What Are the Three Questions a Writer Should Be Asking When Interviewing a Literary Agent to Represent Him/Her?

So you got your foot in the door. Finally had an agent read your script and you get a call to come in for a meeting. Maybe you get really lucky, and you are getting several agents and managers calling you for a meeting. It’s a great position to be in, but you still have a difficult decision to make. Who should you sign with?

This is a great question that a screenwriter recently asked me. So I am to try and place myself in the writers shoes and see what the best questions you can ask an agent. I am sure after writing this blog, I’m going to forget some other important question…so maybe down the line I’ll post the best 3-6 questions to ask! Another important note, is that there are different questions to ask a manager.

If you have the choice of picking your agent, this can be a very big decision in your career. Your agent will be getting you work and guiding your career. If you have the opportunity to meet with a few, you will see different styles and personalities, but make sure you do your own homework, don’t judge a book by its cover.

1) What did you think about my script? So this may sound like a simple question, but here’s the truth – some of the agents in the signing meeting, have not read your script. If you have to ask this question, then that’s not a good sign. Most of the time, the agents will talk about how they liked your script off the bat. Pay close attention. Are they talking about specific scenes in your script? If so, then that’s a good sign. As I mentioned earlier, you would be surprised about how many agents have not read a potential client’s script in a signing meeting. How does this happen? Well, the person who really liked your script will bring in some other agents into the meeting to WOW you and pretty much for show. Remember, the agent has to sell you and your work…you will be able to tell how many agents are actually going to be selling you. One of them, or all of them?

2) What’s your strategy for taking my script out? The agents may not have had a lot of time to think about this, but this can shed some light as to how they think. Do they want to attach a director or a piece of talent to your script first, or do they want to send it out? If they do, who will they send it out to? This can show you how the agent thinks. If they say, they don’t know, then that’s a red flag.

3) How many clients do you represent? This question is to basically judge how much time and attention you are going to get. The more clients each agent represents, the less amount of time they will be able to give you, it’s just a fact.

There are a lot more questions and answers, but the problem is, you can’t ask them because you won’t get a truthful answer. For example, “what happens if my script doesn’t sell?” Well, no agent is going to tell you they will forget about you. So why ask this if you aren’t going to get the real answer? Also, if you start asking too many questions, the agent may not want to sign you at the end because they may sense someone who is going to take up too much of their time.