Reader Question: How to go about querying multiple reps at the same agency?
From UK screenwriter:
Agents and managers. I have one have just finished with another.
Now that I am querying people again, I have this dilemma. When an agency has a lot of people, it can be difficult to query the right person, so I have contacted a few with a polite email.
Most don’t reply, some do.
So how can you get around a comment I got from an agent this week. “I will read consider your work, but I am a little upset that you have contacted other agents here with the same request”.
I wouldn’t have done that if agents reply to queries and just say “no”.
If I don’t contact other agents, then I am writing off making a contact on the whim of an agent letting me know they aren’t interested, are too full on clients etc.
So, finally to the question. How do you contact multiple agents at the same agency without upsetting one or all of them?
Switching representatives is a tricky business. They can get quite territorial as it’s not just about potential income, it’s also about perception — and in the entertainment business, perception — while not everything — is close to it.
The situation is complicated by the fact that agencies come in all shapes and sizes. Plus they each have different styles, even business approaches. For example, when I was at CAA for the better part of a decade, they had a team-oriented model, so while you may have a point agent, there were several who, at least in theory, the writer could contact (or vice versa). In other words, they prided themselves — at least publicly — about their lack of territorial infighting. Now when it came to going against other agencies, a whole different question.
As to how to contact multiple agents at the same agency without upsetting one or all of them, that’s a good question. I’m sure GITS readers will have some advice.
One thought: Contact only one rep at a time. If that rep passes or doesn’t respond in a timely fashion, then contact another rep at the company.
As long as we’re on the subject of seeking representation, let’s open it up: GITS readers, how have you gone about the process? And for those of you who are repped, how did that happen?