Friday, January 12, 2007

Q. Is there a resource that provides lists of agents who accept unsolicited screenplays? Maybe you can provide a little more detail or refer me to a site that explains exactly what you need to do to open a dialogue with an agent if you're totally off the street?

Sure. The WGA has an online list of agents. They used to mark which agencies were willing to read "unsolicited" scripts -- an inaccurate term for "scripts from people they don't know". They don't seem to any more.

But too much is made of the term "unsolicited." The more successful an agency the less likely they'll read a script from someone who hasn't been recommended to them. But almost every agency has a young hungry agent (or an old hungry one) who will read your script if your query letter has an awesome hook. (I talk about all this at length in my first book.) The top agencies won't do it -- your first agency won't be at CAA, ICM, William Morris or Endeavor. But everyone wants to discover someone brilliant. And most agents have the time to read a two line hook. That's why your query letters must be SHORT. They will likely do it while they're on the phone, which is why your hook really has to be sharp and sharply written.

A more useful resource than the WGA list is the Hollywood Representation Directory, published by the same guys who publish the Hollywood Creative Directory. This will give you individual agents' names and eddresses. It's about $45 bucks. You can also access their database online for about twenty five bucks for a trial period; which may be all you need.

Labels: books, reading

9:59 AM

2 Comments:

I'm sorry, but isn't this called discrimination?
See my blog for more details on the "no unsolicited screenplays" term.

By  JORDANTATE, at 10:02 AM  

Hollywood Representation Directory? Alex...Alex...



Thank you, sir!
[You've just earned your pay for the week!]

By  Paul [Daniel] Asuncion, BLUE, at 10:40 PM  

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