Agents—1

I remember when I first moved to L.A., I was consumed with getting an agent. I learned very quickly that it was nearly impossible to get my work read without an agent. When I went to hear writers speak, someone always asked them the inevitable question: “How did you get your agent?” And I hung on their every word, waiting for the answer that would show me the yellow brick road.

Of course, I should have been consumed with writing a script that was SO fantastic that IF I made a connection and got an agent to read my work he/she would be blown away. But that’s what I should have been consumed with—instead I was consumed with finding the agent that would open all the secret doors and let me into the business.

So if you don’t have an agent, I’ll do you a favor and tell you how I got mine and we’ll see if that can help you on your quest.

I had moved to L.A. in 1990 with zero contacts. I made friends through a few people I met who, like me, went to hear writers talk and hung on their every word. I wrote and wrote and tried to find an agent, but zero luck. I sent query letters, tried to make contacts through friends of friends… but nada. Then one day I fulfilled a family obligation—I had tea with Francine.

When I lived in New York, I met a cousin of my father’s named Bonnie. She was older, had been married four times, and was so not like ANYONE else I’d met growing up in Iowa! It was hard to believe she was even related to the rest of my family she was so interesting. When I told her I was going to New York to give this writing thing a try, she told me I had to have tea with her old school friend Francine.

After 9 months in L.A., and numerous post cards from Bonnie asking if I’d gone to see her friend Francine yet, I figured I’d better get this over with. And guess what? Francine lived in Woodland Hills with her husband, a famous TV producer. I never met him, but Francine had been a writer before she got married [many years ago] and asked to read my work. I gave her a script to read and she called me the next day and asked if she could show it to her son-in- law—“He has a little agency in the valley” she said.

And that’s how I got my first agent.

Now, try to follow in my footsteps… not possible, right? Well, you ask 20 writers how they got their agents and you’ll hear 20 different stories. The point is, this is one area where you need to make your own story. And the incredibly frustrating thing about that is that you don’t have a lot of control—you just have to take a punt and hope it succeeds… more about this next week!

Copyright © Diane Lake

04Jun17

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