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03/17/2008: The Fourth Track


I think this has happened before. It seems like every time I post something here that seems to close a door, I get an email from a friend with a way to open it back up. Fantastic.

After my post about how sending an agent a letter probably wasn't a workable avenue to job-having, I received the following communication from working writer and Friend-of-the-Blog, Gillian Horvath. Take it, Gillian!

I did get my first agent by sending a letter to someone I'd never met. I was at that time a young aspiring writer without a script sale. It wasn't entirely a "cold call" -- the agent had been recommended to me by a mutual acquaintance -- but there was no personal connection. It was the letter that got me in the door to be read, and met, and signed.

There are two keys to this approach, I think. One is that you don't send a query letter and wait to be asked for the script, the way prose writers do with literary agents. Your letter is more of a cover letter, with the script right there in the envelope, so that if the letter piques their interest they can flip open the script and read a few pages right then and there. (Be prepared to spend money on copying and postage that you will never see back, because of course many times that whole envelope is going straight into the recycling.)

The other key thing to be aware of is that there has to be something in that letter that sets you apart from everyone else in the pile. Not your script -- you. What you're selling them on is not the enclosed script -- not its premise, not its quality, not its saleability -- but you. This is the direct opposite of query letters for prose manuscripts, where it's all about the project, and details about the author are discouraged.

The letter is your chance to convince the agent that you are going to make money for them -- that you are committed to making a career, and that you are putting so much work into it that their job will be easy. In my cover letter, I was able to mention various contacts I had made and promising leads I'd created. I'd made those contacts by working as an intern and assistant around town, but I think the important thing isn't the specifics of my progress -- it's the fact that I used the letter to report on that progress. I was able to realistically portray myself as on the cusp of selling, so the agent I'd approached could see the potential for getting a commission soon. That made it worth her time to consider my spec.

In a post-script, Gillian adds: Typing up the story really got me thinking about that transitional moment when I realized that you can't approach an agent hunt (or a pitch meeting, or a job interview) as a complete supplicant. No one signs you because they want to do you a favor, right? They sign you -- or hire you -- because it's going to be good for them.

So there you go, Nic in Germany and everyone else... excellent advice from someone who found a door that I didn't even know was there. Inspiring! And that final observation is a huge one -- when you're dreaming about your big break, stop framing it as, "how can I get someone to do me a huge favor?" and start framing it as, "how can I make the case for what I have to offer?" (Then, don't argue the case, build the case.)

Lunch: chicken soft tacos from Del Taco. As always, opt for the Del Scorcho sauce.