Where have all the agents gone?

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urbanscreenwriter

How can a budding writer procure the services of a connected agent? I have been attempting that feat for years, but most if not all have this high horse sh$^* that they can't seem to get off of. How in the world do you get one? And why do they feel that they wield some might sword, when they live off of us, the writers who are the talented ones?

What am I to do?
 

kojled

usw

you've answered your own question. you ask about agents who 'feel that they wield some might sword, when they live off of us'

you also say you've been trying to get an agent for years. well, during this time, how would an agent have made money repping you? you (i take it) haven't made a dime in the industry. 10% of zero is zero, yes? therefore, an agent would have no reason to rep you.

employ some logic - it takes a great deal of work to intro a new writer to the pro community in la. plus, you're putting your reputation on the line. an agent wants to rep people who are making $$$ not wannabes.

the way to get an agent interested is by becoming a very hot writer with a bag of excellent scripts. then, what you do is this: find a way in.

this may seem circular but almost every (good) writer working in la has done something like this.

sitting in podunk with 2 and a half lousy scripts trying to get an agent to rep you is not the correct course of action


zilla
 

SimonSays

The question is not where have all the agents gone? They are still where they've always been. And it is a total fallacy that agents can't make money off new writers. They can and they do. The reason many agents won't look at work by new writers is because most of the new writers seeking representations aren't good writers.

It used to be that every waiter in LA was either an aspiring actor or writer. Most of them weren't good enough to make it, but a larger number of agents were willing to take the time to read scripts by new writers, because they would only have to wade through 20 or 30 scripts before coming across one that was good. With the advent of the internet every accountant in Boise thinks he's a screenwriter. Now agents have to go through 500 or 600 bad ones before they find a good one. With those odds, it's just not worth an agent's time to look at new writers, so fewer are willing to.

But if you do get an agent to read your work and you have talent and a script that an agent thinks he can sell, an agent WILL represent you, even if you are a new writer. Studios WILL buy spec scripts from first time writers. They don't care how experienced you are, they are buying a finished product.

And incidentally I don't know one working writer in LA (and I know many working writers in LA) who got their agents doing what Koj suggested. We got our agents the old-fashioned way - we wrote great specs and we networked. That is in fact how most good writers get agents.
 

NikeeGoddess

getting an agent is a catch-22: you have to prove yourself a guaranteed successful moneymaker before they sign you - or atleast convince them that you have the potential. you have to treat it like applying for a job. your resume must sell you and your scripts. i say scripts b/c they don't want no "one hit wonders" either. they want ongoing sales and writing assignments.

write on!
 

FJ and G

Your questions is: how to find an "agent with connections" ?

I thought all agents were connected, or supposedly so.

Anyway, when I worked in Hollywood as a technical advisor, one of the resources we had on hand was a book called the "Blu Book." In it are listed POCs with phone/emails of agents, actors, directors etc etc etc. I worked there from 92-95 and don't know if that book is still available and up to data.

Luck on your quest.
 

maestrowork

getting an agent is a catch-22: you have to prove yourself a guaranteed successful moneymaker before they sign you - or atleast convince them that you have the potential. you have to treat it like applying for a job. your resume must sell you and your scripts. i say scripts b/c they don't want no "one hit wonders" either. they want ongoing sales and writing assignments.

That's why some people publish through a small publisher first, or make a low budget (and relatively profitable) movie out of their script to get some kind of track record.
 

Writing Again

I think many are in too big a hurry to get agents and such.

So far I have not written a single script I think is "above average" though the two I'm working on, when I've time to work on them, seem average to me: Yet I've had people ask, "Do you have an agent yet?" To which I can only reply, "An agent to do what?"

I spent quite a while learning novel writing before I started submitting novels. I expect to spend a while learning screen writing.

What the hell, I eat regular, live in a comfortable home, am surrounded by a large, loving family; if I'm not an over night success I won't suffer: I will just be doing what I enjoy doing, learning what I enjoy learning.
 

SimonSays

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getting an agent is a catch-22: you have to prove yourself a guaranteed successful moneymaker before they sign you - or atleast convince them that you have the potential. you have to treat it like applying for a job. your resume must sell you and your scripts. i say scripts b/c they don't want no "one hit wonders" either. they want ongoing sales and writing assignments.
_______________________________________________________

Again, not necessarily true. You do not have to prove yourself to be a guaranteed succesful moneymaker, you have to demonstrate that you have talent. And you do not necessarily need to have several completed scripts (although it is preferred that you do so), I got my first agent after I had written one spec script, and there were 2 other agents interested in signing me off of that 1 spec script.

You don't "convince" an agent you have potential. You show them you have potential through the quality of your scripts. An agent is far more likely to sign an unproduced writer with one spec with blockbuster potential, than another writer who has 3 straight to video B-movie credits.

I'm not implying that you should turn down the B-movie offers should they come your way, I'm just saying that there are no hard and fast rules, there is no formula and the number one way to get an agent to sign you, is to write really good scripts. Then rewrite them, then rewrite them again.
 

JustinoIV

"So far I have not written a single script I think is "above average" though the two I'm working on, when I've time to work on them, seem average to me: Yet I've had people ask, "Do you have an agent yet?" To which I can only reply, "An agent to do what?"

I'd be writing for about two years before my scripts start getting attention. Whenever the writer is comfortable or ready, getting people to read your work won't be all that hard at all. And from there, you get people interested enough in deals.

I'll also say I've been a script reader. Script readers are told to focus primarily on whether or not the script has a good story. We are also supposed to rate the writing itself.

Your screenplay doesn't have to be perfect (well, nothing is). If you've got a good story, you can sell it. You or other screenwriters can rewrite as needed.

You do have to come up with strategies of getting read. Internships are one avenue to open up doors for you. Recommendations are another. Some agents will even let you send in queries.

Of course, having a proposed deal come your way does make it a lot easier.
 

urbanscreenwriter

ha ha. You know what?Ya damn right I haven't made a dime writing...but I hold on to the fact that Steven King, yup Steve himself had @35 finished books before he's sold 1. This is the one of the greatest writers of all time. He made a living writing porno for Penthouse magazine. He was told by many that his work was trash and that he would never make a dime writing. Now, these so called agents seemingly didn't know a damn thing about a good thing.

So who is to say that these agents, who either don't take time, don't have the time or aren't willing to take a risk know a good thing when they see one. I am a damn good writer--I write what I know, what I have seen and what matters to me the most. I have written 8 scripts, most screen writers have what 2 if they are lucky. I write novels, poetry, songs and short stories.

I thought about self publishing--Nah, I would rather use the time and effort that I use books out the trunk of my Whooptie writing scripts.

I write urban. You see, hip hop is not just a fad hip hop or urbanism has invaded the planet. Agents, I don't think know it yet. I am going to keep on pushing. >:
 

JustinoIV

I think people mean movies that have an African American cast when they say Urban or Hip Hop.

Yes, said movies are made. And agents do indeed rep and sell those scripts.

And agents do read scripts as they come in.

The thing is, script readers and other people who the agents know, or who are known to them, can more easily get their scripts read by the producer. Ditto for interns who work at a prodco. Or if you are friends with an agent assistant or someone who works for a producer.

Connections, and the ability to form them, are extremely important.

And if you are going to be a screenwriter, I've found that it's best that you either relocate to Los Angeles, or secondarily, New York.

There you can get jobs and internships that are essentially to moving yourself up in the proper networks.
 

captain bligh

stephen king didn't write porno. he wrote horror stories for cavalier and other men's magazines from the time he was 22 (you can find the stories in night shift). he sold his first novel when he was 26, not 35. and later two of his three earlier novels were published as bachman books.

so don't take solace in those things. they aren't true.

as for getting an agent -- it's not that difficult once you have something that shows both talent and commercial viability. you develop relationships with other writers, and if they see talent they will refer you their agents -- other writers who recognize talent and dedication and are already established are actually eager to refer you if they think you have what it takes. (it happened to me twice.) you send out query letters and if you have a good logline and a well written letter people will request the script. (out of twenty-five letters sent, i got half a dozen requests.) you have a good script that backs up the promise of your logline, so that after your reader sets the script down, they want to pick up the phone, give you a call, and meet with you. if all of those things happen, you may even have your choice of agents. i did, and i'm far from a great writer.
 
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