In response to yesterday’s post, univoked asked if writers’ conferences could be helpful in finding an agent. Ugly Deaf Muslim Punk Gurl! replied:
Writers’ conferences aren’t really for screenwriters, they’re for BOOK writers. So if you’re looking for a literary agent for a BOOK you’re writing, then you could go to a conference.
Otherwise, don’t bother if you’re searching for a film literary agent.
That’s funny, when I looked on Google I found 3, and that was just page one.
True as it may be that scriptwriting conferences exist, they’re still not very useful. Half of them are scams, and the other half are well-intentioned but unhelpful.
Back in my agent-assisting days, I went to a few of these, mostly for the free lunch and the $100 they offered anyone who would sit and listen to a ten pitches an hour. I was hardly alone in my insincerity, either. Few of the agents there believed they would find anything useful.
And we were fairly justified in that thinking. The best pitch I ever heard at one of those things was “Moby Dick… in SPACE.” Apparently, he’s never seen Star Trek II.
Of course, those of us listening to pitches weren’t exactly cream of the crop, either. Like most of the pitchees, I came from a tiny agency. The few big agencies that did show up only sent their most junior of junior agents.
And that’s the point. I honestly can’t remember the last time one of the conferences or pitch fests resulted in actually starting a career. It’s best to go about it the old fashioned way.
Or skip the whole industry altogether, and make your own product online. Either way, there’s no shortcut to getting your work noticed.
Any agents out there want to weigh in?
One Response
heyyy! You mentioned me in your blog again! That’s the 2nd time! whooo HOOO!!!!
Yeah, from what L.A screenwriters and producers have told me, screenwriting conferences are a huge waste of time. The only one that’s actually worth going is the Screenwriting Expo in L.A for networking, meeting fellow screenwriters, meeting agents, and learning a new thing or 2. That’s the only screenwriting conference I plan to attend sometimes soon in the future.
Screenwriting is really all about who you know in L.A, so I’m trying a crack with writing BOOKS first. It’s easier to land a book literary agent than it is to land a film literary agent.