How to Find a Screenplay Agent

You have written a script and you have polished it until it shines. Now, you need to find an agent to help you sell your screenplay to a publisher or producer. Follow these steps to find a screenplay agent.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Go to the library or buy books on agents. Two of the best are "The Guide to Literary Agents" and "The Agents Directory." Both of these books are published annually—make certain you get the most recent edition of both books. You can also go online and enter in "script agents" into the search bar.

2. Look for agencies that accept your script's genre. For example, if your script is a horror film, look for agents that like horror.

3. Choose those agencies that are newer and are just beginning to establish their agencies—-something you can tell by reading the descriptions given in the books. These agencies are hungry and are more willing to work with inexperienced screenwriters, thereby growing their client list. Of the agencies that are more established, make certain you list the ones who are taking submissions and are willing to accept scripts from new screenwriters.

4. Check the credits of the movies you like for the screenwriter. Contact the Writers Guild of America, either online or by calling them, to learn the name of the agent who represents the screenwriter.

5. Attend a writers conference. These can be excellent places to not only learn more about agents, since you get to actually interact with them, but you can learn what an agent is looking for.

6. Arrange your list in the following fashion: those agencies located in Los Angeles or Hollywood at the top of the list, those just outside LA and Hollywood, and on until you include the agencies located in New York.

7. Check all of the script agents on your list against those listed through the Writer's Guild of America. The WGA provides a list which is updated bi-monthly on its website. If one of the agencies on your list is not included in the WGA site, do not send your script to that agency.

8. Send out the query letters beginning with the ones in LA and Hollywood. Sending out ten letters at a time is a good start. Should a rejection letter come back, send out another query letter to the next agency on your list.

Tips & Warnings

• Include a #10 envelope rather than a manila envelope to receive information from the agencies. All agencies request a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) if you send your queries by mail. Sending a #10 envelope looks more professional and you will find that you will often receive more hand-written replies as rejection letters rather than the dreaded "Dear Author" form letters.
• If you send a script to an agent make sure it is registered either with the Writers Guild (non-members can register scripts through the mail, in person or online) or has a copyright from the Library of Congress.
• Write your script in the universally accepted formats that you'll find on screenwriting software such as Final Draft. An improperly formatted script, even if it reads like "Star Wars," likely will fail to get past a reader.

Resources

• Breaking In is a good resource for scriptwriters trying to get established.
• The Writers Guild of America is a necessary resource for any scriptwriter.
• Writers Digest has good articles about finding a script agent.