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I went to the Austin Film Festival thinking I’d be coming away with an agent. After my first night, I had to adjust my goals. It's not about that. No agent was there with the intent of signing anyone. Instead, I decided to learn things about agenting. There were a number of agents there to teach me. And teach me they did. Gayla is a veteran agent who has put together projects like Gerald Di Pego’s "Phenomenon." She stresses the actual role of an agent in relation to a writer -- they are hired to be ruthless in furthering your career. Don’t sign with someone you can’t get along with, but neither should you necessarily hope to be friends with him or her. It’s an agent’s job to be nasty. Do, however, expect results. An agent works for you, and not vice versa. A good agent will love (not like, LOVE) your writing, and will have a plan to further your career. But don’t think it’s all up to the agent. Go into any relationship with an agent with a long-term plan, and stick to it. And stick the agent to an agreed upon plan, too. If you aren’t getting anywhere, get a new agent. And that’s why she also says that, at the beginning of your career, it’s better to have a bad agent than no agent at all. "Do anything you can to get any agent you can," she says. "If it's not the best match at first, it can be the first step in getting better representation. It’s always good to start a letter to an agent by saying you’re looking for new representation." Gayla is leaving the agent biz and getting into management. She says there’s more satisfaction as a manager, which may tell us more about what it takes to be an agent than anything else. Mickey Freiberg: "Let me do it. I’m better at it than you are." Mickey was the featured attraction at the pitching panel at Austin, but that doesn’t mean he thinks just anybody should be allowed to do the pitching. Once you’ve got your agent, let him do the work. He knows how. And most writers don’t. We get hung up on minutia, on what we love about our projects. Story doesn’t sell a movie. Go on for ten minutes about your deeply felt love story between a sad-sack Englishman who pretends to be aristocracy to win an uppercrust American woman with a sad secret, and you’ll have to wake Mickey when you’re done. It's "Hugh and Gwyneth do Prince and the Pauper." Badda-bing, badda-boom. If more is needed, you'll know it. A good pitcher doesn't even need to get to the end (although you should never hide the ending if they want to hear it). "Shorthand" is your by-word. He’s less keen on the "any agent you can get" theory, and warned about some "bottom-feeders" (his word) who will sacrifice your career in order to further their own. He also doesn’t care for gimmickry -- he once got a million dollar check in a query letter. He called the bank to find out if it would be covered. He didn’t call the writer. Mickey is with the ACME Agency. Sean Davis: "Take an assistant to lunch." Sean is newer to the business than the previous two, but is one of the rising stars at Shapiro-Lichtman. And perhaps it’s because he’s still relatively fresh inside that door himself that he has some practical advice about getting an agent: get to know assistants- not just an agent’s right-hand, who is of course always eager to get the Next Big Thing onto the boss’s desk, but the person who answers the phones at the agency. The receptionists always know who is looking for new clients and material. These people are usually young, and always underpaid and desperately overworked. To them, a free meal is more than a kindness; it’s half a bribe. And never forget these people are ambitious. If they can attach themselves to the next hot script, it’ll help their career as well as yours. It’s always a good idea to call ahead and find out who’s looking for clients. Never send a letter without it being in the care of someone. Letters without a person’s name on them go directly to the recycling pile. But what about those of us who don’t live in Los Angeles? What can we do to get an agent? All agents queried agreed that it’s not impossible to make it as a writer from outside of Hollywood, but it’s not easy. And most agreed with Sean, the best way is to have an in with someone at an agency. Which means regular, lengthy, sometimes even unproductive trips to L.A. Food, flowers, flirtation, do whatever it takes to get close to these people. "But don’t be creepy," Gayla adds. Probably good advice in any area of life. |