Timing

“Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.” – Benjamin Franklin

When Justin Morneau goes through a slump at the plate, inevitably, one of the expert commentators will suggest, “His timing is off.”  A quarterback comes back from an injury and misses a few receivers in the first quarter, so the QB-become-analyst offers, “His timing seems to be off.”

You’ve got all the talent in the world as a writer/actor/director/producer/juggler, but you still can’t land an agent.  Maybe your timing is off.

In an earlier entry I mentioned K Callan’s recommendation to avoid submitting yourself for LA agency representation during pilot season.  In his book, An Agent Tells All, Tony Martinez qualifies Ms. Callan’s claim and adds that the holiday season is an awful time to submit as well.  Mr. Martinez (a Hollywood agent himself) lists May, June, and July as the best months to submit.

If you’re reading this in August, does that mean you should wait 9 months?  Of course not.  I still think the best time to submit yourself for representation is yesterday.  The odds may be better in the summer, but Mr. Martinez reminds us that agents are “always searching for talent.  24 hours a day.  7 days a week.  52 weeks a year.  It’s the one part of our job that we never put on hold.”

Just remember, if we’re not hearing back from agents, it may just be bad timing.  Either that or we suck.