Do You Really Need an Agent Yet?
Lessons from the WFTV Kay Mellor Screenwriters' Lab 2025 - Part 2
Every production company’s website says the same thing in bold letters: no unsolicited scripts. Which means if you don’t have an agent, you don’t even get past the gate. But then, agents don’t want to rep you unless you’ve already got broadcast credits. It’s the chicken and the egg of screenwriting.
Here’s what came through loud and clear in our session with a writing agent at the Kay Mellor Lab:
Agents aren’t looking for people who are waiting to be chosen. They want to see that you’re already doing it for yourself. Writing, submitting, building a body of work, entering labs, putting your name in the ring. Hustling. Because if you’re not moving, there’s nothing for them to sell.
So how do you know if you actually need an agent? The answer was almost disarmingly simple: you’ll know when you can’t manage without one. When you’re so busy with meetings, contracts, and opportunities that you can’t keep up. Until then, why would you want to pay commission on earnings that barely exist?
And what happens if you do land a commission before you’re repped? You don’t need to panic. You join the Writers’ Guild. They’ll look over contracts, negotiate terms, and give you the support you’d expect an agent to provide. It’s a lifeline for emerging writers trying to bridge the gap.
The takeaway for me was this: stop obsessing over getting an agent too early. Focus on the work. Keep pitching, keep writing, keep building your slate. When the time comes, you’ll either be drowning in admin and need the help, or an agent will come to you because they’ve already seen the noise you’re making.
Until then? Write like nobody’s opening the door for you. Because they aren’t.
What Agents Are Actually Looking For
From the outside, it feels like a mystery. But when you boil it down, agents want to know a few clear things about you:
Can you deliver on the page? A killer logline gets their attention, but a strong, polished pilot sample (even 10–15 pages) proves you can actually write for TV.
Do you have a voice? Formatting is easy to learn. What’s hard to find is someone who writes with distinction, whose stories could only have come from them.
Are you more than a one-hit wonder? A single project is a calling card. Agents look for a slate — one pitch-ready project, plus others in development that show your range and consistency.
Are you professional? They don’t want to babysit. They want writers who can take feedback, meet deadlines, and walk into meetings without imploding.
Are you already moving? Agents are more likely to back someone who’s entering labs, winning competitions, publishing, and building their own momentum.
And here’s the kicker: you won’t just be proving all of this on the page. By the time you’re in the room with an agent, you’ll have to show it on screen too — in how you present yourself, how you talk about your projects, and how you handle the conversation.
For me, this landed hard. I’ve spent months worrying about how to get my work “out there” without an agent, as though I needed someone to open the gates for me. What this week clarified is that I don’t need permission. What I need is to start putting myself out there, to build relationships, to grow a network, and to let the work carry its own weight.
Like most writers, I’m happiest behind my laptop. It’s my place of comfort. Which makes it feel like an oxymoron that you’re expected to get out there, pitch, and sell yourself. But it’s part of the job, and it’s something I’ll have to get used to at the ripe old age of 48.
That’s the real takeaway: the door doesn’t open because someone invites you through it. It opens because you’re already standing there, knocking loud enough that they can’t ignore you.
– Holly
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I’m Holly Smith-Williams: novelist, screenwriter, and founder of the £1.5M Project—a year-long experiment to see how far words, wit, and stubborn execution can go.
You can expect fiction, industry breakdowns, unapologetic ambition, and the occasional author confession.
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You weren’t joking about coming soon!! That was really interesting and good luck with banging on that door.