HEY EMERGING SCREENWRITER! I finally jotted some notes down about my process of signing with an agent.

Lots of you DMed kind words about my manager thread, so I hope that sharing these steps will be fruitful for you.

If it's helpful, please RT or tag a writer! Thread below. https://twitter.com/its_willyu/status/1305873203089338370

Reminder: This is not THE way, just A way that I happened to take. Please only keep what's helpful and throw away the rest.

If you're interested in my "How to sign with a manager" thread, you can check that out here. https://twitter.com/its_willyu/status/1227703891904491520

So you know, my pilot GOOD BOY, a half hour dramedy about a Korean American designer with streetwear dreams, is what spearheaded this journey. See details about the project below. https://twitter.com/its_willyu/status/1367922047486074882

Great! Ready for this?

For this conversation, I'm going to walk through my process like so:

1. Prerequisites
2. Approach
3. Execution/Results
4. The Final Decision
5. The Agent Search vs. The Manager Search

First up: Prerequisites

PREREQUISITES: Things you may need...
- A fully written, completed sample(s)
- A manager
- A strategy that you and your manager have aligned on
- An acceptance that there are infinite reasons why this industry will say "NO" to you
- The ability to smile through the pain

Also, Google Sheets to stay organized.

And most importantly, YOUR NETWORK.

I cannot stress this enough. You'll see why.

Why do I say a "completed sample? " "No script is ever finished" you might say.

But to impress an agent, you need as polished a script as you can share. This is not the time to send a WIP.

FYI: My pilot went through labs, many rounds of notes, and still got doors shut on me.

Are you at the "I have a fire concept" or "I've been thinking about this idea" stage?

Then please stop and come back when you've got pages. No agent would have even spent a minute on me if I hadn't had my writing.

Got your AMAZING sample ready? Great! Do you have another one?

But you worked so hard on your main sample! Another one?!

I feel your pain. Almost every shop I submitted to asked for a second sample.

Sometimes it was to see more writing. Other times it was to see if I'd need a bigger team - And now I have a feature agent! You can too!

The next prerequisite? A manager.

If I hadn't been repped, no agency would have looked at me. Maybe if you win a prestigious competition, agents come flocking? I don't know.

A manager was essential to:
1. Keep me sane during the process
2. Provide access via their NETWORK.

Now, with your samples and your manager, you want to align on a STRATEGY.

Because you don't want an agent for having an agent's sake. They should fit a need in your career.

My need was exposing GOOD BOY to as many eyeballs in the industry. An agent would expand our scope.

In taking GOOD BOY out, we felt that it was time to have the reach of an agent to support that.

If the agent search failed, we'd take it out anyway. But better to try and get the agent first than risk getting a negative industry response and then search for an agent.

Lastly...

Be ready for the murky world of "NO". There are many many ways to give a non-Yes. Brace yourself.

My rule to help me from drowning in self-doubt:

If they were excited about you, they'd want you to know.
And you don't want people who are not excited about you in your corner.

APPROACH: Find an agency champion.

In sending the script out to agencies, the process usually folded like this: Find an advocate > Have them champion your project at their agency > See if anyone bites.

To support this endeavor, we tried a two-prong approach...

One of us would spearhead with an agency contact, the other would see if we knew anyone that would say nice things about me to the contact.

TBH I'm not sure how effective this was?

Maybe if we weren't in a panini and there was a higher chance of workplace chatter? Idk. But...

THIS IS WHY YOUR NETWORK MATTERS. And this is why Hollywood can be so infuriating. So much of my access was dependent on someone knowing someone.

You need a voucher. Maybe it's your manager. Maybe you have a friend. Know an assistant.

Double your champions. Triple if you can.

Also, it may be helpful to know what kind of reach your MANAGER has before you sign with them!

We were able to submit to most agencies. I've had friends who haven't had the same experience.

So, add a question about their agency access to your list! https://twitter.com/its_willyu/status/1229535160346898432

A quick note: I mentioned this in the Manager thread, but this is also where you want to make sure your logline and bio are as snappy as possible.

If you have accolades? Hype it up! You love to nerd out about something? Mention it! Now is not the time to be humble. Chest out!

EXECUTION/RESULTS: How did things go?

From July-Sept 2020, we submitted to 9 agencies. Majors and Mids. Most through my manager. Others through my own connections. One was through a referral.

Once the script was out, it was a waiting game. Don't worry! People are reading you.

I like have as much say in my future as possible. So I had to come to terms with a truth: Everything is out of your control. You have to make peace with that.

So fill the time!

Start working on the next thing. Read a book. Go for a walk. Catch up with friends. Do something!

Another truth? There will be non-writing reasons why things won't work out.

A pandemic hits. Agencies lay off workers. A WGA/Agency conflict heats up. People forget. It happens.

And it has nothing to do with your writing.
Absolutely nothing.

I know.

I am also mad.

So what were my results?
- Agency 1, stalled
- Agency 2, never called back
- Agency 3 & 4 & 5, passed
- Agency 6 & 7, no consensus
- Agency 8 & 9, made offers

2 of 9 = A 22% hit rate

Remember: Some people never even get to submit to 9 places! That's how hard the numbers are.

Hopefully, you've now met with agencies and have offers!

So how do you choose?

If you know me at all, you know I over-thought the crap out of this.

As in I white-boarded a table that compared Agency Size, Talent, Passion, Rapport, Prestige, and Ability to Staff/Sell.

But I had a hard time - In every meeting, agents said very similar things.

Everyone was nice. Everyone cared about telling diverse stories. No one blinked when I said I wroteAsian American-led narratives.

So, again, how do you choose? Then my manager gave me some key advice...

"Pick the agent you believe will be excited to make the most number of calls for you," he said.

All the agency trappings are great. But you want someone who is FIRED UP to go to bat for you again, and again, and again. And again.

It's a gut feeling. Once he said that, I knew.

On 9/4/2020, I signed with Halle Mariner and Danny Alexander at APA. With my manager Zack Zucker at @bellevueprods, we hopped on a call and told them the good news!

So far, I've loved working with everyone and believe that I've got a great team to grow my career.

AGENT VS. MANAGER SEARCH: What I discovered...

The #1 difference - You have no control. Unlike my manager search, I couldn't research another's writer agent and then shoot them an email.

The access is so limited. Everything is dependent on the reach of your personal network.

#2: If you have allies, rally them now.

Getting in the door is one thing, but you also want to get agents EXCITED about you. If you know anyone that has any seniority and will sing your praise to an agent, this is the time to call in that favor.

Don't be shy, but be respectful.

#3: The numbers game is TINY. Set expectations accordingly.

When querying for managers, I submitted to 70+ shops.
When submitting to agencies, we got it to 9 places.

There aren't many more we even could have submitted to, even if we wanted to. I know. It's WILD.

#4: It's truly not always about your writing.

So many things have to line up. Conditions have to be optimal. Chances have to be increased. It has nothing to do with what's on the page.

I believe I went through the system the "right" way, and I still feel like I squeaked in.

I truly believe none of this would have happened without the guidance of my manager, Zack Zucker at @bellevueprods. He was an advocate, a sounding board, and a guide who quickly answered all of my questions and was down to discuss any concern I had during our search.

Thank you as well to @sundanceorg, @BenTheWriter, @crystalsliu, @lisacullen, @franklinrho, @RealMaxMichael @spmjm, @peglegginmeghan, #GraceButing, @angela_a_jin, #MikeSorce, and #BenWeisman for all of your support along the way! I'm sure I left people out. But I am grateful