up for an interview for an office job wearing nothing but underwear.

Finally, there's a thread here on the Charlotte Gusay Agency. Short version: charges a reading fee, which no legitimate agency does.

She has not asked for any money yet.

Read all this stuff: http://www.kullervo.com

The305itself said:

So the charlotte gusay agency wants to ready my screenplay, but it is only a first draft. It's not perfect yet. I am thinking about putting in a note that says, "please note that this screenplay is a first draft and is open to editing". Is that a turn off to agents? YES other things to consider is that I think my story is one of a kind and I don't that there is anyone else that knows as much about the story as I do (It's inspired by true stories and it's about AIDS's) (I dont have AIDS's) ) (Just saying) (Haha). So i dont think it can be duplicated very easily. So would it be ok to add a note saying its a first draft and open editing? No, not sure what you mean by open editing. O and I dont really have time to edit it because there is a lot and my parents are getting all on my case about how I can't start college next year and it has to be right now. Take 15 minutes every night. You'll finish the edits eventually. thanks

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Please don't pay anyone anything to read your work -- especially agents.

If this is your passion, something you love, you'll find the time to make it something you're proud to represent you. Don't half ass it. You'll regret it.

Good luck!

The305itself said:

So the charlotte gusay agency wants to ready my screenplay, but it is only a first draft. It's not perfect yet. I am thinking about putting in a note that says, "please note that this screenplay is a first draft and is open to editing". Is that a turn off to agents? other things to consider is that I think my story is one of a kind and I don't that there is anyone else that knows as much about the story as I do (It's inspired by true stories and it's about AID's) (I dont have AID's) (Just saying) (Haha). So i dont think it can be duplicated very easily. So would it be ok to add a note saying its a first draft and open editing? O and I dont really have time to edit it because there is a lot and my parents are getting all on my case about how I can't start college next year and it has to be right now. thanks

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Flat out reality check - you're not ready. You're not ready and your work isn't ready.

1 - only writers with NOOB written across their forheads submit 1st drafts.

2 - add the note, and NOOB starts flashing in pink and green neon.

3 - your story isn't one of a kind. Forget that idea right now. (If nothing else, just accept that Law and Order will have done an episode similar to it - which they have, btw.)

4 - Learn to spell the subject of your MS correctly. AIDS =/= AID's. One is a disease, the other is the possession belonging to someone in a helper position.

5 - If you feel the need to pair "haha" with any mention of a devastating disease simply for the fact that you don't have it - grow up. It's not easy to trip my offense meter, but you're close.

6 - If you feel that your unedited work is ready for the marketplace because you don't have time to bother with it - grow up. No one in a professional capacity is going to have time for it, either.

7 - "Right now", in publishing or production terms, means "sometimes in the next few years to never."

These people are right. And don't equate youth with immaturity in the writing world. Brilliant writers are found at any age, and so are newbies. I was a newbie at 47 years old and rushed my first novel. I should have spent years perfecting my craft, but I didn't.

Publishing and the entertainment world crawl at a glacial pace. You have plenty of time. Spend your free time between classes to go over your script. Comb through reputable online writing communities (like this one) and lastly, develop that thick skin.

Don't be discouraged. If you really have a passion for the craft, you'll probably get there. I say probably because even the most passionate never make it in the business. Good luck.

The305itself said:

So the charlotte gusay agency wants to ready my screenplay, but it is only a first draft. It's not perfect yet. I am thinking about putting in a note that says, "please note that this screenplay is a first draft and is open to editing". Is that a turn off to agents? other things to consider is that I think my story is one of a kind and I don't that there is anyone else that knows as much about the story as I do (It's inspired by true stories and it's about AID's) (I dont have AID's) (Just saying) (Haha). So i dont think it can be duplicated very easily. So would it be ok to add a note saying its a first draft and open editing? O and I dont really have time to edit it because there is a lot and my parents are getting all on my case about how I can't start college next year and it has to be right now. thanks

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Dude, you have 10 years hard work ahead of you before you're a contender. Man up and deal with it.

ok, so dont send first draft, got it. I'm always immature on the internet, sorry bout it.

The305itself said:

I'm always immature on the internet, sorry bout it.

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If you want to hang out where professional folks do, such as here, you might want to do something about that. It doesn't serve your best interests.

I have had a full request with no mention of any fee. I think she may have stopped doing this and I think people should stop slamming her. She has a great track record of sales, with publishers such as Penguin, Simon & Schuster, St Martin's Press, and her latest deal was June 2012, so she's still going strong.

And these sales to Penguin, Simon and Schuster, etc. would be?

Is anyone missing a sock?

Hi. just received a full request (by snail mail) with a request for $35.00! she notes that it's not a 'reading fee' but ' processing fee'. just wanted to give you all a heads up. it goes without saying, that letter went in the recycling!

The agency has been doing this at least since 1998. I suspect it's a major secondary income stream (Gusay does have real sales).

- Victoria

FYI... I recently sent The Charlotte Gusay agency a query and promptly received an email stating they'd like to read more of my MS and will be sending me a submission "packet". (I know- suspect from the start when all an agent requires to consider representing an author is to be emailed more of their material.) I just received the "packet" in the mail and sure enough the bad press is still all true- they requested their infamous $35.00 "processing fee". I can't believe it, with all the blogs and posts and the many legitimate agents who actually address these sorts of "fees" on their submissions pages warning aspiring writers to watch out for such practices... Its a scam to make additional income from writers who are desperate for anyone to take interest in their work. They have relatively few sales, (nothing too noteworthy), though saying they have "made sales" is not what makes a legitimate agency. Legitimate business practice is what make an agency legit. And the way they compare her as "the Diane Keaton" of agents is pathetic! Seriously?? Its an obvious ploy to warm wary newbies to her "individual" manner of business. Stay far away.

Submit check for $35. See Gusay go silent. Save your money.

You can do better.

Charlotte Gusay Agency

Has anyone had any dealings with the Charlotee Gusay Agency in Los Angeles?
An agent from this agency, Ann Proust, just requested a script of mine and a few things about the submission paperwork sent up a red flag for me.

First is the fact that they charge a "processing fee" (they say it is to provide a stipend for their "agent mentoring program", and they emphatically state that it is not a reading fee). Second is that the submission paperwork they sent me is wrought with mechanical errors (parenthetical sentence-ending punctation, non-capitalized words at the beginning of a sentence, and lots of awkward phrasing.). And, finally, they insist on writers not sending metered (I'm assuming that means delivery confirmation) mail. They suggest writers enclose a self-address post-card if we want confirmation of delivery.

I'd hate to miss an opportunity, but this is giving me a bad feeling here.

Anyone have any insight?

There's a thread about them here:

<snipped>

Yeeeesh!

Yikes!...


Many thanks, man!

So... I will not be sending them my submission...

Yeeeeesh!

You have to wonder if that roster of published works they have is all B.S.

Apparently, someone got through and obtained publication through them... you have to wonder if perhaps they weren't reputable at one point in time, but have since been taken over by charlatans...

Interesting.

Well, disappointing, but at least I saved myself some money and a ton of aggravation...

Writer's Digest Conf.

I find it odd Charlotte Gusay is one of the agents listed for their pitch session. I hadn't heard of her before so I checked on here. I'm not going to the conference but thought others should know.