5 LITERARY AGENTS, 4 POINTS, 3 GREAT WRITING TRICKS & 1 PHONE NUMBER (PART 1)
by Dov S-S Simens on April 30, 2015
First 4 Points & 3 Great Screenwriting Tips
25 years ago when I first came to Hollywood-land my first paying jobs were as a Reader-of-Scripts (aka: Doing COVERAGE) for Production Companies that could not afford $120-$250K per year for a Development Exec with a Masters degree in literary from Harvard, Yale or Cambridge… but they could afford a dude like me $25-30 for a 90-100 Page script.
POINT # 1; Over 3 years I read and did a 2-page Book Report called “COVERAGE” on 2,000-3,000 scripts at $25-30 bucks each and made just enough money to pay rent on a small 2-Bedroom (wife-n-kids-n-dog) apartment in the Park La Brea area of LA, supplemented with some Line Producing gigs… Now here’s the POINT… I, just like every other reader doing “coverage” does not want to see-or-read another f*ckin’ script… However, it’s a job and I got a family…
POINT # 2: Readers are very-very negative individuals who are about to peruse (aka: read your baby) your script and are not desirous of reading it, spending 2-3 hours and making today $50-75 bucks… Thus, you have to Grab-The-Reader Quick.
POINT #3: They say that Hollywood only reads 10 pages…. Bullsh*t… I was one of those readers and barely read 1-page, never-the-less 10…. WHY? Answer: I could tell if your script sucked by Page 1… WHY? Cause when I’m reading it, and remember I have a negative attitude, if you don’t HOOK-ME (aka: Grab-The-Reader) within the first page then I’m bored and write negative coverage…
POINT # 4: Men, when we watch TV, only have a 15-second attention span and flick-the-dial… Ain’t That Correct Women!… Don’t you just want to tear that remote out of our paws?… Please don’t. WHY? Because we only have a 15-second attention span… That’s how God made us… Now the POINT #4… If 1-page of script typed (formatted properly) is 1-minute of running time and 1-page of script has about 20-24 lines of typing; then where is 15-seconds? ANSWER: It is somewhere between Line 5 to Line 7…. Thus, Grab-The-Reader… Go back and read your script… Just Page-1 and see if you have a GREAT GRABBER on Page-1, somewhere between lines #5-7…. If not “It Gets Binned”
Guess What? I lied.
I just decided to make this a 2-Part Post and will give you the 3 GREAT SCREENWRITING TIPS (aka: Grab-Da-Reader) with my next post (News at 11)
But now here are 5 LITERARY AGENTS, 1 GREAT AGENCY-PHONE NUMBER I Promised.
5 LITERARY AGENTS & 1 PHONE NUMBER
The Agency is “WME” (William Morris Endeavor):
It’s BevH address is 9601 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA, 90210…
1 PHONE #:
It’s phone # is 310-285-9000
5 LITERARY AGENTS at WME…
A. ERIN CONROY
B. ANNA DeROY
C. CAROLYN HARRIS
D. ERIC REID
E. LAUREN HELLER WHITNAY
They likely will not take your phone call or your pitch but “What the F*ck” all I know is that if you don’t try then DEFINITELY they ain’t taking your phone-call… Give It a Shot & Comment.
Also, Neuroskeptic, you might discover that even a “professionnal poesrn’s book” gets a life of its own like the best fiction writers describe. The material you feel like (and right) to write about might change during the process of your writing- or the balance between science vulgarisation and poesrnal anecdote.With your talent, you might end up writing an autobiography or whatever and it would be sad if a commercial contract were to prohibit it. Life is so short and so many bad or mediocre books are published to make a little money-sometimes very little.NB: “My book” now is more about the unaffordable cost of justice in France in general for the vulnerable people more in need of it(with just a chapter on Education’s cases)and the human cost of paternalism for pupils and the considered mentally ill. Of course, I might not be motivated enough to finish it or unable to find a publisher to take care about the many faults of the book and make a fool of myself publishing it on line. Small price to pay for freedom of writing.And you -unlike I- will probably get a lot of friends very competent in your different subjects for reading your book before you publish it on line- in the very unlikely event that you were not to find a professional publisher after a first draft of yours.
Wow sounds brutal I’m in got a true story need your help what’s your take
Reading everything above: It’s all so “go-get-it-if-you-want it-bad-enough.” Every writer who submits feels that way. This business is brutal and the most common overused word. “SUBJECTIVE” There are millions of untold stories, on screen or in literary fields. Mostly because those who make the decisions are the ones who won’t take the chance. Many of the best comes from those who say, I’m not following the crowd. A novel titled: “I’m Donald and Hilary’s Love Child”, will fly off the shelves, yet, a stand alone manuscript with a newer concept will be rejected over and over because it doesn’t follow the herd. The movie Thelma and Louise became a dream for women who want to stand up for themselves. Haven’t seen anything close to that since. Wonder why? It didn’t follow the herd. Finding a publisher who will step up to the plate and be different is the one who develops new and refreshing ideas. Female Hollywood celebrities have complained for years about not having enough female roles for their age and other Hollywood reasons. Yet, Publishers are handed something that is of the women today and they pass on it. Demographics of those who spend the most money on Chic Flicks and fiction are the top level of spending. Someone is missing the boat on a new concept. The “Woodstock” era women are not June Cleaver of yesterday, they run for President,and run into burning homes, putting fires out, yet, it doesn’t get put on the screen or in books. What is brutal is the idea that Hollywood will produce a “Terms of Endearment.” Not an “Old Girls Rule” novel from a new, unknown author who tells the tale of the women today. Ask me, I’ll give it to you. I’ve put it out there and went after it with a passion. I can prove “Old Girls Rule” if you want to read it.
I’m a passionate story-teller and writer. I have always had a passion for movies and love to create stories that entertain people and come straight from the heart.
This was a refreshingly honest insight into the world of script reading and pitching. Ill definitely keep those first page tips in mind for my own writing.
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