THREAD: As @jasonmarkarian noted when I recently asked for thread ideas, a lot of focus is put on finding a rep... but what should expect after you sign with one? So that's what this thread is going look at, from the POV of a literary manager (since that's what I do) 1/

Obligatory Parental Advisory Tweet: These are simply my opinions; Your Mileage May Vary; This advice is freely given and may be freely ignored. 2/

When I've started working with a new client, the initial goal is always the same: getting great material that represents their voice out into the marketplace so that people can be aware of them. (NOTE: I'm going to focus on features for this, but the TV process is similar.) 3/

That material may be the current draft of the script that I signed them off; it may be that the script needs a fair amount of work to get it ready to be taken out widely; or it may require coming up with a completely new piece of material that best demonstrates who they are. 4/

In all of these cases, I will have laid out what my gameplan would be from our initial meeting. So this plan won't be a surprise to the client -- they will have signed on totally aware of it. It's something we've all agreed on and understand. 5/

If the plan is to do more work on their current script, then we'll spend our time doing that. Usually with an aim at taking the script out (generally) by a certain date. 6/

If the plan is to develop something brand new that best showcases their voice, then we'll start by discussing their ideas until we land on something that we're both excited to move forward on. Then we develop that concept into a script. 7/

In any case, once we have the material in hand that fits the gameplan we've discussed, it's time to take the material out to the town. That leads to the next question: Is this material we feel can sell? Or is it simply material that can bring attention to the client? 8/

In other words, is this a script that feels commercial and saleable? Or it simply something buzzy (but difficult to sell) that will hopefully lead to lots of meetings and attention around town? 9/

I don't need to enumerate why having something saleable is useful -- I'm sure people understand that agents & executives will most often want to read things that they feel can sell to buyers and get made. That's the BEST kind of material to have. 10/

But having something buzzy and intriguing? Well, that can still be really helpful for a writer's career. Agents may read it and feel like it's the kind of noisy sample that executives will want to read and could lead to potential assignment work down the road. 11/

Executives are ideally looking for commercial material, but they're also tired of reading the same sorts of scripts over and over. If you bring them something novel and different -- something that is a joy to read -- then that's a script they'll be excited to check out. 12/

They want to be aware of writers who think differently -- because those writers may be able to find a new way into a familiar assignment they have. They'll read the script and want to meet the writer. Then, ideally, bring ideas, OWAs, and potential adaptations to the writer. 13/

The reason I bring all this up? Because you take different pieces of material out into the town very differently. 14/

If something is saleable, you'll want to focus on making it feel exclusive, only taking it to the exact people who make those sorts of films. Concentrate on a small, elite circle of producers who will add value to the project if they come on board. 15/

Whereas, with a script that's more of a buzzy writing sample, you'll want to go EXTREMELY WIDE with the script. Take it to 50, 60, 70+ execs... 16/

Part of the reason for this is if a script isn't commercial, then some execs simply won't get around to reading it as it's a lower priority for them. So you want to maximize your audience, knowing that there's a lower chance of being read than with a more saleable script. 17/

Ideally, in the case of the commercial script, it sells. Which leads to more attention and more people reading the script (because they want to read the script that was good enough to sell.) 18/

In either case, you'll follow up the script going out by taking a lot of general meetings. Which I've discussed here: https://twitter.com/johnzaozirny/status/1300928830895394817?s=20 19/

What you're doing with those is laying the groundwork for relationships in the industry going forward. It's doubtful those meetings will result in immediate work. But you never quite know what'll come out of them. Hopefully it's the start of some long, fruitful relationships. 20/

One thing I haven't discussed is getting an agent on board. Because it depends on the client and the script. Sometimes we'll try to get an agent on board before going out wide. Sometimes we'll leverage all the attention the script is getting from execs to get agency interest. 21/

It really depends on the situation and what the general climate in the industry is. Ideally, an agent can see the greatness in a writer early on and sign on with the career gameplan. Or sometimes they need a script to sell or get a lot of attention to give them reassurance. 22/

After all the generals, we'll take stock of where things landed and decide on what's the next course of action. Look at what worked with the script and where its success (or otherwise) has left us. Given all that happened, what's best to work on next? 23/

Either way, it's all about figuring out together what the next move in the larger career gameplan is and where to focus our energy in the weeks and months to come. 24/

Hope that was helpful and I answered @jasonmarkarian's question! Thanks to him for suggesting this thread idea! Let me know if you have any questions or things I was unclear on. END

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