How to leave an agent
I currently have a lit agent and a manager, both from boutique companies. I’ve been with them both for about three years. I like them a lot personally, but as I look back over the years, they have not produced a lot of results.
I have a feature script that won two writing competitions (one major), a drama serial pilot and a drama procedural pilot and am currently working on a thriller. The feature was optioned for a year, but nothing came of it. It’s about to be optioned again, both are for very little money from very small companies.
But they never seem to send my stuff out. I’ve only had one meeting of significance in the past three years that my agent got for me. Not one from my manager.
They are always very circumspect about exactly WHO is reading my material. And I always get the impression it’s because they are not sending it out. They say they love my writing, so why do they sit on it?
I think perhaps their strengths as representatives might not fit what I am writing. Their contacts and relationships aren’t of much value to me. But would they ever admit that?
If I decide to move on from one or both, what is the protocol?
In this climate, I’d rather not drop one of them before I have new representation. But it feels like bad form to give my material to people on the sly without them knowing, to see if there’s interest. But if I drop them before I know there’s interest, and I have trouble…I would have been better off keeping them and trying to work on it.
I feel like I’m stuck. Any advice?
– Raymond
Hermosa Beach
At this stage in your fledgling career, the job of both your agent and your manager is to put your work in the hands of people who might like it, then get you into rooms to meet with them. They can’t get you a job, or guarantee a sale. All they can do is help you make connections.
And they’re not doing it. So it’s time to change.
For readers new to this, a boutique agency is one with a relatively small group of agents and clients. Boutiques can be great, especially for writers and filmmakers with a very distinct sensibility that requires more careful positioning.1 Because of the small size, you’re not going to be competing with your own agency’s clients for jobs. The downside is that a boutique agency isn’t going to have all the resources and information that a major agency would have.
My first agent was at a boutique; his name was on the door. He sent me out on dozens of meetings with the right level of junior executives — including Dan Jinks, who would ultimately produce Big Fish and The Nines. Everyone I met with loved my agent. My first two writing assignments were landed through my own contacts, but he made the deals and stood up for me. He was a good agent.
Unfortunately, our tastes didn’t really jibe. I wanted to write big Hollywood movies, while most of his clients worked on the (admittedly fascinating) periphery. Reading an early draft of Go, he didn’t see it as a movie. And I knew it was time to go.
It’s time to see other people
Leaving an agent is breaking up. You’re telling someone who has been a friend and colleague that you believe someone else could do the job better. It’s going to hurt. Rip the Band-Aid off and deal with the sting.
Since you have both an agent and a manager, pick the one you think is the better fit and talk to him about your frustrations. If he has a list of ideas, consider them. If he tells you to keep things how they are, well, you need to leave him, too. It’s not working. Sticking around isn’t going to improve it.
Now is also the time to talk with trusted friends and colleagues about where you should go. The producers who just optioned your script may have opinions and recommendations. They might make some phone calls on your behalf.
Write something new and great
You’ll be in a better position to sign a new agent or manager if you have something new to put in their hands. They’ll want to send out material no one has seen, so the thriller might be the thing. It needs to be great, better than the script that won you the awards.
Agents want clients who work. That’s why the biggest change shouldn’t be who is representing you, but how you’re representing yourself. As you take meetings, make them understand that you will work your ass off to land assignments, then work five times harder to deliver. Say it and mean it. Novelists can be hermetic artistes. Screenwriters have to be hunters, hucksters and hostage negotiators.
You don’t necessarily need to be at a bigger agency, though they’re often better equipped to handle both the TV and feature sides of your career. You’re wise to pursue both at full speed, by the way. Many writers ping-pong back and forth between the mediums.
Your question illustrates why most aspiring writers’ perception of the industry — if I could only get an agent, then… — is so naïve. Even with an agent, a manager and some acclaim, you’ve had a tough time moving from a spark of potential to an actual career.
Switching to new representation will only be an incremental improvement. The hard work will be capitalizing on their enthusiasm to make connections, set up projects, and write movies that get made.
- In trying to think of examples of quirky filmmakers, I looked up Harmony Korine and Todd Solondz. It turns out they’re both at a giant agency, WME. But I stand by my general case. ↩
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March 25th, 2010 at 11:57 am
An excellent post, John, but frustrating too… if Raymond – who has representation, a fair number of scripts under his belt, and who has won a major screenwriting competition – can’t get meetings, what hope is there for the rest of us? I don’t have an agent (or manager, for that matter), and just getting an agency to consider my script for possible representation seems an impossible feat. While I live in L.A. and grew up around the business, I still lack the magical industry connection that might get my script through the door. Querying the agencies has proven a waste of time.
Getting back to Raymond, I’m curious how he became involved with his so-called manager. As I understand it, a manager is primarily concerned with shaping his client’s career, and if this person’s efforts produced not one tangible benefit in three years, how could he or she be said to be “managing” anything? If Raymond had made a sale through his own efforts, would his “manager” still be entitled to a portion of the proceeds?
Anyway, thanks again for the excellent post (one of many).
March 25th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Excellent post.
March 25th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
@Ian:
Maybe Raymond will write in with his backstory on the agent/manager, but my hunch is that his initial contacts were made through the competitions he won.
Yes, your agent and manager take their cut whether they get you the work or not. I don’t think these guys were speculating, signing a bunch of writers in the hopes that one of them might become something. But they weren’t able to connect what seemed like promise and potential with buyers/employers.
March 25th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
It’s possible that Harmony Korine and Todd Solondz make a pile of money doing something other than directing features, e.g. directing commercials. That can be the only reason I can think of that they’re still at WME, post-merger. There’s really no place for “quirky” filmmakers at industrial-sized agencies like WME or CAA.
March 25th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
John;
I’m always curious to hear screen writer’s stories. How did you get that first agent and how did you land those first two writing assignments?
March 25th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
@ Ian,
I got my first agent based on referrals from a handful of producers and one contact at Sundance. I met the producer who introduced me to the agent who I signed with — and who got me great meetings, including three that led to writing assignments — through an extras casting director who went to college with a struggling actress who was a childhood friend of someone I went to college with. I share all that to say that it’s worth trying everything and everyone since you just never know. There’s an element of luck involved, sort of like finding the right spouse, and you also need a lot of hustle since your career will ultimately built and sustained on the strength of the relationships that YOU build, with or without your agent’s help.
March 25th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
Great advice on a difficult subject, John.
My only comment is this: “Novelists can be hermetic artistes” = not really true anymore. Nowadays, most novelists (new ones, that is) have to be their own editors and marketers (and probably publicists) too. We have to get out there and advocate for ourselves, because there are too many voices trying to be heard.
I do think Hollywood is even harder to break into than Publishing, but especially given all that you’ve said in this post, I can see a lot of similarities. So many aspiring writers think “if only I had an agent…” too (myself included sometimes) but the truth is, agents guarantee nothing. (Unfortunately. :P)
March 25th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Brilliant.- Solid. – SPLASH! – 10!
(I think people should learn the term Fair Wether Agent and carry it around with them like a club. Dropping it on the table so its anything but a taboo in the room. If you fear losing someone who amounts to zero benefit, “because you dont wanna lose their connections” hahaha… or worse, you cant even discuss with them the fact that theyre a zero benefit even though both of you know it… Youre not getting married. – You never even had a relationship. – In fact… you may as well just make them a turkey pot pie when they get home :) — for examples of how to flee this relationship, see: ANY LIFETIME MOVIE :)
March 25th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
There is cerainly a place for quirky clients at a large agency — they bring an element of prestige and potential packaging when big stars want to do a smaller movie. John is right: too much emphasis is placed on agents. You have to remember that in this environment many clients at many big places are unemployed.
March 26th, 2010 at 7:48 am
I’m going through the exact same situation and have the same questions. I even thought, crap, was I sleep-emailing again? Anyway, one part of the question remains unanswered, unless I missed it. Should he dump his current reps first, or start the query process behind their backs before leaving them? That’s the question I’m struggling with and it seems this guy is too. I didn’t see an answer to that, but maybe I missed it? Thanks, great article!
March 26th, 2010 at 9:23 am
@ Tick,
I defer to John, but I will say from experience that if you’re asking people who have relationships with your agent to make new agent referrals, some will feel fine about making the referral and others will want to be sure that the first agent knows you’re making the change before they make referrals on your behalf. That said, it may still be poor form, though, again, I defer to John on that…
March 26th, 2010 at 9:29 am
That wasn’t my question. But thanks :)
March 26th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Wait…Harmony Korine is repped by WME? That’s incredibly bizarre. has he ever made any money for anyone after the age of 20?
March 26th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
I mean, Solondz I get. He writes actor’s pieces with great monologues and deep, meaty roles that big name actors occasionally like to do to stretch their muscles.
But Korine?
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Harmony Korine. Gummo is a wonderful freak out of a movie. I even own a copy of “Crack Up at the Race Riots” and a DVD import of “Ken Park.” But Korine’s movies are all about Korine. His weirdness and outsider-ness is the star of all of his work. Hell, did that musical about people with down syndrome he just did even get any type of US distribution?
March 26th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
@hunter: WME has an independent packaging division. Korine requires very little servicing outside his own features, which tend to attract interesting actors.
March 26th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
“In this climate, I’d rather not drop one of them before I have new representation.”
I hear this all the time from people who are thinking of leaving their reps, and I truly believe that we all need to flip the script on this one.
Four years ago, I was unhappy with my manager. He was a nice enough guy, but I was shooting for the stars, and felt like I was partnered up with a “can’t-do” person. The thought of being unrepresented terrified me, but the thought of remaining attached to this negative energy was unacceptable.
I don’t like firing people but I did it. I knew that he could not help me get where I needed to go. I had faith that there was better representation out there for me somewhere. The fact that my next rep was not directly in front of me at that moment didn’t make a difference.
A lot of people use the metaphor of swinging from vines. They say you should not let go of the vine you’re holding until the next one is within your reach. But an unwanted representative is more like a weight you carry around. It causes you to hunch and look down at the ground. Only once you’ve thrown off that weight, will you be able to look up and see all the better options that are available. As long as you keep carrying that weight, you’re telling the world, “I’ll settle for less.”
After firing my manager, I spent the next year without any representation, and in that time I got one of my feature films made, attached a director I love to one of my scripts, and developed the project that would land me a studio option and my next manager — who was absolutely the one I wanted.
I understand why people are afraid to drop their reps, even when the relationship isn’t working. But “afraid” is the key word, and that’s not the way to get things done… in any climate.
I wish you the best with your decision, Raymond!
March 29th, 2010 at 11:26 pm
However not useful the team is, isn’t it better to say “I have an agent/manager” to a prospective producer than nothing? Even if you don’t use them, Raymond, do you think having them around is dragging you down too?
April 4th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Great post, John. Every word was right on.
I just parted ways with the agent that I’ve been with for 12 years. It was long overdue — On Loveline, Adam Carolla once said that on average, your first real relationship takes about 18 months too long to end, and I think that’s true with agents too. It should have ended years ago.
But c’est la vie.
This is probably an especially hot topic right now because there is less work out there now than there has been. So having the right agent is especially crucial. And sometimes, you just need to shake things up to give yourself a reason to kick some ass.
April 19th, 2010 at 11:37 am
Latecomer to the discussion, but must have an answer:
If I’ve been tweaking a script to a manager’s suggestions (and I haven’t actually signed a contract yet) can I go to another manager with the same script?