"So today, we're talking to our Stage 32 network to find out how managers and agents view their roles as industry representatives while working together to get you ahead in your career. Here's what they said..." —Emily J
https://www.stage32.com/blog/managers-vs-agents-top-industry-reps-explai...
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How does one find and select an agent? How are agents paid?
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Hi Roberta - the blog that Maurice shared has a nice breakdown of everything >> https://www.stage32.com/blog/managers-vs-agents-top-industry-reps-explain-the-difference-3143
And here's a webinar that will be useful >>
https://www.stage32.com/webinars/Find-and-Work-With-the-Right-Screenwrit...
If you have anymore questions, please let me know!
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Thank you, Shellie. But I'd also like to hear how others on Stage 32 have found agents. And how their reimbursement works.
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Many years back, an Agent 'discovered' me at a screenwriting retreat that I was hosting. He guided me into & thru a mid 6 figure project. We all benefitted from the project. My experience has been that you (the writer) does not select an Agent. Some hungry Agent will find you if your work warrants it.
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Doug Nelson mid 6 figures (let's say $500,000) in 1970s is about $4M today.
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Roberta M Roy what’s supposed to happen is, you’re a talented writer with a wealth of well written scripts finds an agent ready to sell your work
But the reality is… Agents don’t want to rep new writers/clients because they think they can’t make money off you. So either one finds you because you have a lot of traction, you have a great track record, or high ranking industry folk speak highly of you
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Javi's advice...
https://twitter.com/okbjgm/status/1582097052183318528?s=46&t=Vj0jw015RtH...
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Roberta M Roy. I got my agent by calling the different boutique WGA Agencies. The more screenplays you have under your belt the better your chances because they want to rep screenwriters they believe can write well-writting screenplays on a regular basis. Agents cannot charge any monvey upfront. They cannot charge more than 10% and they get paid when the money comes in.
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Hi, Roberta M Roy. I haven't had an agent, but I've had a manager. He took me on as a client because he saw my portfolio of scripts and he saw how hard of a worker I was.
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Roberta M Roy Here's an article about how an agent gets paid: "How Much Does A Screenwriting Agent Cost?" https://freshmenscreenplay.com/how-much-does-a-screenwriting-agent-cost/#
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Maybe the old days before stock holders, agencies could survive on 10% commission fees. The major agencies, with top talent earners, have been co-producing/partnering with studios/networks for decades. More money than commission and sadly, reps are your bosses. You work for them, than they are working for you.
So wishing you the best at being creators who make enough $ income, that 20/30% of your paychecks to reps, lawyers, and agencies wont drain your bank acct.
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The WGA strike action was to separate agents from production, which was successful. Agents made so much money they could become production partners and developed the packaging model.
The WGA did a survey and 70% of a writers work is generated without agency involvement. So the are on a sweet deal. So they could have three clients and earning 30% of a writers income and only be doing enough work to generate jobs for one client (based on the WGA survey).
An agent for people at this end of town is hard to get because we don’t generate enough income. Agents are like finance, it appears once you don’t need it. When I first got married I couldn’t get a mortgage. Now I m sent offers. Once you have sold something, which will be hard. People will come and want to get 10% of your business.
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Gosh, I'm glad for Maurice's link! I', also glad I asked the question!!! So much good stuff to read! Most appreciated!
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I never had a manager but I do have an agent. She got me a job as a Staff Writer once but basically with an agent you have to make your own contacts unless you have a good track record. The reason I say that is because it is so much easier for them to sell a screenplay if the screenwriter has a track record. They like to pick the low hanging fruit. If I was starting out today I would look for a manager. They can charge what they want but most legitimate ones charge 10%. However I wouldn't give them anything until I got paid.
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You're welcome, Roberta.
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I am looking for a manager that accepts unsolicited requests. Anyone have any luck finding one?
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Not yet:)
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Hi, Lisa Knight. I don't know any managers who are accepting unsolicited requests, but have you thought about pitching to managers through Stage 32's Pitch Sessions? Some writers have been repped by managers after using the Pitch Sessions (and Stage 32's other Script Services): www.stage32.com/scriptservices/success-stories