Actors all over the world have the big dream of working as an actor in Hollywood film and TV productions. Just because you are an actor in Canada, Germany, Austria, Ireland, or Egypt does not mean that you can’t take the first step toward a Hollywood acting career. Ultimately you will need to be in Hollywood for auditions, but you can test the waters by doing a mailing to Talent Agents from anywhere in the world. However, there are some logistical issues to deal with and that is what this post is about.
First, if you haven’t yet seen how the cover letter mailings to Hollywood talent agents work, then check it out. Assuming you understand that — or may be in the process of having it created with Smart Girls — then you will need to decide how you want to handle the mailing itself.
Let’s look at your options in terms of the logistics of handling your Cover Letter Mailing to Talent Agents once the service has been completed. If you are within the U.S., it is very simple: We will use the U.S. Mail to send you a box filled with your Cover Letters and Labels. Then you sign each letter, put it in a 9×12 envelope with your headshot and resume, put the postage on it, and send it out.
If you live out of the country there are a couple of other issues to address:
- Postage for a 9×12 package for anywhere from 75 to 125 headshot, resume, and cover letters when you are sending them from out of the country is not cheap.
- Further, the postmark will clearly indicate that you are from out of the country and it may be a negative in the eyes of the film agent or manager who figures you won’t be available for auditions, so why would they call.
The whole plan in creating a mailing to talent agents for you is to remove as many obstacles as possible — being a working actor is enough of a challenge without this added one!
There are really three options for you about how we can then get them in the mail and delivered.
1. You can hire Smart Girls to do all of the work to actually sign them, stuff them, and mail them from Los Angeles with first class postage.
Quotes for this service are available upon request. It has two parts. Part 1 is the cost of the stamp at around $1 to $1.25 each. Part 2 is the preparation, which includes signing the letter, stapling your headshot and resume, and so on. A quote will confirm the exact cost for your particular mailing. It may run around 1.00 per package in addition to the postage itself.
2. You can have your boxed of materials shipped to you and you put them together and mail them from your country.
For this, you pay the shipping and handling to have the box sent to you and there are no other charges from us.
3. You can have your box of materials shipped to you and you put them together and then mail the completed box back to Smart Girls in Los Angeles to drop in the mail for you so that it looks like you are local.
For this you are also welcome to use Smart Girls’ local address as your return address. Many of our clients do this just to make sure that it is not an objection from the agent or manager who gets the envelope. For this, you pay the shipping and handling to have the box sent to you and there are no other charges.
Additionally, when you are out of the country, or even if you are in the U.S. but want to appear to be local to Los Angeles, you can do such things as get a Google Phone Number in a Los Angeles area code. You can also work it out to get a personal mailbox in L.A. if you really want to go all out for the long-term.
The main point here is that whether you are an actor in Los Angeles, Brussels, London, or Sydney, or anywhere else in the world, you can take the first step toward your acting career and test the waters. You simply need to work out the logistics and take it from there. I’m not saying it is easy, but if you want to pursue your dream — taking that first step is where you begin!
If you have questions or comments about this post, please feel free to leave them below. Thank you!