Hey there!
Decided to kind of share this little thing that I get to face now and again.
All writers at some point have tried to pitch their book to Literary Agent, right? And how many of you have done the research into the "How to pitch to Literary Agent" and even reviews of Agents on how they want to be approached.
All of that research genuinely says - "Hey, wanna pitch me - check out my likes and dislikes, what I look for, what I had experience with, what I prefer, my interests,..." and list goes on.
And maybe that's what we should do, yes. And I did that. And hours of research on the Agents, hours of checking out their social media, their platforms where I could apply to them, their publishing agency - oh boy...
And once you find out the whole life story of them and apply, based on all criteria of their LIKES and WHAT THEY LOOK FOR, when your work is exactly what they want... And get rejection... With the typical "It's not what I'm looking for right now" and typical "good luck with finding the right person".
Yo, love, I spent hours on you, whilst I double checked the thing that you LIKE and SEEK FOR is at 100% what I made, that is the right category, the right theme, genre, pacing, all that jazz. And yet, even if it fits the bill at a 100% - it's not what you seek for?
¬_¬ Darlin', why do you put it out there if that's not what you want?
Posting out "I want a psychological thriller with LGBTQ+ characters, very twisted life situations, memorable characters, quite fast-paced, written by a person of LGBTQ+ community, a female author....etc." and then proceeding to say "NO" to you, once you fit that bill at full capacity.
And after applying to endless people - going on with Self-Publishing... Well, I kind of felt like that's the way about it eventually.
And with that whole mess in mind - how do we pitch to film wizards that want the story to adapt?
Do we have to do also the same dance time after time to see the whole thing just put a "no" sign in our face over and over again? Ehhh...
Due apologies if I come across like a rude bothered witch of the forest, but that thing with the agents got me less certain of applying to find someone to adapt the book to series.
Like - going through the same dance of anxiety, worry, waiting, then being forgotten/rejected/never replied back to - my nervous system does not cope much with more of that.
How do we find the right people without spending so much worry on it? Researching them to ends of world might also come across as becoming a stalker for them - and that's a no-no. But not researching them is like shooting message in the bottle in the dark.
But then even if the interests and what they seek for aligns with your work - there's no certainty that they'll like it.
Not sure if I'm blowing this out of proportion, but having endless questions is not good for ones health, so I'm putting it out here.
What are your thoughts on this?
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I'd like to know the same thing. lol
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Hi Anastasija,
Besides all well meant warnings that kill your inspiration, I say "no guts, no glory!!"
Second. How about researching those producers that can make things happen -- and then -- not coming over as a stalker pitch them your story.
Just something out of the high hat. So let's say there is a famous American producer/director with a Russian background, highly unlikely -- but isn't everything...
You check him out,: could be a 99% match for your story, You like chess (but suck at it); he likes chess. You know he plays games on chess.com. So you challenge him to play a game, while you have a terrible -800- rating and he has a solid -1.800- one,you tell him you'll play with two rooks less, and still win. He takes the bet because of how ridiculous it is.
Then you tell him, after after you just lost the game within 15 moves "you know what those -rooks- I just sacrificed stand for(?): one is KarpovJunior and the other is Gary Fisher Junior, the sons of two of the greatest COLD WAR chess players EVER -- But they NEVER PLAYED EACH OTHER for the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.".
Now, and only now, you pitch him your screenplay's logline: "In an alternative world, not so different from ours, both Bobby Fisher and Anatoly Karpov's sons are Grandmasters, rating 3000+. Now, on the brink of World War III, a 'three-match' chess game will decide which superpower will rule the world."
Producer/Director: "Sure, not bad, but what if there are THREE DRAWS?"
You tell him: "In this screenplay there's not, but if there were, the world is f....d, because every -chess move- is literally -played out- on the REAL BATTLEFIELD and tens of thousands lives will have been lost for nothing, a status quo as we seem to have in The Ukraine right now,
But hey, my chess battlefield/real battlefield version it's just a movie. Your still alive when you leave the cinema. Aint that great!"
In short, be as creative in your pitch as you are in creating your screenplay.
Peace, Rutger
Jeff E. Gregory It was exactly that and more. Even acquisition of the "Writers' and Artists' Yearbook" was there of help. Going through Duotrope, then checking out the Agency sites, finding the right people I can submit to, then going through the authors they signed, their social media, their MWSL, submission guidelines, the right text formatting, spacing and all. Yet even though the work they seek is "what we want, but later" or they gently redirect to "hope you find someone else".
The option of trying to schedule appointment to meet them is out of the question - as living in Europe has it's things, with trying to find an agent that represents English literature in a country where they don't publish that, nor consider it at all unless book is to be translated into local language.
In general it was a long and tiresome dance of research of agents all over the globe, submitting to them, then letting it go even if 3-6 months later there is no reply. Slush pile it might be.
It also is due to me not wishing to be annoying and every few months writing to them with "Hi! Just to see how you are doing...", as they sure as such are real busy. And they are human - they have family issues, they have vacations, health situations, other stuff - so if my work did not fit the bill if they were upset or something else was afoot - that also stands there.
I don't have the drive to push people. I know how frustrating it is. Just sad to waste endless hours on research just to let it goooo~