[…] I guess you could call me Old School in that I’ve never had a manager, only agents and lawyers, so I’ll open up the question to GITS readers who have confronted a situation whereby they had to choose between …read more […]

Thanks Scott for doing a blog about my questions. I really enjoyed your answers. Just out of curiosity, how fast does a manager expect you to churn out a spec and writing assignment? Do they take on writers that might seem promising, but want to develop them further before introducing them to the market? What about those that have directing ambitions? Is that something you should keep quiet about until you have something to show? Also, the point you made about the young hungry manager vs. the established one. There are some medium to big firms where I notice that they have an established manager with a junior manager that both handle the client---is that mainly the junior manager doing most of the work and the heavyweight manager coming in every now and then supervising the strategy? I have noticed two different types of managers: Salesman types that operate more like agents and packaging producers and development type managers that really hone in on the drafts.

For me when I met with 4-5 managers it was about seeing who was interested in me as a writer and not just this one script. You may have reps in the meeting only talking about what they would do with this one script they read, and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, you want them to invest in you long term and not this project. Because if this script goes out and doesn't gain traction, it may die and then what do they do with you? So it sounds silly, but the first 30 minutes of the meeting I had at the management company we spent it talking about my background and dogs and cars and all these things that aren't related to writing but I wanted to see how much we had in common and if they were interested in me as a writer. Also chemistry is important. You'll know when you walk out of a room if you feel like you clicked with that person or that they "got" you. If it was awkward and forced, that may not be someone you should spend the next two years communicating with. It's been said before, but I equate it to dating -- and it is a relationship in some sense. I've left reps and it's just like breaking up. Signing with new ones is like dating exclusively. Go with your gut. Forget company name or whether you saw their name on the tracking board one hundred times or one. Find someone who is passionate about your work and will get it in front of people who matter.

Eric, I'm on the road. Remind me to get to these questions if I don't in a day or two.

Thanks for that, Kristy. Your point about 'dating' brings this to mind: While you may hope to find a manager with whom you have a relationship for the entirety of your professional career, many writers end up switching reps, even multiple times. So while you do want to try - obviously - to make the right choice, it's not like it's an unalterable determination. As long as you keep producing good work, there will likely be reps around who will be interested in you. Not a preferred path perhaps, but the fact that writers do change reps can help take some pressure of that very first choice.

Thanks for sharing your personal experience. It's very helpful and interesting. What they do with you after they sign you and what they have planned beyond that one script is what's most interesting to me. I'd probably enjoy the smooth salesman type more, but my gut tells me that the more cerebral development type would help me out more in the long run and likely to stick around. Just like dating, huh? Some of the managers that became prominent through developing material are a little more on the cerebral side and do not seem to be as smooth as some of the well known guys that are more sellers.