I plan to contact production companies AND agents simultaneously. Is that ok?
For people who are just starting out and trying to get some traction for their screenplays I usually recommend sending your material first to an agent/manger and then, if you haven’t gotten any traction, sending to production companies directly six or eight weeks later. Most agents aren’t going to like the fact you’ve sent your script out to production companies. They will feel like they can’t send it to those companies again if the company has passed on the material. I’ve never found this to be a really big issue, though, because in most cases when you do a blast to production companies the “yes” responses are usually not companies where your agent has contacts. So the overlap is usually quite small. But the reason I would wait is simple: if you can find an agent or manager who likes your work they’ll be able to submit your work for you, guide you in your own submissions, and make the query letters you do send out pack more of a punch. It’s a much more compelling query letter if you c
