It’s not easy being creative and designing brands, toys, games, stories, products and screenplays. You work on your concepts every chance you get, with no guarantee that anyone will ever see your latest masterpiece. Showing it to friends and relatives is fine but just not enough.
Getting representation in the entertainment industry should be one of your goals. If you allocate five days a week to writing, reduce it to four and dedicate one solid day a week to finding an agent or manager to advance your career. Or mail out query letters to producers, studios and broadcasters. It is what I did to successfully get represented and gain interest in the industry.
Having someone shopping your screenplays to producers, broadcasters and studios is a best case scenario. It allows you to focus on the writing, creating and meetings with producers, directors, studio/broadcasters and actors to discuss their involvement with your script and brand. You can concentrate on being a writer and put all your energy into the more enjoyable part of being a creator, the creating of stuff.
Make sure you find an agent or manager that you can work with. Don’t make the mistake of settling for the first agent or manager that shows an interest in your work unless you really get along with and relate well with them. More importantly, will they market your material to a list of their connections, producers and production companies, make submissions, follow up and help negotiate a deal? If they also help you develop and edit your work, so much the better.
It’s a two way street, so help them do their job as well. Their time and money is precious and they could be working on another person’s file, so do what ever you can to help them advance your career. Run a concept and logline by them before you put in the long hours of writing a treatment and final screenplay. They will ensure that your piece of work is ready for the outside world. Your agent/manager should be able to find real people with actual credits who will fall in love with you and your script and who fight for your projects. These representatives are really worth their ten percent commission.
The mission of getting rep’d is a logistical campaign. It’s not easy and some say it’s 80 percent of your actual effort compared to the 20 percent dedicated to the creation of your screenplay, manuscript, toy, game or other brand/product. Start by submitting to agencies that accept query letters and submissions. You can find these contacts in Canada by looking in the Reel West Digest and Canada Film Directory or in the USA by purchasing the Hollywood Creative Directory or joining an industry association and guild. Check out websites related to the industry you are in such as IMDB pro and similar sites like these. Use search engines and you will be surprised how easy it is to locate potential industry mentors.
Then the hard part starts – getting past the gatekeepers and having the chance to pitch your project to the person who can make a decision or write the check. The more personal you can become involved with these contacts you are making, the easier it will be to follow up and gain their interest in your properties and brands. Get to know them and have them get to know you, in and outside of the office.
Good luck with your search for representation and keep focused on your goal.
Sandford Tuey
info@Playdigm.com