The Screenwriter's Guide to Agents and Managers by John Scott Lewinski

Author:John Scott Lewinski
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allworth Press

Michele Wallerstein, Wallerstein Management

For insight into the mind of a devoted literary manager, we turn to Michele Wallerstein of Wallerstein Management. Wallerstein represents established, working clients as well as up-and-coming writers. We met her earlier in the introductory section. She formerly managed The Wallerstein Company, a boutique agency handling fewer clients than a Big House like William Morris.

Before opening her own boutique, Wallerstein worked at the Big Houses, representing both film and television writers. She made the switch to managing in 1999 in hopes of offering a smaller pool of writers more personal advice and attention.

I spoke with Wallerstein over breakfast at Hugo’s, a homey little eatery in West Hollywood.

Since Wallerstein started out as an agent and moved to managing later in her career, she has had hundreds of writers approach her for representation over the years. She stressed that one of the main mistakes writers make is sending out their material too soon. If writers can’t get access to a producer or a professional writer to critique their material, she suggested going to any one of several professional screenwriting consultants.

“I’m friendly with some of the consultants, even though I was not initially in favor of the entire business. Now I think they’re a terrific idea.

“There are so many people who want to be screenwriters. So they write one or two screenplays. They give them to their friends and family in Wisconsin or Ohio and get friendly feedback. Then they send them to an agent. My job is not to read new writers’ material and critique it. My job is to look for talent that I can market, sell, and make into a writing entity in the Hollywood professional community.

“If someone sends me a new script that’s never been read by a professional, then either I’m stuck reading some novice’s material, or I have to pay someone to read it for me. I should not need to do that. It’s not my job. “You should see the number of cover letters that come to me. I kept one for years that began, ‘I have wrote a screenplay.’ I couldn’t wait to read that one, right? So I don’t want to see a virgin script.”

Wallerstein stressed that if writers spend money and go to a qualified consultant, they will receive protection from an early rejection:

“I know that somebody who’s been in the industry and knows their job looked at the script. I know that somebody saw talent, a spark, or some level of ability there. That writer has good story sense or good character development ability.”

However, screenwriters should make sure that they find the right person to offer a referral to any agent or manager. Sometimes, if a referral comes from someone with a bad reputation, that can cost a writer dearly.

“I find that there are two kinds of people who read scripts and refer them for the wrong reasons. One kind is an entertainment lawyer. Entertainment lawyers do not know how to read a script. Why would they know how to read a screenplay? Lawyers don’t know how stories work.

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