Robert was a great roommate. Sometimes he’d come home at about 2 o’clock in the morning when I was already in bed, and I’d hear strange noises in the kitchen — the kind where you know someone’s trying to be quiet but now you’re suddenly wide awake from curiosity? Yeah, that kind. I wanted to know what he was doing. So I’d get up and poke my head out of my room, and there he’d be. Sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor. Even after a night out. He had come home and gotten my little note asking him to take his turn at the kitchen cleaning, and he just wanted to get it done — at 2 o’clock in the morning. I would just smile, have little endearing thoughts about Robert, and go back to bed.

But not only was/is he a great guy roommate who was easy to get along with, he is a Master of the Schmooze. (The truth is, he’s told me, that he doesn’t even think of it as schmoozing, he’s just being himself. But to myself and others, we can see that he has an ability to connect with people in way that many of us would like to have for our own schmoozing purposes.)

Many years after we were roommates, I took him to an event at the Academy where a producer friend of mine was screening his film. After this screening for about 300 people, there was a cocktail party that was very crowded. Robert and I tried to make it over to congratulate my friend on his film, but we couldn’t take three steps without someone stopping Robert to connect with him. Either they had worked with him and were happy to see him, or someone close to them had worked with him and they re-introduced themselves. It was a phenomenon. The interesting thing about it, however, is that these people were not just crazed fans happy to meet Robert. The way they spoke to him was with genuine affection and a happy smile on their faces. It was clear that they truly liked him as a person. It definitely broke down the paradigm that says everyone in Hollywood fake and only wants to use you.

Another thing that has particularly struck me about Robert over the years is how many people he keeps in touch with on a personal level. I know for myself I can get really lazy about going out and mingling. But frequently when I talk to Robert, he’ll have three birthday parties he needs to hit in one night, and he makes sure he does it, too. He makes it a priority to keep in touch, accept invitations, show up, and stay connected to people. When asked how he got to be like this, a good ol’ Oklahoma boy, he just says, “Well, I don’t know since I don’t even think about it. But I grew up with two great parents who were outgoing and funny and a house full of brothers. Maybe that had something to do with it. I just enjoy people.”

Okay, so I could go on and on about how great Robert is at connecting with people, but more importantly, I thought you might like to hear a few tips from him! So after fondly relishing my memories of him, I called him and asked him for some tips to pass on.

After making it clear that he doesn’t think of himself as an expert on this (even though he’s giving a speech about this same thing in a couple weeks), he said a few short words which I have summarized as follows.

Key One: Get genuinely interested in other people.
Just be yourself. Be real. Get genuinely interested in other people. The most interesting people are the ones who are genuinely interested in others. Learn to really enjoy the process of talking to people and getting to know them.

This is a lesson that goes back to who knows when, but for sure Dale Carnegie wrote about it in his seminal book “How To Win Friends and Influence People.”

Key Two: Don’t approach people with a hidden agenda.

Don’t approach people with a hidden agenda. If you want to speak about work, don’t beat around the bush. Be specific about what you want to do. When people sense that you are trying to hide it, it’s really obvious, and they’ll see it a mile away, and it’ll get you nowhere.

Key Three: Allow for a follow-up.

Learn something about the person you’re talking to and be interested in what they have to say. Have a sense of humor. Leave them with a real sense of your personality.

So that’s what Robert had to say. He also made the point that as soon as you start doing these things as “tips,” then you’re actually not doing it all.

“No matter how you say it, you have to be genuine and real with other people.”

So there you go. Hollywood may have a reputation for being a city of users, but there really are some real, genuine people out there. And when you are that way, you stand out from the crowd!

In Smart Girls on Agent Meeting Role Play, you can learn to craft a pitch of yourself and practice your small talk so that you can get out of your head and have your real self shine through!

• Act 1 (the first 1/4 of your screenplay 25 – 30 pages) – This is the setup of your story where your characters are introduced along with the basic direction of the story. This first Act must contain a Hook in the Set-Up to keep the reader, whether it’s a literary agent or producer, riveted to your screenplay.   In particular, the first 5 pages of a screenplay should totally hook the Hollywood movie executive.  If it doesn’t, they will read no more than 10 pages hoping it will get better and will then toss it in the trash.

• Act 2 (the middle half — roughly pages 27 to 87) –  Now that the story is Set-Up with the basic characters and the challenge of the story, you have to focus on creating lots of Conflict and Increasingly Difficult Obstacles for your main charactet to overcome. This is typically the hardest part to write because you have to makes sure that it builds upon itself and doesn’t become repetitive.

• Act 3 (the final quarter of your screenplay – roughly 85 or so to page 100 or so, and up to 120).  Your Third Act starts with a turning point and builds to the Climax of the story with the big confrontation between your main character and their opposition.  This is where your character either achieves his or her goal or fails — usually it’s best to have them win.  After the climax, then you have the Resolution to show how it all works out and things get back to a basic, simple life again.

Your plot is essentially how you put the basic pieces of your story together to make it interesting.  You should write out the basic beats of it at some point in your writing, whether it’s to do it before you start or at some point after you get some of your story down on paper.  The main thing is that while writing itself is often a right brain/creative process, working out the plot itself requires you to sit and think about it at some point and to really structure it for maximum effect.

This will be one of the biggest challenges you have, so stay at it, study it, and work on it till you feel in your bones that it is as good as it can be.

Proofread again. It’s important to make sure that there are no errors in your screenplay.   A literary agent will get a very bad impression if your script has errors, so before sending it out, proofread it one more time.  If you know your grammar or formatting has problems, hire a professional proofreader to review your screenplay.  Be sure it is someone who knows proper Hollywood script formatting.

Once it’s ready to go, you must learn to pitch your script.  As I like to say, “If you can’t tell it, you can’t sell it.”   Whether you write a query letter or pitch verbally, you have to develop a pitch of your story, which is simply telling a very short version of it to get someone interested.

When you pitch verbally to a literary agent, you have only a few seconds to hook them, so make the most of it. Practice pitching to your friends and family, or even in the mirror. It doesn’t matter where you practice, just keep at it.  See if their eyes glaze over or if they light up.  That should be your feedback.  You can also work with a professional pitch coach in Hollywood to help you prepare it. 

It can be challenging to get a chance to pitch verbally, so another option is to write a query letter to sell a screenplay. It will most likely be the first thing seen by a literary agent so it’s imperative that you impress them. This is your only chance to convince them that your screenplay is unique and great, so be sure that your query letter presents your script in the best possible light.

If you aren’t sure about the query letter part, that is another area that you can get a professional to help you.  Or even if you simply don’t have the time to mess with it and would rather work on the script itself, then you may want to hire someone to help you with the pitching and marketing.  Some possible places to get help are QueryLetterMailing.com and The Great American Pitchfest.  At the query letter mailing site, they will help you put together a query letter to go out to production companies and literary agents.  The Great American Pitchfest is an event that happens once a year where you can pitch in person to your choice of as many as 100 different Hollywood professionals. 

The main thing after you write your screenplay is to make an effort to sell it.  Don’t hold back and sit on it for years like some aspiring screenwriters do, get a pitch ready.  Then try to get your screenplay read by Literary Agents, Literary Managers, and Producers in Hollywood — any way you can!

On the other hand, when you write a great query letter, you will make a good impression, and you can get the surprise benefit that even if they aren’t interested in the idea of this script, you can start to build a relationship with them and come back to them in the future with other scripts that might suit them.

Here are some basics tips for writing your query letter.

• Stick to the point.

Tell them just a little bit about you and also give them the pitch of your screenplay.  End with a thank you.  That’s it.  No irrelevant information, that rambles on about how you really need to sell a screenplay in a hurry or you’ll get kicked out of your apartment – that would be seen as unprofessional.

• Proofread for errors, make sure your letter really sells your idea, and in general, rewrite it until overall, it has a very a good quality feel to it.

If your query letter stinks or if you have too many errors, then the literary agent will assume the quality of your screenplay is even worse, and there’s no way they will read it.  It goes back to your query letter being critical in making that first impression.

• Always address your query letter to one individual literary agent (or manager or producer).

Do not  send “To Whom It May Concern.” If you want them to represent you in a big money world, then you better at least be resourceful enough find out their name and address the letter to them.

Those are a few basic ideas to get you pointed in the right direction on writing a query letter. If you feel you would rather focus on the screenwriting itself than on marketing your screenplay, or if you are not sure you will be able to give it your best shot, then you might want to check out having a professional Query Letter Mailing created for you by Smart Girls Productions.

Smart Girls Productions has helped hundreds of screenwriters get their scripts read by real Hollywood producers, literary agents, and managers, and they pick out the people who are best suited to your specific script.  In addition to query letters for your screenplay, they also offer a variety of other screenwriter services that might be of interest to you, such as typing scripts and script critiques.

Here are a few tips that will make it easier to find an actor agency.

1. Always continue to take acting classes and employ an acting coach.

This has two benefits. One it will keep you from getting rusty and two you can get referrals from your teachers or coaches. When you go to find an agent for acting, they agent will want to be confident that you know how to act. If you’ve taken acting classes, that will help them have confidence in you.

2. Always keep your headshots up to date. Make sure they are professional, they look like you, and they suggest what your casting is.

Headshots are your first impression on acting agencies, so they have to be professional. You may have to spend a few hundred dollars to find a professional photographer, but the investment will be worth it.

3. Your credits are the next most important tool for landing an acting agent, so make sure your resume shows what you’ve done in the best light and that your cover letter to the agent highlights your credits in the best way possible.

Since you will typically send the talent agent your cover letter and resume before meeting with them, these materials will be their first impression of you. Make sure it is professional and truly shows the type of person you are. There are industry professionals such as Smart Girls Productions who can help write a great cover letter to pitch you. If you are not confident, you can hire them or someone like them to help write a great resume and cover letter for you.

Just remember that in show-biz, you get to make one impression on an agent for acting. Don’t let the first be your last. Make sure to keep learning, present professional headshots, make your resume memorable, and sell yourself with a professional cover letter.

Many new writers fall prey to some common mistakes when typing up their query letter. Here are some tips to writing the perfect query letter and how to avoid the common mistakes that will no doubt cause a literary agent to reject your script.

1. First of all, your query letter should hook a literary agent.

The purpose is to give the literary agent just enough information to keep them engaged and want to know what happens next, but not tell too much. If you hook them and engage them in your story and the story is really good, they will want more.

2. Keep in mind that you’re not only pitching your story, but yourself.

There are so many writers sending these agents their scripts that you must set yourself apart from them. Prove why the literary agent should read your script over the hundreds of others they receive.

3. Address your letter to a specific agent’s name.

Never address a letter to “whom it may concern.” If you don’t take the time to find out the literary agent’s name, then they will assume you don’t know what you are doing and they will not take the time to even read your letter.

The perfect query letter still doesn’t guarantee that the agent will request your script, but you will dramatically increase your chances. There are professionals who will help you make the perfect query letter. Sometimes hiring a marketing professional is the best way for a writer new to Hollywood to get the attention of a literary agent, so you can focus on writing the screenplay itself and you can also make sure your marketing is done properly and that your script is presented professionally.

The most important part of trying to sell a screenplay is to learn how to pitch it. Hollywood executives are bombarded by scripts and ideas on a daily basis. If you’re one of the few who are fortunate enough to get their attention, you will only have it for a sentence or two. If they’re not hooked by then, they will simply let the rest of what you say go in one ear and out the other. Simply put, they don’t have time to listen to everyone who thinks they have a good story to tell. So practice your pitch and make sure the first couple of sentences are memorable.

A query letter is another necessity to selling a screenplay, although it does require a bit of effort to write. These letters are a great way of reaching producers and agents while they’re in the comfort of their office. Again, it’s important to hook them right from the start.

Does selling a screenplay still seem like too monumental a task? There are agencies, such as Smart Girls Productions, who help up-and-coming screenwriters with all of the daunting tasks associated with selling a screenplay. Many screenwriters prefer to let someone with experience in this area of screenwriting handle this challenging task. Selling a screenplay — at least getting your screenplay read — really doesn’t have to be so complicated, it’s simply a matter of pitching, hooking the reader, and having the courage to handle rejection. And then you have to stay at it for as long as it takes.

As always, with one warning. Before you take any action toward selling your screenplay, it is critical that you make your script is ready to be marketed and sold to Hollywood. Otherwise, you could blow the chance you worked so hard to get!

Welcome to Hollywood!

Knowing that, you find a place to get script coverage that you feel will do a good job for you. Then you get the notes back and they say that your script falls somewhere short of perfect and they tell you why. It’s not quite what you wanted to hear about your screenplay that you worked so hard on, and you feel that ping of disappointment.

In fact, now that you think about it, you don’t really want to make any changes and you’re not even sure if you agree with the feedback. But yet you know you getting feedback on your script with a script analysis is part of the process of selling your script. So now you’re in the middle of it, and you got the notes that you’re not too excited about. Now what? Are you just missing something because you feel defensive? Or do the notes stink?

Here are three things to keep in mind in determining whether to take the notes or not:

1. First, let go of your disappointment, defensiveness, or hurt feelings about what the script coverage says.

It’s natural to feel a little bit badly when someone tells you they think your work is not the best it could be. But let go of that as quickly as you can. You can’t make good, clear decisions when you feel that way. You have to get that out of the way first.

2. Listen objectively to what they’re saying and try to get it. If you don’t get it, ask questions.

Once you let go of the disappointment or any other negative feelings, then you can listen for the value in what they are saying. Hopefully, when you looked for someone to review your script, you did your homework and found someone who has credibility. And if you did that, why would you NOT listen to them objectively? You should seriously consider what they say, even though in the end you may or may not apply it.

As you listen objectively, first, try to fully understand what they are saying and why they believe you need to do it – that is, if you can ask questions. Whenever you get script coverage or a script analysis, try to get something oral so you can ask questions of the person giving you feedback.

So listen objectively, and then make sure you fully understand both what they are saying and why they think you should make the change they suggest.

3. Finally, think it through later and make your choice about whether you will apply it or not.

Make your choice NOT based on the fact that you don’t want to rewrite it, but based on what the script needs to fulfill your vision – not the vision of the script analyst or coverage person, but your vision.

Keep the craft in mind. Many suggestions may be to improve the script in the arena of the craft that doesn’t effectively change it. Most of those kinds of changes you should definitely give very serious consideration to – such as raising the stakes, developing the character arc, and making it more dramatic and so on. But when it comes to changing major elements of the screenplay, such as the age or gender of the character, give it some thought. Be open to changing or not changing.

In the end, it is most important that as a screenwriter, you connect with your gut. If a script analyst suggests a change that you are not sure about, get connected to a place deep inside of you to see if it fits with the story you are trying to tell. And be open to the answer. When you do this, you will be surprised at what you find.

Your best bet starts with you choosing a script analyst whom you feel is professional, will communicate with you in a way that supports you instead of tears you down, and who will also be honest with you about what needs work. And, of course, someone who is very good at what they do.

Choose wisely, grasshopper. And listen to that place deep within! Good luck in writing screenplays and happy re-writing, too!

You’ll find that many agents and managers, and really producers, too, don’t like to be confronted.  So early on in your career, take it easy, but still try to get the answers to these questions, or something along these lines.

1.  What age range do you see me being right for?

Before you approach actors agents for your film and television career, you should already have a good sense of what you think your age range is by about a 5 year span, or 10 years if you’re over 38.  In fact, you should know this before you take your headshots so you can get pictures that are well-suited to this.  You and your mom and dad may not be the best judges of what your age range is, so if possible find an industry professional to discuss it with or work with a career coach on it to see how to best position you. 

As a film and TV actor, remember your age range will be more limited than it is in the theatre.  And in fact, the agent may ask you, so be sure that you have a good sense of it before you go in.  This will make you look more professional to the agents and management that you may be interviewing or auditioning for.

 2.   What kind of roles will you submit me for?

As with the above question, make sure you know what your casting is and that your headshots reflect the kinds of roles you would be right for.  Then in the meeting where you are vying for the attention of that particular agent at the agency, you can ask them what they think.  If you guys aren’t in synch, then you need to speak to the talent agent about that and see if you can come to an agreement, or you may be sent on auditions and casting calls that you feel completely out of place on.

It’s great to get as many auditions for acting as you can, but if you feel you’re not even the right type, it will be depressing and you’ll end up being upset that you wasted your time.  Ward this off by discussing the kinds of auditions with the actors agent when you first meet with them.

3.  How do you like me to keep in touch with you?

You will find that many of the agents for your acting career, at least early on, don’t want to hear from you very often.  Unfortunately, much of the time, actors bug their agents and don’t have much to say when they do call and that is what annoys the talent agents and makes them not want to hear from the actors they represent.  It’s not personal, but too many actors waste their time trying to chit-chat and that is no good.

When you get a meeting with an agent at one of the agencies, be sure to ask how they want you to keep in touch with them.  Whatever you do, don’t call before 2:00 pm because they are submitting you for the auditions and casting calls that you want to get.  If you call during the heat of that, they will think you are clueless. 

In your meeting, ask how to keep in touch.  Then, if they say, don’t call me, I’ll call you, if you are new to acting, then don’t worry about it and don’t call them very often.  But as you get more experienced, then you can get creative and come up with good reasons to call your talent agent.  If you have a lot of experience and your talent agents says that, then dump them before they even try to sign you.  Early on, just be glad you’re getting something.  If you’re a working actor, then don’t waste your time with a crappy talent agent who won’t get you any good auditions anyway.  Consider finding acting management or another good theatrical agent – but don’t settle – or just stay with your agent or manager you’re with for the time being.

 4.  How do you feel about me promoting myself with your agency name on my submissions?

You would think that any agent at any agency would be happy that their acting talent is trying to do something for their careers, but funny enough, it’s not always that way.  Agents for acting and acting management can be odd – sometimes they are controlling and don’t want you to put their name on things they don’t authorize.  And sometimes, if you’re new, they may be trying to control their “brand,” and wanting to make sure they are seen in the right way that they want to be seen.

Just as an actor has a “brand,” so does an agency as do personal managers.  Bottomline, be sure you ask them how they feel about it.

5.  As agents helping actors in their acting careers, what do you typically do to help get auditions for a client that you believe in?

This one might be a bit confronting for an agent, so be careful when you ask it.  The main thing that you are trying to find out is if they only submit your picture to the casting directors for auditions or if they pick up the phone and call to pitch you.  Most of the time, the smaller agency will submit their acting talent, but not make the calls.  As a starting out actor, that is okay.  But if you have Co-Star and higher credits and you want to be film talent, you will need a talent agent who will pick up the phone and pitch you to Hollywood like you deserve to be pitched.

To be sure that the agents you consider for your acting career are going to be right for you, then make sure that that agent and their agency can give you the answer to these questions – or at least four out of the five and any others that are important to you.

If you feel you are not prepared and would like to have a session to get ready for an agent’s meeting, check out the Agent Meeting Role Play that I can work with you on. 

Meanwhile, get ready to go for it!

Here are the facts:

1.  Most screenplays are not ready to send out to agents when the screenwriters think they are.  It is critical that you first learn how to write a screenplay.  It is not easy.  You will need to do far more rewriting than you can imagine to make it work well.  After you write a screenplay and you feel that you have done as much as you can, then you need to go to a real script doctor to get a script analysis.  No matter who you are, even if you are a Writer’s Guild member or Shane Black or Joe Eszterhas or Callie Khouri, you need to have someone else look at your screenplay to give you feedback.  Of course, famous screenwriters like the ones I’ve just mentioned already know they have to do a ton of rewrites, so by the time they have someone look at it, their screenplay is very far along the path of development.

2.  It is easier to get producers to read your script with a query letter than writers’ agents.  Although some producers and production companies will not read your script unless it is from a script agent that they know, the fact is, your chances are better at getting your screenplay submissions read with a query letter to producers.

3.  You truly only have one chance to get an agent or producer to read your script because even if they read it a second time, they will still have the old ideas stuck in their minds.  This happened to me loud and clear.  I wrote a screenplay back in the day, got signed by a WGA agent who worked with me a bit on it, but even after I did a major rewrite, she still talked about things that were in the first draft that she didn’t like and she acted like it was in the second draft.  Same with the producers who read my spec script.  You really, really need to make sure your script is ready to be read when it goes out.  I cannot stress this enough.

4.  It is better to go to screenwriter managers when you have only one screenplay than it is to go to agents.  A manager works with you on your career while an agent works to get your script(s) out to the market.  Usually when a writing agent sells your script or gets you an option (10% of the money up front), they will get you less money for the first one than you will get on your second script.  Once you sell your screenplay that first time and your script gets produced, the second time around, your script agent can ask for a lot more money because you are then a proven entity.  With writer managers, who operate similarly to the writer agents in some regards, not only do they make screenplay submissions, but they also strategize with you on your career for the long term.

5.  Even though it is hard to get screenplay agents (aka literary agents) to read your script, it is still a good idea to try to get one.  Although some agencies like Creative Artists Agency (CAA) absolutely refuse to even read an agent query for a screenplay, there are many others who will at least read your query letter, even if 99% of the time they won’t take you on.  But the idea is that if you find that one special agent who really “gets” your idea, it could end up being a very lucrative deal for you!

I always encourage you to go for your dreams.  Even though Hollywood is super challenging to be successful in, I figure that there are people getting paid zillions of dollars every day for their movie scripts… why can’t that be you!?  It could be you as much as it could be anyone else, so go for it!

If you would like assistance in getting your screenplay out to Hollywood with an Agent Query Letter, Manager Query Letter, or Producer Query Letter, then check out the Smart Girls Query Letter Mailings which do exactly that.

 Good luck to you!