Anyone switch from large management co to small?

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  • Anyone switch from large management co to small?

    Has anyone had success switching from a larger management company to a smaller one where (I hear) they can give you more attention and find you work? I'm not even asking for WGA scale here, but I feel like because my reps work for huge companies, they don't wanna waste their time on looking for small work for me. They send me out on big meetings and of course I'm competing with experienced writers and never land a job. It's frustrating to all hell.

    Any thoughts? Thx.

  • #2
    Re: Anyone switch from large management co to small?

    Originally posted by McWriterson View Post
    Has anyone had success switching from a larger management company to a smaller one where (I hear) they can give you more attention and find you work? I'm not even asking for WGA scale here, but I feel like because my reps work for huge companies, they don't wanna waste their time on looking for small work for me. They send me out on big meetings and of course I'm competing with experienced writers and never land a job. It's frustrating to all hell.

    Any thoughts? Thx.
    Unlike agencies, management companies should not be judged on size. It's quality, not quantity, in management. If your managers aren't doing a good job, you need a good new manager at any size company.

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    • #3
      Re: Anyone switch from large management co to small?

      Northbank is correct. I went from big (Industry) to medium (Circle of Confusion) to small (Writ Large) and I much prefer small. But ultimately it's not the letterhead, it's the manager. Big houses boast about their packaging potential with other clients, but it never really came into play. What's most important is to have a devoted manager - the company comes second.

      Here's the thing - those "small" deals you're talking about, that has nothing to do with whether you're at a big or small company. It's not like small shops mean small deals or big shops mean big deals. Plenty of huge writers are at small shops, and vice versa. It's more about how your work is resonating with people. If you write a script that dazzles people, the size of your management company is irrelevant. And if you haven't written a script that dazzled people... the size of your management company is irrelevant. Your works sells you, a manager only facilitates it.
      https://twitter.com/DavidCoggeshall
      http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1548597/

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      • #4
        Re: Anyone switch from large management co to small?

        I agree -- it's the who not the where.

        If you don't feel like they are doing right by you, it's probably not because of the company.
        Quack.

        Writer on a cable drama.

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        • #5
          Re: Anyone switch from large management co to small?

          As mentioned, it's who you're repped by, not who they work for. With that said, I was at ICM and left for a small boutique when I realized I was being marginalized there. Not sure it made that big of a difference in the end, but I felt more attention was being paid to my needs after I moved.

          Edited: just realized you said managers, not agents. That's absolutely based on the manager, not who they work for, more so than an agency, in my opinion.

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          • #6
            Re: Anyone switch from large management co to small?

            Thanks for the responses. Follow up question then:

            My manager has (according to IMBD) around 50 clients. Most actors. Others writers. I hear most effective literary managers have 20 clients tops. I'm simply not sure he has the time with all those clients. How do you guys view something like this?

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            • #7
              Re: Anyone switch from large management co to small?

              Originally posted by McWriterson View Post
              ...I'm not even asking for WGA scale here, but I feel like because my reps work for huge companies, they don't wanna waste their time on looking for small work for me.
              I'm gonna interject here. ALWAYS ask for WGA scale. I'm not repped (except by entertainment attorney), but I always use it as the bargaining point. Those figures come from blood, sweat and tears.

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              • #8
                Re: Anyone switch from large management co to small?

                Originally posted by DangoForth View Post
                I'm not repped (except by entertainment attorney), but I always use it as the bargaining point.
                You must have experience, past sales, etc. I don't. So... I'm looking for work writing a cat eulogy for someone in Kazakstan who can pay me 50 bits.

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                • #9
                  Re: Anyone switch from large management co to small?

                  Originally posted by McWriterson View Post
                  You must have experience, past sales, etc. I don't. So... I'm looking for work writing a cat eulogy for someone in Kazakstan who can pay me 50 bits.

                  Aw, man! If I'd only known that last week!
                  Last edited by DangoForth; 10-01-2016, 07:52 AM.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Anyone switch from large management co to small?

                    Originally posted by McWriterson View Post
                    Thanks for the responses. Follow up question then:

                    My manager has (according to IMBD) around 50 clients. Most actors. Others writers. I hear most effective literary managers have 20 clients tops. I'm simply not sure he has the time with all those clients. How do you guys view something like this?
                    IMDB Pro isn't always updated or current so do keep that in mind.

                    Is this manager a literary manager since they seem to have so much "talent" on their roster? I know of a manager or two that has one or two actor clients, but it's not their main business.

                    And yes, unless it's a team situation, 50 seems like a lot for one manager to take on. I used to be with a managing team of 4 managers and they had a 50+ client list but the work was shared among them so it wasn't too much.
                    Quack.

                    Writer on a cable drama.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Anyone switch from large management co to small?

                      Originally posted by ducky1288 View Post
                      IMDB Pro isn't always updated or current so do keep that in mind.

                      Is this manager a literary manager since they seem to have so much "talent" on their roster?
                      I should know this. But I don't. And that is not a good sign. I need to have a longer conversation with him.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Anyone switch from large management co to small?

                        I can definitively tell you that most management clients do not get big checks coming in.

                        Of course, you will be at the bottom of your manager's list if you haven't made him/her any money yet. Not sure switching managers will change that much. The change will come after you sell stuff. Unless you switch to someone who just got promoted and has very few clients I guess.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Anyone switch from large management co to small?

                          I wish I had been reading the threads when this discussion was around. Still, an interesting topic. I wonder if anyone has experienced a combination of the three types (small, medium, large) and noticed a difference?

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                          • #14
                            Re: Anyone switch from large management co to small?

                            I've been at a big and medium now and I can tell you it makes zero difference.

                            Juunit is right, they will pay more attention to the ones who make them more money. The only exception is the honeymoon phase in the beginning of your relationship.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Anyone switch from large management co to small?

                              Originally posted by McWriterson View Post
                              I've been at a big and medium now and I can tell you it makes zero difference.

                              Juunit is right, they will pay more attention to the ones who make them more money. The only exception is the honeymoon phase in the beginning of your relationship.
                              Agreed.

                              And it's the same everywhere: Ever notice how when you've got stuff popping the rep is all over you, but when you don't they're like "Meh... I'll get to them." Agents and managers are the same way in that regard.

                              It's interesting to look at it from behind the scenes to see who's getting the attention and who isn't and why.

                              EXTREMES as an EXAMPLE: My ex had a client who was making 100k a week script doctoring on a huge movie that was already shooting. He wrote for 9 weeks. You do the math. At the same time she had a client that was making zero dollars. Guess which one she didn't mind sitting on the phone with for an hour and which one she quickly rushed off the phone with. (The irony is that the dude she didn't have time for is a huge producer now and probably richer, more famous, and more in demand by the industry, as he was up for an Oscar. For all I know, the other writer is working for/with him now... which is to say: ALWAYS be cool to people, you never know where they'll end up.)
                              Bruh, fukkin *smooches*! Feel me? Ha!

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