You’re an agent for TV writers at CAA. How does your position allow you to champion your writers?
As a television literary agent, and particularly an agent at CAA, I have the privilege of serving as an advocate and strategic advisor to artists. We take great pride in representing the best-of in all categories and in growing careers from emergent to prolific. From identifying creative pursuits, to negotiating deals, to serving as liaisons within the marketplace, agents have the unique opportunity to connect to multiple day parts of clients’ lives.
What have some of your favorite tv projects been so far?
There are far too many client ‘favorites’ to list, but, recently, I’ve been incredibly proud to have been involved with such marquee series as Better Call Saul and Good Girls Revolt.
How involved do you get in helping writers revise their original scripts? What is the process like?
We tailor the editorial and advisory process to each client. I studied creative writing and literature during my undergraduate years, and my dramaturgical interests extended into representation. It gives me great pleasure to read client material, even at the most nascent stage, and engage in creative dialogue over meetings and phone calls.
We like to be active and producorial in our representation, often helping clients to shape, organize, and articulate pitches and/or scripts before they go out to marketplace.
When you are looking for new writing talent, what stands out to you in original tv scripts? How is what you’re looking for different than what a producer might be looking for?
I’m continuously in search of distinct, diverse, and dynamic voices. Great storytelling can originate from many different sources, including playwriting, journalism, and fiction, among others.
When gauging the quality of a script, I often look for strong character development, a plot that drives an emotional connection to the reader, and material that entertains.
I think the primary difference between a producer and agent’s relationship with a writer, and his or her material, is that an agent is focused on a long-term investment in the artist’s career, whereas a producer’s interest may be solely on a project, on a transactional basis.
What recommendations do you have for new screenwriters? What revision ideas might help them get their script ready for pitching?
I would recommend that writers be bold and relentless in their creative pursuits.
Take chances, be vulnerable, and experiment.
Also, be prolific in output; do not rest a career on one great script.
How do you recommend screenwriters approach revision?
When assessing revisions, and the revisions process, I would advise new writers to be especially discerning about the quality of drafts that are being put into circulation among potential buyers and/or representatives.
I would suggest seeking out colleagues with the most acute, critical evaluation skills. It may not be the easiest on the ego, but material will benefit from vigorous reads and re-writing.
What are common mishaps you see in scripts?
Most commonly, writers fail to review scripts comprehensively for grammatical and spelling errors. This can unintentionally communicate to a reader a lack of focus and/or critical insight.
It’s also incredibly important for a writer to be a student of the medium in which he or she intends to work. When devising an original television or film piece, it’s essential to comprehend tropes and allusions. Before declaring that the concept one is presenting is entirely inventive, be sure that the same idea isn’t already on-the-air or in theaters.
To what extent do you represent writers on their own projects versus placing them on shows that are already running?
We represent writers that work (“staff”) on series and writers that only develop series. Generally, a television career will include moments when a creator will work on another writer’s series - often an Executive Producer/Showrunner, who will serve as a mentor - and opportunities to create series based on an original idea, an adaptation of underlying material (such as a book or a film title), or around talent (such as an actor or a standup comic), among other creative paths.
With a bounty of new television buyers, and a marketplace that is open year-round, it’s now more common for writers to develop and produce series prior to staffing as work-for-hires on a series.
