I’ve asked a tv agent at a top tier agency some questions for aspiring writers. Check out the great answers below:
Q. What’s the number one quality you look for in new writing talent?
A. Great writing. It’s really simple. Talent on the page.
Q: Where and how do you usually find new clients?
A: A lot of times, it’s through referrals. Or sometimes I’ll watch one or two movies a week, and regardless of whether it’s a small Indie film or it’s a big movie, if I was interested by it, I pay attention to who wrote it.
Q: What’s the best way a writer can make himself stand out in order to get representation?
A: Honestly, I think this business is really about who you know. And I’m not saying the new writer has to know somebody. Let me put it this way, writers who have people to recommend them, prove that they have a sense of the industry. Writers who have worked with people before or have sought out these relationships, like getting a mentor or working for a show runner, show that they’re aware that this isn’t a solitary business.
For example, I have a client who was a book author, and he reached out to a major writer randomly, just because he’s from the same area and grew up in the urban area where this writer grew up. He reached out to him blindly and said, “I’m a fan.” And just that prodigiousness that he would even do that, that savvy, caught my eye.
Q: What’s the number one mistake you’ve seen your clients make?
A: Number one mistake? Not taking direction. Well, let me rewind. Agents only get paid, if we’re talking brass tacks, when the writer gets paid. That’s why it’s very much a partnership. So, a lot of the advice or guidance or direction that comes from representatives is meant to be instructive and mutually benefiting. I find that most writers do take direction while they’re open to it, so I have not run into that myself but I know it happens.
Another thing that I think writers make a mistake of is not writing to their strengths. They think that, “Oh, this is what I need to write, because this is what’s selling,” but I’ve noticed that the scripts that sell, whether it’s a feature or a TV show, is always something that the buyers have found a connection to.
So, the point is, follow passion and follow interest. Don’t just write the big superhero movie because you think that’s what’s selling. The studios have writers for that.
Q: How has the Internet changed representation? And what does that mean for aspiring screenwriters?
A: It’s funny you bring that up. I’m very interested in signing this particular writer who’s represented at another agency. And a couple years ago, before the proliferation of content on the Internet, I was able to find all of this material that this writer wrote, without even having met her.
Normally, you can find work on more widely-recognized writers, but I found material on this writer who I’m even now more immersed in, just because I found all of her material online. She writes a blog, her short story was posted online. So, for me, the Internet has been more helpful.
Also, writers can publish their material online, whether it’s through a blog or whether it’s through a site that is a designated community of writers. And writer/performers can put their shorts online. For example, I have a client who writes, directs, and performs in sketches online. And now, if it’s good, I send it out everywhere. So, that’s actually very helpful in terms of dispensing work, once they’re represented.
Q: How important is education in a resume? How much weight does a film degree hold?
A: Honestly, not at all. To me, as a representative, it shows that they probably have a basic knowledge of film history and maybe some film jargon. That’s it. Beyond that, I’ve never found a clear distinction between having gone to film school and being a talented successful writer/director/producer.
Now, it’s not to say that they’re mutually non-exclusive. I can argue it both ways. The ones who do go to film school, they have built up relationships, and so they have connections. And so, it’s an easier start for them, oftentimes. They have connections, so they reach out to their film school buddies and their mentors, and there’s more of a network to get in.
Once you’re in, though, you’re kind of in. I think that for the other side, a lot of times, if somebody can’t afford to go to film school or they had another career or they use that time doing other things, it enriches their writing, because they’ve had different personal experiences.
Q. In your opinion, what’s the best place to network? And what kind of connections are the most valuable?
A: Writer-to-writer. Always. Writers challenge each other, and they’re also competitive. So, they’re always hearing (about other jobs), and it’s also community. Writers hire each other in television, too. So, in television, I found that writer-to-writer is very, very important. In film, I’ve actually found writer-to-producer is very important. And writer-to-director…
Q: And where can writers go to find these people?
A: That’s a good question. I think, in the television community, maybe a new writer starts off as a writer’s assistant and, you know, gets to know that writer’s room of 10 to 15 writers.
They get to know the network and the studio, to that point of view. If you’re not in a position where you can get that writer’s assistant job, then I think that maybe film school can help, but I don’t know if it’s worth that tuition, at the end of the day, just for those networking abilities.
Maybe find them online, blindly reach out to them. I had absolutely no connections to the entertainment industry, whatsoever, in terms of becoming an agent. I had not one single connection. I didn’t even know anybody who worked in entertainment. The closest I had was actually seeing them on the screen.
But, you figure it out. Frankly, I don’t know. Maybe reach out to certain authors. Also, by the way, with Facebook and the Internet, you can reach out to these people.
If you’re a fan of somebody’s show, as a young writer, you can now reach out to that person. I also get a lot of queries on Facebook that I end up disregarding because I think they’re very random. I’ll tell you this. I will pay attention to the random, specific, eloquently or, sometimes, interestingly-written query letter, just because.
Because, they took the time and creativity to actually make it special, to me, so I end up paying attention. There are always the typical form letters, but sometimes I’ll pay attention. Or if it’s a link to a short sketch, if I have a couple minutes, I’ll check it out.
Q: What’s the best way to get an agent, then? A query letter? A referral?
A: Not a query letter. That’s very rare. I would say when I was first starting out as an agent I paid attention to everything. I did pay attention to more query letters, even though, when you’re in a larger agency, you’re not supposed to.
It’s actually that we’re not allowed to take any blind submissions. I think, in the beginning, if you’re a newer writer looking for a younger agent, I think there’s just more in-roads because they’re also looking to build their client list and move forward.
Now that I’ve been doing it for several years, it usually goes by referrals. By the way though, that referral can come through my mom. My mom still pitches me writers. Like, “My friend’s daughter has this”, and I’ll read it, you know? But, it’s always by recommendations.
Q: What kinds of pieces do you look for in a portfolio? What would you like to see?
A: Original material. Always. Always, always, original material, when you’re in a larger agency, the business is not just to staff somebody. It’s to grow a career and grow a show runner or a show creator or a film writer. So, I always look for original material. The spec episode of a show is helpful, as a means to an end to try to get that writer staffed. But, if I’m blown away by their original material, whether it’s a short story or if it’s a screenplay or it’s a pilot, that’s what impresses me. Always original material.
Q: What are the big trends you see happening in TV?
A: Well, it’s all over the headlines now is just that there’s a renaissance of comedy. And not just comedy, female comedy. So, I think that those female voices are definitely being heard. Also, a lot of women watch TV, in terms of how the Nielsen ratings are skewed. It appears, based on the research, that a lot of women are watching television. So, I think that those shows cater to those audiences.
The thing is though, I’ve always noticed that whenever something becomes a hit, that’s no longer the time to do those same kind of shows. Like when “Lost” hit, when “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Desperate Housewives” hit, everybody tried to duplicate those. At that time, those are now the benchmark. It’s too late to copycat them.
My point in saying that is not to, then, have younger writers who are hearing this or reading this, write female skewing comedies, necessarily. If that’s what speaks to you, go do it. But, it’s not meant to be a reactionary thing.
Q: Say a writer becomes your client. Now what? How do you find them their first gig in TV?
A: It depends. If I start working with a writer who has started off on the feature side, they’ll usually end up developing (tv). They’ll sell shows, and we’ll put them together with a producer, based on original ideas that they have. Or maybe they have profile on the feature side, so, now, producers are pitching them ideas, and networks want to be in business with them because they have a certain level of profile.
If they’re brand new writers or if they’re coming in from the television side, then they’ll usually end up staffing first, unless they have a spec pilot that’s so unique that we can sell it. But, first-time, very young new writers usually start staffing, then kind of learn the ropes.
Q: If you have just one piece of advice to young writers, what would it be?
A: I think that writing in television is very communal. So, I think, a lot of times, young writers make a mistake of, “I’ll just build the right relationships, and write what I can.” A lot of it is based on their writing on the page and their talent on the page. But, because it’s such a communal act, you have to also be personable. Again, writers hire one another. You have to be able to withstand being in a room with other writers for 12 hours a day. And that takes a certain kind of personality to make it through to the next show.
Because the reality is, most new shows don’t end up coming back. The majority don’t end up coming back. So, you’re moving from show to show to show, and how do you get hired over and over? Writer recommendations and referrals. Like, “I work with that guy. I think he’s great. Not just on the page, he’s great at pitching ideas. But, I also like hanging out with him.” If you can bear hanging out with him for 12 hours, I think that’s also crucial.
I wish it were just a meritocracy, where it’s all on the page. I think that’s maybe a little bit more on the feature side of things, because it’s more solitary. And television is very much who you are as a person as much as what is on the page.
