{"id":12049,"date":"2026-11-03T04:05:11","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T03:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/2026\/11\/03\/what-a-top-lit-agent-looks-for-in-your-script\/"},"modified":"2026-11-03T04:05:11","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T03:05:11","slug":"what-a-top-lit-agent-looks-for-in-your-script","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/2026\/11\/03\/what-a-top-lit-agent-looks-for-in-your-script\/","title":{"rendered":"What a Top Lit Agent Looks for in Your Script"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nofilmschool.com\/media-library\/winners-of-the-emmys-2022.jpg?id=34051825&amp;width=1245&amp;height=700&amp;coordinates=0%2C21%2C0%2C204\"><\/p>\n<p>Most screenwriting advice comes from writers. This conversation comes from the other side, meaning someone whose job is to decide which scripts go out into the world.<\/p>\n<p>Glenn Cockburn is the founder of Meridian Artists, a premier literary talent agency established in 2005. Based in Toronto and Los Angeles, his agency carries a roster of Canadian screenwriters, directors, and authors.<\/p>\n<p>He got his start in 1996 as a script reader for New Line Cinema and Innovative Artists, then spent 1997 to 1999 as a creative executive at Templeton Productions, which had a first-look deal at New Line. He moved back to Toronto in 2000 to join The Characters Talent Agency, and launched Meridian in 2005.<\/p>\n<p>He recently appeared on The Business of Film Podcast to speak with producer Jesse Ikeman. They discuss what he learned from his time as a reader, why the bar for samples has never been higher, the three mistakes agents see constantly, and more. Dive in!<\/p>\n<p class=\"shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube\"> <span class=\"rm-shortcode\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"ce6aa1d8642dad9e4b208cee0946917f\" style=\"display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"auto\" lazy-loadable=\"true\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xUcnK8wx7Gw?rel=0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/span> <small class=\"image-media media-caption\" placeholder=\"Add Photo Caption...\">&#8211; YouTube<\/small><small class=\"image-media media-photo-credit\" placeholder=\"Add Photo Credit...\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=xUcnK8wx7Gw\" target=\"_blank\">www.youtube.com<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n<h2>What a Thousand Scripts Teach You<\/h2>\n<p>If you ever have the opportunity, read people&#8217;s scripts. Read, read, read. Unfortunately, it&#8217;s not so much a paid position anymore with the advent of AI, but there is no better education for writers than just reading everything you can get your hands on and analyzing the writing.<\/p>\n<p>Cockburn talks about his time as an old-school reader.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I would, about 8:00 at night, I would get four feature film scripts delivered to me by courier. I would have to read the film, write up a one-page synopsis of it, one page of articulate comments that an executive could use in a meeting, and a cover sheet, and have all that coverage on all four scripts faxed back to New Line by 8 a.m.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>When I was a reader, I&#8217;d get mine by email. Sometimes I&#8217;d have a quick turnaround, but the pay would be better in those cases. Cockburn agrees that the time in this position was invaluable because &#8220;you&#8217;re recognizing everything that is not working.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Not only are you recognizing it, but you have to articulate it and explain why it&#8217;s not working. Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/nofilmschool.com\/script-coverage-template\" target=\"_blank\">script coverage<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>You never stop learning.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If you think you&#8217;ve figured out screenwriting, that&#8217;s the end of your creative career right there.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Structure Is the Canvas<\/h2>\n<p>Cockburn admits his reader years gave him a bias toward structure. He&#8217;s also clear that structure doesn&#8217;t mean every script follows the same formula.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But at the end of the day, if you can&#8217;t build a canvas to begin with, then you&#8217;re just painting on air, and it&#8217;s not really going anywhere.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>If you need a <a href=\"https:\/\/nofilmschool.com\/screenplay-structure\" target=\"_blank\">primer on screenplay structure<\/a>, we&#8217;ve got you covered. Structure isn&#8217;t binding, but a useful guide. Take advantage of it.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;At the end of the day, a great script in my mind does everything it&#8217;s supposed to do all the time in every moment,&#8221; Cockburn says. &#8220;That&#8217;s a great script. And so, you&#8217;re looking for people who can write things that can convey that density of information and an economy of words.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>The Market Shrank, So Your Sample Has to Be Great<\/h2>\n<p>It can be so exciting to finish a script and immediately want to send it everywhere, but that&#8217;s rarely the right move. Wait. Get some eyes on it. Rework it. Let it sit. Then maybe try the big dogs.<\/p>\n<p>Cockburn estimates the industry is about 40% smaller than a few years ago. That&#8217;s his rough math. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2024\/02\/12\/peak-tv-decline-scripted-shows-low\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Axios<\/a> reported FX Research&#8217;s count of an industry-record 600 scripted series in 2022, followed by a 14% drop, the steepest in at least a decade. Ampere Analysis found U.S. streaming orders fell 41% between 2022 and 2025, from 1,144 to 678 (via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvtechnology.com\/insights\/analysis\/study-new-streaming-tv-series-orders\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">TV Technology<\/a>). The world got smaller.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If the market&#8217;s contracted 40%, that means 40% of the story editors aren&#8217;t working, 40% of the co-producers aren&#8217;t working, or 40% of the co-EPs, 40% of the showrunners aren&#8217;t working that were working, let alone the people who were trying to get in.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>All to say, your script better be amazing, and it had better be the best representation of your taste and personality as it can be.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;And if you&#8217;re not getting meetings off a sample, it&#8217;s not good enough.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube\"> <span class=\"rm-shortcode\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"05030d7296b9686384d43bc42c81199d\" style=\"display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"auto\" lazy-loadable=\"true\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3u7EIiohs6U?rel=0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/span> <small class=\"image-media media-caption\" placeholder=\"Add Photo Caption...\">&#8211; YouTube<\/small> <small class=\"image-media media-photo-credit\" placeholder=\"Add Photo Credit...\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3u7EIiohs6U\" target=\"_blank\">www.youtube.com<\/a> <\/small> <\/p>\n<h2>Voice Is the Rarest Thing on the Page<\/h2>\n<div>Jumping forward a little, this point connects directly to the strength of a sample.<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;Every single person reading scripts is looking for the same thing. And it is the most rare thing in scripts and that is voice,&#8221; Cockburn says.<\/p>\n<p>To him, voice is literally the way you write\u2014how do you come across on the page? What&#8217;s your rhythm, what are your idiosyncrasies?<\/p>\n<p>He suggests that once a pilot draft is done, rewrite the first 10 pages under a new rule. Try more adjectives, or sentences of five words or less, or characters who never finish what they&#8217;re saying. It can&#8217;t hurt the draft you already have.<\/p>\n<h2>Three Mistakes Agents See Constantly<\/h2>\n<p>Here are three things to keep in mind for your next draft.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The first problem starts before page one, with the idea itself.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;&#8216;Characters in a setting&#8217; doesn&#8217;t work,&#8221; Cockburn says.<\/p>\n<p>He means you can&#8217;t just say a story is &#8220;people in a place.&#8221; His example is a half-hour comedy about the overnight shift at a bakery. The crew shows up at midnight, spends a few hours there, and makes delicious food. Wow, exciting! It doesn&#8217;t justify a series.<\/p>\n<p>But if you say a show is about an American football coach trying to start over in England as an out-of-place British football coach, that&#8217;s something else. There&#8217;s drama and conflict built in.<\/p>\n<p>The second mistake is what Cockburn calls &#8220;backend loading.&#8221; Writers spend the pilot making sure readers understand everything. It&#8217;s a ton of set-up. By the time the premise arrives, there are, like, five pages left. Some writers even hold back their best idea for later in the season. Don&#8217;t do that!<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;No one is going to buy a show because of the idea in Episode 3. If that&#8217;s the best idea you have for that series, that is your pilot. Pull that forward,&#8221; Cockburn says.<\/p>\n<p>The third mistake is scene length, mainly that they go too long. Pick one or two of your favorite shows in the format you want to write. Sit down with a pen and paper, and write down how long every scene runs. He said writers come back surprised nearly every time.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;People are so used to just kind of relaxing and watching a show they&#8217;re not catching on. That scenes are very rarely longer than a minute anymore,&#8221; Cockburn says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Author: Jo Light<br \/>\nThis article comes from <i>No Film School<\/i> and can be <a href=\"https:\/\/nofilmschool.com\/what-lit-agents-like-scripts\" target=\"_blank\"><b>read on the original site.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most screenwriting advice comes from writers. This conversation comes from the other side, meaning someone whose job is to decide which scripts go out into&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_customify_content_layout":"","_customify_sidebar":"","_customify_page_header_display":"","_customify_disable_header":"","_customify_disable_header_top":"","_customify_disable_header_main":"","_customify_disable_header_bottom":"","_customify_disable_page_title":"","_customify_disable_content_vertical_padding":"","_customify_disable_footer_top":"","_customify_disable_footer_main":"","_customify_disable_footer_bottom":"","_customify_breadcrumb_display":"","_customify_header_transparent_display":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[38,37,43,42,39,40,44,41,36],"class_list":["post-12049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-video-news","tag-editing","tag-film","tag-guide","tag-info","tag-news","tag-tips","tag-topics","tag-tricks","tag-video"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Brokenmount","author_link":"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/author\/sysop\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/category\/video-news\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Video and Film News<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Most screenwriting advice comes from writers. This conversation comes from the other side, meaning someone whose job is to decide which scripts go out into&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12049\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}