Deciphering what an agent said

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #16
    Re: Deciphering what an agent said

    What is there to decipher? He said "Let us check this out and get back to you."

    Guess what that means? If you answered: 'They're going to check it out and get back to you.' You win.

    There is no code. There is no subtext or double-speak here. You need to simply wait for them to get back to you. If they don't, it's a pass. It's that simple.

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: Deciphering what an agent said

      Originally posted by Levenger View Post
      What is there to decipher? He said "Let us check this out and get back to you."

      Guess what that means? If you answered: 'They're going to check it out and get back to you.' You win.

      There is no code. There is no subtext or double-speak here. You need to simply wait for them to get back to you. If they don't, it's a pass. It's that simple.
      Yeah, but what did he mean by "this" the query letter or the script? Let us check out the letter? It was a few sentences in a short letter.

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Deciphering what an agent said

        I took it to mean that he/she was going to run it by a few people, if anyone bites, then he'd get back to you. If no one bites, then they won't get back to you.

        I wouldn't send them anything just yet, even an email asking what they meant. Just check back in with them in a week or so, and if they don't respond or respond with another "we'll get back to you", it's time to move on.

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Deciphering what an agent said

          Uh... am I missing something here? Sounds perfectly clear the assistant is going to show the agent your letter and then they're going to contact you, presumably if there's interest. How do you get they're requesting a script from what you said they've written?

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Deciphering what an agent said

            I don't see why there's so much debate on this.

            They're professionals. It's a business. You don't need to tip-toe and search for subtext. Just shoot 'em a quick reply.

            "Sounds good.

            If you'd like to read it, let me know what CAA's procedures are for releases, etc.

            Thanks, (insert assistant's name)! Have a great night!"

            If they never get back to you, then they're not interested. Problem solved.

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Deciphering what an agent said

              Originally posted by Filmmagician View Post
              Yeah, but what did he mean by "this" the query letter or the script? Let us check out the letter? It was a few sentences in a short letter.
              If he wanted the script he'd say "Send it on over."

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Deciphering what an agent said

                Originally posted by Bunker View Post
                I don't see why there's so much debate on this.

                They're professionals. It's a business. You don't need to tip-toe and search for subtext. Just shoot 'em a quick reply.

                "Sounds good.

                If you'd like to read it, let me know what CAA's procedures are for releases, etc.

                Thanks, (insert assistant's name)! Have a great night!"

                If they never get back to you, then they're not interested. Problem solved.
                Yes, easy and clear. I like this.
                FA4
                "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy b/c you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -- Edward Snowden

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Deciphering what an agent said

                  Originally posted by Levenger View Post
                  If he wanted the script he'd say "Send it on over."
                  Yeah, true. Just sounded a bit cryptic when he said "Let us take a look at this." He's already looked at the letter, I assume what he wants to take a look at was the script. Either way, I wrote back to clarify, waiting for a reply.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Deciphering what an agent said

                    Originally posted by Filmmagician View Post
                    Yeah, true. Just sounded a bit cryptic when he said "Let us take a look at this." He's already looked at the letter, I assume what he wants to take a look at was the script. Either way, I wrote back to clarify, waiting for a reply.
                    I think the key word here is "us". If he said "me" that would be confusing. But "us" indicates he intends to show "this" (your query letter) to someone else (the agent).

                    Anyways, please let us know what kind of response you get.

                    And once again...

                    Best of luck!

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Deciphering what an agent said

                      Originally posted by Gary Dragan Milin View Post
                      I think the key word here is "us". If he said "me" that would be confusing. But "us" indicates he intends to show "this" (your query letter) to someone else (the agent).

                      Anyways, please let us know what kind of response you get.

                      And once again...

                      Best of luck!
                      Ah, crap, you're probably right. I hope I didn't queer the deal. I'll need all the luck I can get, hah. Thanks for all the help. I'll keep you posted.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Deciphering what an agent said

                        Not to derail this, but I need some deciphering help, too! Agent loved my script, was uber excited about it. Said she was compiling a list to send out. That was a month ago (maybe longer). We've emailed since that first conversation and same response: much excitement and making a list. How long does that take? And at what point do I give up?

                        This is a small but significant agency and the agent is well known and liked, for the record.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Deciphering what an agent said

                          Agencies take forever to do most anything. Sounds promising, I'd say. I think it's good to keep touching base - but not in an annoying way of course. I wouldn't give up at all. Just give it time. A few boutique agencies took three months to reply to me after a read...

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Deciphering what an agent said

                            If I send somebody a query email saying "SCRIPT A is about X and Y. Would you to read it?"

                            And they replied saying, "sounds interesting. Let us take a look...."

                            I would immediately interpret that as them saying "send the script" and we'll review it and let you know.

                            If you send the script and there are some additional submission procedures you need to adhere to then the assistant will make you aware of those at that time.

                            So basically you sent a query and got a read request - that means you send the script. Period.

                            All this hemming and hawwing and over-analyzing is crazy to me. You asked if they wanted to read it and they said "let us take a look" -- that means they want to read it.

                            What else could it mean?

                            Be aggressive. You get no points for being a wall-flower in this business. If it were me I would have replied right away when the query was fresh in the assistant's mind but just reply saying, "Great! Per your request, here is SCRIPT A. I look forward to your thoughts."

                            Case closed.
                            "I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.- - Don Draper

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Deciphering what an agent said

                              Dude - send the script!

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Deciphering what an agent said

                                What Joe just said.

                                As I see it, there is a ton of bad advice being doled out in this thread. I say this as someone who has gotten repped by some pretty solid companies through cold queries over the years, so I believe I know this game pretty well by now. "Let us have a look" means let us read and get back to you, so just send a pdf of your script back and say thanks. The end.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X