Got dropped by agent - very weird behavior (LONG)

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  • Got dropped by agent - very weird behavior (LONG)

    So I was recently dropped by my agent and it was at the end of a long period of bizarre and conflicting behavior.

    I'd love some feedback on this if anyone has some insight.

    So here goes:

    I'm a TV writer with an extensive career in the graphic novel world. I've won major awards, been nominated for major awards, have a lot of press on big graphic novel series I'm working on today. I'm talking big franchise titles.

    So I got staffed on a well-regarded show last year that got cancelled but that's how things go. Then I was ready to head into network staffing season.

    I signed with one of the big agencies and they gave me the same old spiel about being there for me for the "long haul" and how we're going to work together to make money and blah, blah, blah.

    So, I got a ton of meetings with executives early in the staffing cycle all over town based on two of my pilot samples that were floating around. Most of the meetings went well, some were duds, but most were pretty strong and I had a good feeling about it.

    Then we get to staffing season.

    My agent kept telling me that things were "okay" and I'm still being submitted on a bunch of shows. Now, the thing is this - I don't know a lot of showrunners or higher level EPs, but I do know a lot of folks on the story editor and staff writer levels.

    I knew for a fact many of the shows that I was supposedly still being considered for were already fully staffed or specifically looking for women writers.

    So when I brought up the fact that the shows they said I was being submitted for were staffed, my agent's attitude shifted into a new place where they said that my samples weren't strong enough to get me to the showrunner meetings and that no one cared about my graphic novel background.

    I was okay with what they were saying, but I didn't understand why they hadn't told me that before and why they kept giving me canned responses all of the time instead of telling me the truth?

    Then it turned into this big song and dance about how they were perplexed that I wasn't getting traction and that I needed to write new samples. I was cool with that but I wanted to know if they were going to employ other strategies to get me recognized?

    We set up a meeting where we all decided we were going to get on the same page regarding ways to sell me to the marketplace and everything seemed fine.

    Then a few weeks passed and I get a call saying that they were going to drop me because they felt I was unhappy.

    I wasn't actually unhappy, but I kept asking them for greater communication because there were times when I was submitted to TV shows for consideration but wasn't aware of it until WAY AFTER the window for me to burn favors with showrunners and executives who were colleagues had closed.

    I had brought this up with them but they never really explained why they were so reluctant to let me know where I had been submitted. There were at least two shows I could have been staffed on but the lateness of their submission and the lack of me being told I was submitted caused me to miss out on those opportunities.

    To this day, I have no idea what was really happening. Even during our final conversation, they were still giving canned responses instead of being truthful with me.

    So now I'm working on some new samples and building for the future. I want to take what I've learned from this situation and apply it so that I have a better working relationship with my agents.

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

  • #2
    Re: Got dropped by agent - very weird behavior (LONG)

    Man, this is a difficult one because there are so many factors to it, like how was your tone when pushing back?

    I have friends that press their agents more, and some that stay cool/ stay back. But everyone I know - everyone - has frustrations with their reps at one time or another. Sometimes when things get really quiet, the mind starts to wander and always to the worst place.

    Are they working hard enough? Is my stuff getting out there? It's impossible to tell. The only thing you can really do during quiet moments is keep coming up with material that lands with both timing and execution.

    When people are interested in your work, you know it. The agent doesn't have to work on your behalf or follow up, they get calls about you.

    Only advice I could ever offer is to always be respectful even when disagreeing, because you never know what they are going through or what circumstances have caused things to go sideways. And you'll pretty much never get a complete answer. You'll get the one that is easiest for them to deliver.

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    • #3
      Re: Got dropped by agent - very weird behavior (LONG)

      Sounds like your agent is lazy/overworked/not invested. He probably sent you out to a few places, wasn't getting traction, and decided it was easier to focus on clients that had more interest, for whatever reason.

      As to why he lied - you've worked, you've got contacts... who knows, maybe you end up with a job, and then he gets to collect his 10%. And if your career takes off, maybe he would have re-engaged.

      Most agents are fickle heat seeking missiles. I doubt you did anything wrong. It sounds like you have a good attitude and plan.

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      • #4
        Re: Got dropped by agent - very weird behavior (LONG)

        Originally posted by madworld View Post
        Man, this is a difficult one because there are so many factors to it, like how was your tone when pushing back?

        Only advice I could ever offer is to always be respectful even when disagreeing, because you never know what they are going through or what circumstances have caused things to go sideways. And you'll pretty much never get a complete answer. You'll get the one that is easiest for them to deliver.
        Thanks for your response.

        To answer your question: because this is such a litigious society and industry, I've made it a habit to save all email correspondence and I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that all of my emails and phone conversations were 100% business-like and respectful.

        I was never pushy, rude or controlling. I was never the kind of client who needed spoon-feeding or constant attention.

        In fact, whenever I did reach out to my agent, it was often to share good news of new media coverage of my work and convention appearances. I had a lot of amazing articles about my career in major media sources and I'd send them links to add to the arsenal of positive information about me.

        And I know that much of that was ignored.

        I'm still confused over the entire situation.

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        • #5
          Re: Got dropped by agent - very weird behavior (LONG)

          I feel your pain. Confused should be my middle name.

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          • #6
            Re: Got dropped by agent - very weird behavior (LONG)

            In addition to screenwriting, I write kid lit, and I just went through something very similar with my former literary agent for my kid stuff. Initial burst of enthusiasm, we almost made two deals...then a slow death by degrees. I couldn't figure out what had happened. I realized it wasn't me, it was business, and for whatever reason, we weren't on the same page. I made the decision to leave and within days I got another representation offer from a lit agent who is 1000% on board.

            Don't beat yourself up. The behavior you describe, while frustrating, is normal for Hollywood.
            http://www.pjmcilvaine.com/

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            • #7
              Re: Got dropped by agent - very weird behavior (LONG)

              As great as having a rep can be, you are ultimately in business for yourself and no one is going to get you where you want to be but you. There are a lot of ways to do this. One way is to have ground rules set up with reps before you sign. Like you need to know who they're sending your stuff to, every time. No secrets. No bullshit. If they can't agree to that, you don't want them.

              When I signed with my manager we talked about my needs as a writer and what I expected from him, as well as what he expected from me. I told him I didn't need someone who told me what I could or couldn't write. That I'd love notes on scripts and I reserved the right to use or not use them, but that I'm also a writer that LOVES notes and am always looking to make my scripts better. I told him I wanted him to get me in the room and I'd do the rest. To negotiate contracts if need be. And he'd make money off of me. He agreed. He's made money. I don't need to be guided or have my hand held. Ground rules. That's what businesspeople do.

              You also can't count on them to do everything you need. They're never going to do that. So, and I'm not saying you don't do this so please don't take this personally, that means you need to keep marketing yourself relentlessly while your reps do their thing on your behalf. Networking. It's not easy nor fast and it's a lot of work, but it's completely necessary for success. I hope you find new reps soon and get a staffing job.

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              • #8
                Re: Got dropped by agent - very weird behavior (LONG)

                You'll likely never get the details or full story, but clearly they weren't invested or excited enough to keep working. They were probably hoping you'd get staffed based on your last credit and got stretched thin during staffing with other clients, and when nothing happened they didn't want to keep pushing the ball uphill.

                It happens a lot and I wouldn't sweat it. Just know they weren't right for you and there are plenty of other agents out there.

                My advice is to write the next best thing and start searching again. Be mindful of this experience the next time around and don't be fazed by the smoke and mirrors of agency meetings. Find the ones who want you as a writer, not your one script they read.
                Last edited by ducky1288; 08-01-2016, 10:47 AM.
                Quack.

                Writer on a cable drama.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Got dropped by agent - very weird behavior (LONG)

                  It's hard to know exactly what's going on here.

                  But my guess is some combination of the following:

                  1) They submitted you in relatively few places. This is the downside to being a new client at a big agency. ICM may feel like, as a company, they can only submit so many people to any given show, so you actually can be dealing with internal competition. So you probably only got submitted to a couple of places.

                  2) The places they did send you to didn't generate the staffing meeting they hoped, so you fell even further to the bottom of the totem pole.

                  3) They dropped you because you either stepped on an invisible land mine in one of your communications to them, appeared to be more work than you were worth, or they signed you initially not based on your script but based on the fact that you were working, took a second look at your script and said, "we don't feel great about pushing this client," and so let you go.

                  I mean, that's speculative, but they don't usually drop people in your position unless there's some sort of mitigating factor after one staffing season.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Got dropped by agent - very weird behavior (LONG)

                    Originally posted by Ronaldinho View Post
                    ICM may feel like, as a company, they can only submit so many people to any given show, so you actually can be dealing with internal competition.
                    I got dropped by ICM once. Turned out to be a huge blessing.
                    https://twitter.com/DavidCoggeshall
                    http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1548597/

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Got dropped by agent - very weird behavior (LONG)

                      Originally posted by Ronaldinho View Post
                      It's hard to know exactly what's going on here.

                      But my guess is some combination of the following:

                      1) They submitted you in relatively few places. This is the downside to being a new client at a big agency. ICM may feel like, as a company, they can only submit so many people to any given show, so you actually can be dealing with internal competition. So you probably only got submitted to a couple of places.

                      2) The places they did send you to didn't generate the staffing meeting they hoped, so you fell even further to the bottom of the totem pole.

                      3) They dropped you because you either stepped on an invisible land mine in one of your communications to them, appeared to be more work than you were worth, or they signed you initially not based on your script but based on the fact that you were working, took a second look at your script and said, "we don't feel great about pushing this client," and so let you go.

                      I mean, that's speculative, but they don't usually drop people in your position unless there's some sort of mitigating factor after one staffing season.
                      I had a lot of meetings with creative and development execs, but none of those ever seemed to convert into showrunner meetings (this is where my lack of knowing showrunners really hit me hard and also where the lateness of knowing where I was submitted became a major issue).

                      There was at least one instance where me not knowing until too late cost me a meeting with a showrunner - there was a chance to get onto a show, but by the time I met with the covering exec, I had JUST missed the last hiring slot. I could have gotten in there if I knew that I had been submitted because I had some connections in the studio.

                      But #3 makes a lot of sense because they seemed to bristle when I asked for greater communication. Again, I don't really understand it because I was trying to make everyone some money.

                      Thanks for the insight.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Got dropped by agent - very weird behavior (LONG)

                        Unless you have close contacts who know a showrunner, it's likely not going to help get that meeting. The only way studio and network meetings convert to showrunner meetings is if you make a great impression and make their lists... Last show I was an assistant on, I helped read for staffing and the studio sent a long list of people who were submitted but there were notes next to writers the exec liked or recommended and we read those first. Most samples don't get read because there simply isn't time. Sometimes submitting is just a crapshoot that you even get read.

                        I got my first staff writing job not too long ago and that came through a random submission from my reps to the studio and they passed me to the showrunner even though I didn't meet with the studio and network prior. On other showrunner meetings I met with studio, network, then got a showrunner meeting. It can happen in so many different ways. I've personally never got a showrunner meeting off of a personal contact and I've met over a dozen, but a lot of people do use existing relationships to make it happen. So knowing showrunners is a bonus and can help, but it doesn't count you out.

                        Don't look back and dwell, just move forward.
                        Quack.

                        Writer on a cable drama.

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