You can be short, tall, male, female, pimply, smell bad, or have eyebrow rings, but if you have a good sample script the doors will open. But to sell a script or a series you must get an agent or producer to read it. The steps necessary to do this are as follows:
Make a list of the agents and producers you want to contact- If an agent, make sure they have experience with what you want to sell. If a producer, find out if they are interested in the type of script or series you have.
Find out what the agent or producer needs and wants- Some agents want certain types of writers. Most producers are looking for specific genres of material. Find out what they want and see if you can give it to them. Needless to say they want a fantastic script or series concept. And needless to say, you’re going to tell them that yours is terrific and it better be!
Contact them- Calling is best but is the most difficult because most agents and producers won’t take a cold call. Email is second best, but you might have to do some sleuthing to get their address. Be courteous and professional in your communication. Keep it short and to the point. Most importantly, say something interesting and creative! Here’s a little trick about getting any important person on the phone. Don’t! That’s the secret. Don’t try to talk to the important person. Talk to his or her assistant. Nine out of ten times you don’t need to talk to an agent or producer to find out everything you need to know. It’s easy to get an assistant on the phone. They’re the ones who answer it! They can tell you what the boss wants, doesn’t want, and whether he or she might be interested in your material. If you are friendly and get to know them they might even want to help.
Promote yourself- They sell soap by telling people how good it is. Whether you like it or not, it’s your job (especially before you have an agent) to sell yourself by pointing out how good you are. You don’t want to be obnoxious or exaggerate, but you don’t want to undersell yourself either. Find something about yourself or your material that is worth bragging about.
Persist- You can’t just send an agent or producer a sample script and forget about it. And if they eventually say, ‘no thanks, you can’t just drop it and move on, either. If you do you’ll lose a valuable opportunity for feedback. If they pass, be sure to ask them what they didn’t like about your sample or series and how you might improve it. Get all the feedback you can.
Keep the contact alive.
If you get the agent or sell your show, you’re on your way. But if you don’t you should still try to maintain communication with the person. In this business, who you know is just as important as what you know. And always, always be professional!
©Jeffrey Scott, All Rights Reserved
(Jeffrey Scott has written over 700 animated and live-action TV and film scripts for Sony, Warner Bros., Disney, Marvel, Universal, Paramount, Columbia, Big Animation, Hanna-Barbera and others. His writing has been honoured with three Emmys and the Humanitas Prize. He is author of the acclaimed book, How to Write for Animation. To work with Jeffrey visit his website at www.JeffreyScott.tv.)
Read other articles from this series:
#1 The difference between live-action and animation writing
#3 It all begins with a premise
#4 The secret to developing your story
#5 Finding the scenes that MUST be there
#7 How to easily transform your outline into script
#8 A brief introduction to script writing
#9 How long should your scenes be?
#10 How to (and NOT to) edit your writing
#13 The importance of communication
#17 Assuming the point of view of your audience
#23 The screenwriter’s bookshelf
#25 Creating an animated series
#27 Developing your series concept
#28 Real vs. Cartoonish characters
#29 Making your series more sellable
#30 The basic elements of an animated series
#31 The four vital elements of an animated series bible
