Three ways to get a literary agent ... and a few thoughts on screenwriting competitions

Why exactly three ways, you may wonder. Simple - that's the number of agents I've had (and I'm still with number three) and so those are the experiences I can share - they've certainly worked for me!

First off - do you need an agent? The answer is a clear yes - good agents help in so many ways. Does the agent need you? Absolutely not. If they’re any good, they’ll have a roster of busy clients and they won’t be looking for more clients to make their own lives even more hectic. So you’re up against some serious odds - what can you do?

US: As a fresh writer in New York, I just wrote the heck out of every piece of paper I could find. Then I got friends to read the stuff, then I started entering the scripts in script competitions all over the US (more about competitions below). I got some quarter-, semi-, and finalist results. When I reached the semi-finals in one of the most prestigious competitions - the Nicholl Fellowships - I jumped at the opportunity. I copied the letter probably a hundred times and walked it to every lit agency in New York.

Most didn’t even look at it, a few showed some interest, wanting to read the script. One of those then invited me in, asked for another script, then signed me exclusively. Basically, I had nothing other than some spec scripts, a fluffy letter and a lot of positive attitude. So, whether it’s a Nicholl Fellowship letter or something else - use what’s at your disposal, do the leg work, believe in yourself and keeping banging down those doors with a big smile on your face.

Germany: When I moved to Europe I quickly figured out that I actually did not need an agent in Germany. The system was different, production companies and networks were far more approachable. I immersed myself in the industry, met directors, producers, networked the heck out of everything and everyone I could. I got my first network gig without representation, then decided to get an agent with my first contract already under my belt.

The agent signed me in the knowledge that I already was a produced writer. Why did I get that agent - and why should you? Because they do know the fine print and the loop holes. He was able to always get me the better deal. With a good agent, negotiating contract numbers automatically start higher. He was even able to re-negotiate that first contract to ensure I wasn’t missing out on anything. So yes, he got his percentages - and I got more than I would have without him - simple win-win.

UK: I eventually decided to switch agents, not because I was unhappy with my German agent, but because I wanted to shift my career back to the international market. I looked around and researched. I then signed up for a pitching seminar where the agent I wanted was running the show. I prepared as best I possibly could.  I planned every move, every question, every possible answer. I endlessly rehearsed my pitches for the seminar and finally went there, relaxed in the knowledge that I was prepared. 

I didn’t push, I simply did my best to be professional. At the end of the seminar I did nothing but ask if he might be willing to look at the one-pagers of my spec scripts. After reading those he requested to read a few of my scripts and then signed me because of everything he had seen from me, my preparedness, my pitches, my attitude and yes, of course, my writing. All put together he had a fairly good sense that I would not be wasting his time.

So yes, in some countries you can get by without an agent. Would I advise it?  Never in a million years. 

Screenwriting is a fantastic world to be in - and it’s one heck of a tough one. Dealing with deadlines, script notes, producers, networks, directors and actors is quite enough. A good agent will sometimes get you work, always get you the best deal, shield you from hassles you don’t need and will always be on your side.

About screenwriting competitions

A very knowledgeable writer once wrote that screenwriting competitions are like lotteries. Absolutely true - many pay for an entry fee, and from those fees the organizers eventually pay a winner ‘a prize’. Some of those prizes consist of nothing more than a bit of money; some promise - but don’t deliver on - exposure; some open doors to people who actually make films happen; and some - the few and best, take you into a fellowship mode where you really are both paid and mentored). He argued that you’re better off saving your money and to keep sending query letters to agents instead - I see it bit more positively.

As I’ve recounted above, entering competitions can be valuable - it certainly was for me. The goal of any screenwriter is to see his/her story on the silver screen. If you want your screenplays to be bought, your stories to be produced - then tackle the people that make movies, production companies, networks, studios. But when you’re starting out, you don’t know those people and they have no interest in getting to know you.

As a fresh writer, I wasn’t exactly convinced that my talent was up to scratch, that I had what it took to make it in the mad world of film. Screenwriting competitions were valuable to me at the time because they charged me, they pushed me - and, when I qualified for quarters and semis and finalist places - they made me feel good. Is that feeling worth spending entry fee upon entry fee? Well, it can be. When we, as human beings, feel appreciated and recognized, it most certainly affects us positively.

I entered several different competitions with my first four spec scripts. As a beginner I had no way of knowing whether those scripts were any good - and I had no access to anyone in the film industry. Friends liked my writing - but I craved professional input. When I received the first qualifying letters from competitions - they were like beacons to me. They signaled that I really was onto something. That, all by itself, made me push myself all the harder. On to the next script, the next deadline, write, write, write.

On that note, though - if your scripts never make it to quarter/semi/finals stages, that can also be seen as valuable. Not that it’s supposed to make you stop writing. If you love writing, you just-won’t-stop, ever. But if you feel like you’ve been wasting your time and that no one appreciates your talent and the lack of recognition makes you stop, well then that’s a positive in my book, too. Do something else then, if writing no longer makes you happy, then do more of whatever else that makes you happy!

My most tangible benefit was getting signed by an excellent agency, a door that had opened on the strength of a competition entry. I’d argue that it likely wouldn’t have happened, had I not pushed myself - with the nudges of those competition deadlines - to keep writing, to keep rewriting, to keep building that muscle, to learn and learn and hone my craft to the point where I knew I would be able to swim in the treacherous oceans of ‘the biz’.

There you have it - if you think screenwriting competitions will lead to your brilliant script getting made - forget it. Ain’t gonna happen. But if you’re just starting out, if you want to gauge what others think of your writing (whoever they may be behind those contests and yes, there are some very good and some utterly useless ones - do the research!), if you want to make useful connections - well then some of the good screenwriting competitions just may be worth your time.