THREAD: Saw some tweets about how difficult it is for writers to do due diligence on potential agents & managers. So I thought that I'd lay out, in my opinion, the ways that writers can do due diligence on potential representatives. 1/

....and here's the obligatory Parental Advisory: These are simply my opinions; Your Mileage May Vary; This advice is freely given and may be freely ignored; As @jelenawoehr puts it: "if it don't apply let if fly." 2/

(Oh, and speaking of @jelenawoehr, be sure to check this out: https://bit.ly/RetroSorkin ) 3/

The most effective due diligence you can do is simply asking thorough questions of potential reps when you talk with them. Ask early and ask often.

I'd recommend writing down a list of questions BEFORE your meeting and having it in front of you when you meet. 4/

What are some questions you could ask? You could ask them what their vision for your career is. Ask how they see the next year going and the years after that.

They should have specific goals for the first year and a sense of where your career (hopefully) goes after that. 5/

If their first move is taking out a feature script that you've already written, you could ask them specifics about strategy for that. What producers would they go to? If it's trying to get you staffed on a TV show, you could ask them what shows they'd get your work to. 6/

You could ask them if they have another client who's had success with a strategy akin to the one they're using for you. If so, get the details on how that client's career proceeded, step by step. 7/

If they're a manager, you could ask them what their policy is on producing their client's projects. I'd recommend getting clarity on that early on, so there aren't any surprises down the road. 8/

You could ask them how involved they like to be in developing new material. Do they like to discuss the concepts for scripts before they're written? Do they like to read outlines? At what point do they like to get involved? 9/

You should also ask YOURSELF what level of development you're interested in. If you don't want to develop closely with a rep, don't sign with a rep who prefers to closely develop. It'll only end badly. 10/

To that end, you may ask -- "How do I know who prefers to closely develop?"

Obviously, one way is to ASK the rep during a meeting with them.

But another way, prior to any meeting, is to do as much research as possible. 11/

How can you do research? Well, check out @ScriptsScribes podcasts for interviews with tons of reps. Check out interviews with reps on websites like @finaldraftinc, @CreativeScreen, and others. 12/

A number of reps (like myself) are on Twitter. You can ask us here and/or look through threads we've written to see how we like to operate. 13/

The reality is, every rep has their own operating style. Even reps at the same company. Like writers, every rep has their own particular way of doing things. 14/

Another way to get clarity on how reps operate is a pretty obvious one -- ask their clients.

To be clear, only take this step if you're ALREADY talking to the rep. Otherwise, it will be seen as presumptive by the client (and the rep who'll likely hear about it.) 15/

After meeting with the rep, you can ask the rep to introduce you to a client who could answer some of your questions. I've done this before with potential clients who've asked. 16/

You could also reach out to some of their clients via social media. Look up the rep's client list on their website or on @imdbpro.

Then check (most likely via FB) to see if you have any mutual friends who could introduce you to the existing client. 17/

If you don't have any connections to anyone, you can also ask them directly on social media -- ideally as privately as possible. 18/

One thing to consider -- there is a VERY high likelihood that the client will let the rep know that you reached out to them. In part, to confirm that the rep is actually talking to you and that this isn't a waste of the client's time. 19/

Just to clarify a second time -- DO NOT reach out to clients of a rep unless you're already speaking with that rep about working together.

Otherwise, it can come off to the client as presumptive... as well as their rep. 20/

I personally wouldn't say that writers ALWAYS need to speak to the clients of potential reps.

But it's something you CAN do if you've done everything else (researched, asked the rep a long list of direct questions) and are still uncertain about moving forward with that rep. 21/

Do whatever you need to do to make yourself feel comfortable in the decision you make. 22/

Hope that's helpful to everyone! Let me know if you have any questions I didn't answer. END