You don’t have to have an agent to sell your screenplay, but it usually helps. A good screenplay agent :
• Can read and edit your screenplay
• Knows the players involved: actors, directors, producers, and most importantly, the buyers
• Knows the trends
• Is an experienced negotiator and may be able to get you better terms and royalties
• Knows how to sell screenplays
• Lives and works in Hollywood where most scripts are purchased; particularly valuable if you don’t live in the area
Unless you know a bankable director or star, an agent is the best person to get your script to. An agent represents you and makes their living by receiving 10 percent of whatever you make from your screenplay, so they are highly motivated to get you as much money as possible. If you don’t get paid, they don’t get paid.
Many producers prefer or even require that screenplay submissions come only from screenplay agents. Agents know the business and producers know they can count on them to weed out screenplays that just won’t work. A good agent has built up a good reputation with producers so when that agent recommends a script, the producers feel that they can trust him or her and that script goes to the top of their pile.
Once an agent signs you, he or she will talk up your screenplay to development people. On an appointed day, he or she will “go out” with it—several copies of your screenplay with a cover letter introducing you and your script go out by courier. Ideally, two or more production companies will be interested and want to buy it. That’s what creates a bidding war with the potential for a big payday.
If no one buys your screenplay, your agent will try to set it up on an option deal. It will go out one at a time get it set up somewhere on an option deal. They might keep you on as a client for six months to two years hoping that they can sell or option your script in that time, get you a writing job or sell your next spec script.
Whether you live in Los Angeles or just go there for a few weeks, your agent should set up meetings for you with producers and developers who were interested in your script. This gives you an opportunity to talk about your upcoming projects and learn about theirs. They might consider you for writing work and give you a novel that they want adapted for film or a script that needs rewriting. They’d ask for your ideas and possibly assign you the job.
An agent can do things you cannot do yourself. You probably don’t know the best people to send your screenplay to. Even the best logline is no guarantee that they will even glance at your script. A new screenwriter doesn’t know what his or her script is worth and will probably ask for too much or too little. You can’t create a bidding war.
For these reasons, an unsuccessful agent is better than no agent. Since agents don’t earn any money off your screenplay until they sell it, their services are basically free. Having someone believe in your work enough to undertake the effort to sell it validates your writing. If you do find an interested buyer, you shouldn’t negotiate on your own behalf. Producers have much more experience negotiating than new screenwriters do. Even if you don’t find a buyer for your script, an agent probably can tell you why—there are already similar stories in the works, etc. He or she can tell you whether other story ideas you have are marketable.