How to Manage Your Agent A Screenwriter's Guide to Understanding (and Getting the Most From) Your Hollywood Representation

Have you written the script for the nextbox office blockbuster or hit TV show and just need the right agent to sell it? Not sure whether to accept an if-come deal or a script commitment? Debating which manager is the right choice to steer your career? Well, worry no more... How to Manage Your Agent is a fun, friendly guide to the world of literary representation. Enter the inner sanctums of Hollywood’s power-brokers and learn how they influence what pitches get bought, what projects get sold, and which writers get hired. Find tips from top-level executives, agents, managers, producers, and writers to help you maximize your own representation and kick your career into overdrive! You’ll learn: •How agents prioritize their client list... and ways to guarantee you’re at the top • When to approach new representation... and what you need to capture their interest •Hollywood’s secret buying schedule... and how to ensure you’re on it •The truth about packaging... where it helps and when it hurts • Which agents are best for you... and where to find them • Advice on acing your first agent meeting... and why so many writers blow it • Managers’ tricks for creating buzz... and when to use them yourself • How to fire your agent... without killing your career •When you don’t need representation... and how to succeed without it The value of good representation is undeniable—especially in a world where agents and managers control which projects (and careers) live or die. How to Manage Your Agent puts you on the inside track to get your work the attention it deserves!

REPRESENT: No Vocation Without Representation; Types of Representation; Anatomy of an Agency; FEATURE AGENTS: Quick Overview of the Feature Business; Original Material—Specs and Pitches; Writers-for-Hire—Development, Open Assignments, and Rewriters; TELEVISION AGENTS: A Quick Overview of the TV Business; Staffing Season…or, How Agents Help Clients Get Hired; Development Season…or, Selling Your Own TV Show; Reality Agents; OTHER TYPES OF LITERARY AGENTS: Book Agents; Theater Agents; Video Game Agents; Digital Media Agents; YOU AND YOUR AGENT: Finding and Agent; Working with Your Agent; Parting Ways with an Agent; Networking in Hollywood; Getting Your Own Job in Hollywood; APPENDIXES: Glossary, Agency Contact Info, Professional Orgs and Associations; Schools, Classes, and Workshops; Contest and Festivals, Books & Periodicals; Websites, Chatrooms, & Blogs

Chad Gervich is a television writer/producer, bestselling author, and award-winning playwright. He has written, produced, or developed shows for almost every major network and studio in Hollywood, including E!’s After Lately, starring Chelsea Handler; Disney Channel’s Dog With a Blog; Food Network’s Cupcake Wars; and ABC’s Wipeout. Chad’s first book, Small Screen, Big Picture: A Writer’s Guide to the TV Business, has been a staple in film and TV writing programs at USC, UCLA, California State University, Long Island University, as well as in programs at NBC, CBS, and the Writers Guild.