Screenwriting : Literary agents by Dale Devoe Inscore

Poets and Writers Magazine recently published a list of agents which I've saved. Have you googled or looked in your phone book? Be prepared to query a bunch of them and know what genre you have. You could lso o to a bookstore and find acknowledgement page for someone whose book is similar to your own.

Let me know if I can help - www.wickidpissapublicity.com

I need it all but have no money, alas. xxoo RachelCann.Com

To be honest there is no point in getting a local agent or one in NC because the real agents live in LA and NY. You need to query agents there.

There are at least 2 reputable agents here in Boston that I know of. Very real!!!!

@ Dale, why do you think you need an agent? Do you have a library of projects, and haven't gotten traction or notice? Is it for marketing purposes? Introductions? Just curious.

Yes, I have several projects and because of where I live, I feel like I'm making no headway.

I was curious because there seems to be many opportunities to explore prior to acquiring an agent. Agents seem to appear when they are no longer needed. S32 is a wealth of information. Have you gotten feedback or paid coverage on your projects? Have you taken these notes in consideration in the re-write process? Have you explored Happy Writers and Joey's services in pitch sessions to Producers in your genre? Are you open to suggestions to make your writing better? I'm not trying to be a smart ass, these are the same questions I ask myself. There are many options available here on S32. I wish you well on your endeavors.

Danny that makes sense, thank you. And since a couple of the scripts I have, have a NY tie in to the, I guess NY would be the best place for me to be searching. I just wanna get my work out there. I want to be a producer as well, but have no idea how to do that and I've been told by an actor friend of mine that I actually need to be an executive producer instead.

Thank u Josh and thank you Rachele.

you're welcome. good luck pitching till yu win.

Boomer I'm open to any and all advice to make my work better and advance my career. I've gotten a lot of positive feed back, but NC is not the film industry power house a lot of people think it is. I've sent some local producers synopsis of my work recently, with no response of yet. This is why I feel I need an agent. To get people to respond faster or at all. T get sincere notice of my work. I haven't even been offer a rights to a copyright buy yet lol.

I understand about the local environment thing. I live in north Florida, I'm having a hard time getting other creatives in the area together for coffee much less having local producers look at my work. So as far as getting representation, that seems a universe away. I wanted to reiterate the fact of there are many opportunities on this site here on Stage 32 for script enhancement and to pitch to producers in most genres without living in NY or LA. I would be happy to provide a set of eyes for a project for structured feedback. I'm not sure of the turnaround time due to time restraints but would be willing to look. Wish you well and much success.

Thank u Boomer, I truly do appreciate it. I'm thinking it would be cool to work together on something.

What Danny said. You want an agent to be your representative in the business, which means they have to be where the business is (not where you are). If you are writing novels, that is NYC. If you are writing screenplays that is LA.

Dale, you'd only be an exec producer if you're bringing major financing to the table. Or a major piece of the package, like major talent but even then it would prob be an associate producer credit. But yes, what William said. If they're not in LA or NY, they probably don't have the network or connections to get anything done for you or your project. It doesn't matter where your script is set, it's about where the agents are. You have to do your research on what reps work with what kinds of writers. And you need an amazing query letter and preferably some sort of referral or connection to them.

ah Alle that's exactly who I met last night at Women and Film network event (my first). A 74 yr old man with a Phd professor and since I don't know I asked him if a producer had to be rich. He knows everybody in the industry (even Hollywood) he produces is not ric but knows many rich people to produce. I told him I needed to get the outstandingly cute Jennifer from Silver Linings Playbook! (only when I could get a word in edgewise)lol

Ok Danny interesting, because I've been told by some people I do know in the business here that an executive producer basic just finds the project, get a producer involved to find financing. And then the producer gets a director, who then puts his own crew together, through financing provided by the producer. This is why most writer are also executive producer as well a producers. Is that wrong?

Is there a way to post a synopsis or screenplay on Stage 32?

I'll tell u all a big problem I have. I'm not good using the internet to find out things I need to know. Searching for things, or people to help me. For that reason I'm thankful for this site and the people that I've been able to talk to. Thank u all.

I've heard both pro and con about getting a release from people who will read ur script. What do you think?

Getting a release from them or them getting one from you. If the former, good luck. If the latter, not sure you have any choice if you want them to read it.

Dale, no much of that is incorrect. An exec producer is USUALLY (in film, not TV) the financiers and investors in the projects OR the person who owns the company that produces the project but doesn't physically produce the film. The producer is the person who physically produces it and is often the person who finds the director, but if its a director for hire project then the producer also hires the crew with input from the director. The writer is hardly ever the producer or exec producer in Film - in TV they are always the Producer or EP.

and Rachel, when newbie writers ask me to sign a release agreement to read their script I tell them one thing... Nevermind. Nothing more insulting than a writer who thinks I'm gonna steal their previous idea that I'm sure I've read 10 times before anyway...

not that stealing doesn't happen and frankly I'm too insecure to assert myself. Thanks for the advice

Danny as far as stealing goes, I've never heard of having a producer sign any kind of an agreement. I've always thought if you have a legal copyright you're covered. I'd never let anyone read my finished work without a copyright.

LOL I hear ya Joshua, but as hard as I work on mine screenplays. Don't think I'd be flattered. Just know I was on to a good idea lol.

Yeah, some writers ask producers to sign NDAs or Release forms before sending them their scripts. Those writers don't get read.

Dale raises a good point. All this emphasis on copyright, but once you sign that release your copyright protection may very well go right out the window at least in terms of whomever is the party being released (which may be very broad). I haven't researched the law regarding copyright and releases, but in general releases are very binding documents. (I'm a lawyer, but not an intellectual property lawyer.) They are not mere formalities that will easily be overturned by a court. Whenever I sign one, I basically accept that I am giving up any potential claim I may make for copyright infringement against that party (or frankly any other beneficiaries of that release).

James unless I had no other option, I wouldn't sign a release unless a producer was offering money for an option buy. I'd rely on my copyright.

Dale, the problem is they won't read it unless you sign the release. Often you can't even pitch them without signing a release. I'm pretty sure when I attended the Fade In pitch fest in LA in 2013 I had to sign a blanket release.

No one is going to read anything without a release.

Now see that's weird, because no one here talks about releases, they just don't wanna read until they know you have a copyright. Is this a west coast/east coast difference?

James I see you're in New Jersey. I wonder if no one talks about it around here because everyone here is so low scale. There are no major production companies in Wilmington NC, all low budget independent.

Size of the company. If it's one guy who is just like you except they own a camera and some lights, they aren't going to have a lawyer advising their every move. If it's a real company and they have a law firm going over every piece of paperwork (ultra corporate), they will be advised not to read anything without a release because the number of paranoid nuts submitting scripts is huge and they will be spend half their lives dealing with bogus lawsuits.

Makes sense William.

Dale, unfortunately I am in NJ. Of course, we're all generally pitching entities operating in California and to a lesser extent NYC. Releases have become such standard operating procedure that any serious production company is going to want one. You still want to copyright your work, if for no other reason than to protect it from anyone who isn't covered by a release. Given the reality of the market though, I wouldn't invest a lot of angst in worrying about copyright.