Screenwriting : Is a bad lit manager better than no lit manager? by Lee Jessup

very cool! I find that all too often if one introduces themselves as a manager, there is immediate acceptance (even by pro writers who've been working and selling). It's soooo important to do some basic research to find out if a manager you're talking to can be a real, focused, connected advocate!

Another great piece, Lee. Thanks for sharing!

thanks Brad!

I was approached by a Management company on this site. I checked them out, saw they only had one other client and figured they couldn't do anything for me. This was their exact pitch: "Let us represent you." Hardly enticing. What I need from a manager is somebody that can gain me contacts. If they can't do that, I don't see any point in them.

So true, Lee. I have friends too who would win a contest (representation was part of the prize package) only to be forgotten later. It seems good repping is a two-way street. I think it must feel at times like you're dating the most desirable person, yet they only want to get you into bed, and you want to get married. And, you need to stay dating this great person until they want to see you married too! There is a very good reason the artist with the new award will thank the agent first.

In my book managers should have one of two things (or hopefully both) to offer you: Connections you don't have, or time/energy you don't want to put into selling your material. Sometimes hunger and determination can compensate for a non-existent contact list, but ONLY if you really believe that the manager will work his fingers to the bone building connections on the merit of your script. Most importantly, managers are meant to be your advocates in the space. If they don't have any other clients who have made some inroads before you, they probably don't have anyone waiting anxiously to read new scripts from them...

Great post! Thanks for the advice!

Lee, while I appreciate this viewpoint, I wonder if it's realistic for most aspiring screenwriters. In every area of life, we need to balance the ideal (the great-looking date, the fantastically well-connected manager) with the real. My experience is that it's vastly preferable to have someone, even with limited connections, out there pitching for you. If this person believes in your work, that goes a lot further than having a big-name (or even semi-big-name) manager who basically is working with you to see what you can pull in for him, and then he handles that (Friday at 5). A manager who has fewer clients, and whose clients are less successful, will be more likely to see your shining potential. But all this discussion is based on a rather misleading premise: that the aspiring screenwriter has that choice between hot-shot manager and fringy manager. And they don't. Usually, they will get passes from the hi-power manager; and they will actually be very fortunate to work with a less-known but passionate manager. Really, in my twenty years of experience in this industry, and in working with scores of aspiring screenwriters, I know that when the screenwriter herself calls to pitch her work, that call will not usually be returned; but if an advocate calls on her behalf, however unknown he may be, that call is a lot more likely to get play. And finally, working with an aspiring manager means that the aspiring screenwriter will get his called returned--by the manager. Hope this isn't too long-winded, and that it helps!

I really appreciate your thoughts on this Diana. The problem that I found is that many managers just don't have the connections. Of course, not every manager is going to be Brooklyn Weaver, but you want them to have SOME connections. There are people out there who claim to be managers who are just not established in the space, so even if they like your material, no one is going to be looking to read or take pitches from there. I had one client with a manager for 6 years who didn't get a single meeting - the manager was a lot more focused on producing, and didn't get the work out there. I am perfectly fine with small managers, and am fully aware that many writers would end up with them to start with, but those managers have to be "real". If they never sold a spec (which you can easily find using The Scoggins Report) or, worse, got a spec sold, it's possible that it will be tough for them to create interest in your material.

I try to evaluate anyone with the "manager" title the same way I do "producer". Lots of people will say they're producers, but you need to do your research and have a conversation with them. What are their credits, and what did they ACTUALLY DO that resulted in that credit. It's the same for managers. They may have limited connections, but they should be able to answer some simple questions like "what projects have you sold for other clients" or "what meetings have you gotten your clients into?" Even a beginning manager, if they're legit should have an answer to these. f the answer is none...that's when you need to take a step back and really think about whether this is a good match for you.

I hear you, Lee. My manager was at Paramount for eighteen years and he's got a hefty rolodex, and he first became interested in me when he optioned the material...and I was his first client. Don't think he has sold a spec yet, but he has only JUST started to form his stable, and I adore him, even though you are very right, he isn't (yet) Brooklyn Weaver, so in a way, I guess we are helping each other's career.

Those guys are bottom feeders, praying on the vanity of the new writer and their desire for recognition. The hope is, of course, that you eventually sell your own work and have to give them up to a 15% slice. Or worse, they go in to negotiate for you and ruin everything, or at best, you still give them 15% of something you could have gotten yourself.

Diana - Clearly your manager has the pedigree to take the leap with him. He has the connections to get your material read, which is what you want. I am all for helping each other's career - it's just about making sure that the rolodex or the track record are there. One of the other. It's those without any connections and without a track record who are still figuring out their own business models that can end up hindering a career rather than growing it... If your manager has focus (most important!) clarity about who you are as a writer, either a rolodex or a semblance of a track record... You're golden!

Lee, I so appreciate your experience and measured way of looking at things. I guess that's why I joined this site! Brad, this may seem totally off the beam, but I am currently arguing (discussing?) with a single girlfriend her unrealistic idea of the kind of man she is "willing" to date, the hubba-hubba guy ALL the girls want, and in a way, I think writers can have these same unrealistic ideals of which managers they are willing to accept, when in fact, those managers are being run after by EVERYONE, and are unlikely to take on a newcomer or wannabe, however talented. My girlfriend hasn't dated in a long time because she won't date the guys who want to date her, and so, I say to screenwriters: At least consider the manager who wants you!

I hear ya, Diana. You're not going to learn who that perfect partner is going to be just by the looks. While keeping your options open, be aware, very aware of the traps therein. Selling my spec? That would be excellent! But what would be better is moving toward my ultimate goal: Getting me some assignment work. That lets me build my own cred as a writer, and being a good collaborator to boot! I know many writers dream of the Judd Apatow life. Not me.

Diana - I could not agree with you more! But the reality of the game is that the Brooklyn Weavers or Adam Kolbreners of the world don't NEED to sell your script - they have enough selling writers - nor do they have the bandwidth needed to service a baby writer for a long period of time. They just have too many working writers they have to service first. It's in a writer's best interest to find a manager whose agenda aligns with theirs; if the manager has lots to gain from selling their script, then it's a good match, so long as the manager has the contacts and enough of a reputation to make it happen. Charlotte - I hear you about assignment work! I've seen some writers get it before they've produced the hot spec, while others had to wait in order to generate the hot spec first, so that they could get into those all important rooms and start making a case for their "take". It happens in different ways, so the important thing is to keep firing on all cylinders!

LOL. Which is why I write the specs- I hope to get the notice with great story and character. I certainly understand why they want the spec; it's like seeing a journalist's "long piece" to see if he/she can handle the work to completion. You need to love the writing, and love to write! It is the challenge to see where we stack up in the writing or stand out from the crowd, and what we need to change in style or ability to make it happen. I don't mind telling you, Lee, that Hollywood (especially for the novice) is filled with vipers, vipers everywhere! It can be a place where one ends up just poorer for the experience and still unrecognized. It's hard to ascertain what's an investment toward a real goal and what is an expenditure to oblivion. -Just like the producers have to figure out.

link is down! I would like to read the article if it still exists, sounds interesting thanks

In my opinion watching the industry.

Yes.

Why: is because of a simple exercise learning value.

They are priviledged by you, the creator in my opinion.

Sure their job isn't easy with a flooding of those with "mad skills" but as a creator you priviledge them not them privileging you.

Coat tails are something everyone truly functioning in the industry have.

Greed happens when one thinks they have the most beautiful or functional coat tails.

Coat tails are expensive.

Hope I'm not talking in riddles.

Anyway.

Money and priviledge go in tale to tale or tail to tail.

Greed sometimes is an allowable expense because those coat tails need aesthetic maintenance.

However if no maintenance of such tails or tales happens well then touch is lost and severance needs to happen.

If two coat tail wearers of different function; function well the "pissing off" of each other is not of lost cause and without value.

Value and or money go hand in hand so if those two factors exist love your bad lit agent. Lol!!