Meet the First Black Woman to Own a Literary Agency in California

Tiauna Jackson, bushy tail and bright eyes, set her sights to conquer Hollywood but would instead find herself and her career moving in a direction that she least expected. With the need for more Black agents, Jackson’s industry experience and business sense not only propelled her forward but put her in the position to become the first Black woman to own a literary agency in California and the FIRST and ONLY franchised literary agency in Georgia.

She was eager to share her story, hoping to inspire other trailblazers and those passionate to have a career in entertainment. What made her decide to become an agent? What’s her why? Here’s what she had to say:

The Decision
There’s a saying that I heard often in my early 20’s, “You can’t sell a script without an Agent, and you can’t get an Agent without having sold a script.” I’d been in and around Hollywood since I was 18. I wrote scripts, tried to sell scripts, tried to create a production company and had shot my own material.

My best friend is a Writer and Director and he wanted me to represent him but at the time I didn’t want to deal with what I thought it would take to be an Agent.

Ten years later, I found myself starting to create content. Everything I was creating was scripted so I was casting actors for my projects. Their stories about not being able to find an agent were all too familiar and they were all faces of color.

So one day, I woke up and said I’m doing it. I’m becoming an Agent. At the time, I didn’t know if there even were Black Agents. Being Black and in executive positions even 5 short years ago was extremely rare.

The Start
I used my studio space that I produced out of in Van Nuys, CA. It was a literal hole in the wall, I could do whatever I wanted there. I could create, I could produce, so I knew I could Agent. Everything we do is internet based so if anyone wasn’t impressed by the location wasn’t someone I wanted to work with. I don’t believe in a waste of overhead.

The first year is the hardest year, you’re fighting to prove yourself and to get casting to call you in. I didn’t learn until year 4 that the casting sites allowed casting to control who could see and submit on their breakdowns.

I didn’t really gain traction until year 4 going into year 5. This was the year of change. Jaia Thomas had decided to pioneer a database of Black Entertainment Professionals called Diverse Representation. It’s an index of all of us in the industry. That was a great game changer for me, as through her I was introduced to Cara Buckley of The New York Times.

The Breakout
For Black History Month, The NYT profiled the Lonely Life of the Black Agent. The article was later changed online to read “The Uphill Battles of Black Agents in Hollywood.” Cara’s initial headline was accurate. I was and still am lonely. There are maybe a dozen Black Agents working at the bigger corporate owned agencies, but there are even fewer who own their own agency and operate on a lesser known frequency. I’m all alone.

Mistakes
Because I’m self-taught, tons of mistakes were made. I foolishly thought I could rely upon actors to have their materials in order. I started meeting actors who didn’t know where to get their headshots printed, they didn’t know how to do their resume, and they overwhelmingly refused to train consistently at an acting school. As I went, I was teaching them what needed to be done and they weren’t listening.

So after a year of fighting with my clients and getting nowhere, I dropped them all and started over. I proceeded to do this for three years, each time, retaining the good ones and releasing the bad ones. In year 3, I literally only had 1 client. In year 4, I tried again. But this time I did it the way I WANTED to do it rather than the way it was done because it just wasn’t working for me.

I just became brutally honest. I told potential clients actually what the game was as I saw it and let them know if they can deal with me fussing at them I will fight to the death to make their dream come true.

Here we are in year 5. I have over 150 clients I represent. I have 3 agents apart of my agency, and I scaled into all major markets instead of just staying in Los Angeles.

So the lesson for me was to always trust my gut and to just be myself. There are so many people full of shit in Hollywood, so to my clients it’s refreshing that I’m honest and real.

Successes
When people ask me the why of it all, the answer is always the same. Because of my experiences in my 20’s my best friend and I said that if we were in a position to help other we would.

My biggest success is watching my clients who were brand new, never booked anything in their lives book their first major credit. Watching my client prepare and audition for a major biopic and get the callback (second audition for the director). Just seeing people’s confidence THRIVE and grow as they navigate this cutthroat industry.

I have elders in my Agency who are honest and tell me, “hon, it’s nice to finally meet an Agent who cares. I’ve been with a lot of Agents and none of them care like you do.” That makes me feel like I’ve found my purpose and that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing.

My biggest personal breakthrough moment was when I stopped comparing what my business was doing compared to the others. I move in a different way and that’s entirely okay.

Lessons Learned
I went through moments where all of my time and energy was just being used by people. I would fix and develop artists and they would take all of that work I did and go to another agency because that’s where they wanted to be, but that agency had previously rejected them. Now cleaned up, that agency accepted them. If anything, I had reaffirmation that I knew what I was talking about.

Now, I only do these consultations for a fee or if that client is signed to me. Initially I was doing all of this in our interview meeting. That was a bad idea.

I also learned over the years that if you set someone up for success, by literally making it happen for them, they will leave you in a heartbeat. There’s no loyalty in this business. I had a client that I had gone above and beyond for, mentioned him in the press, got him a meeting with executives as NBC, got him booked on a ton of stuff. And then when I got him that visibility and status he bounced. I was livid. Still am, but he was my lesson. I’ll never forget that lesson.

Advice
My advice to anyone wanting to pursue this career would be grab an internship while in college. I started my Agency at 32 years of age. Essentially I was too old, too experienced, too educated, and too unapologetic by the time I got into the game. I wish I could have gotten in the game 10 years earlier. I’d be a beast by now with 15 years under my belt instead of 5.

Balance
I wish I could say I have a good work/life balance but I don’t. I run a company and auditions and deals come in 24/7 so I’m always attached to my phone or at a computer checking emails, texting clients, doing submissions. I was in relationships while doing all of this, and it wasn’t until this year that I realized just how much those people stifled my growth personally and professionally. Once of my exes hated that I had the Agency and would try to sabotage what I was doing.

My advice to anyone who is building something for themselves is to also find a partner who has done the same. Serial employees don’t understand what it takes to be the boss.

The Vision
I had so many discrimination events happen in my life that I am so focused, so unapologetic for my feelings and my thought process now than I ever imagined. I’m doing everything on my terms no matter what. For instance, when I went natural I was working for a company that had an employee who harassed me for 3 days by posting Black Panther themed images in my office. Then when she found out the owner was coming in to the office for the day she ran into my office and snatched it all down. The whole time I had been trying to figure out if she was harassing me or if this was terms of endearment. When she snatched everything down that she had done, I knew it was done with malice. I was subsequently cut a nice check in lieu of a lawsuit. This company worked in Hollywood.

I have so many other stories but I’ll spare you. The bottom line is, I have a clear vision of what I want my purpose in this industry to be and I’m not backing down from it. Everything I do now with be for the culture.

Being one of the first Blacks to own their agency, being apart of black history, and being a pioneer. I just acquired a writers guild franchise and learned that I became the first Black Woman known in Los Angeles who did that. So again, I’m always getting myself into these avenues that had doors that are closed for us. So now, we’re dedicated to being the go to agency for artists of color with viable works.

As I started reaching out to writing communities of color I found that even though Hollywood has publicly adopted a “Diversity and Inclusion” stance, they really haven’t. The number of writers of color with credits that are without an Agent is eye opening. I’ve been in contact with these groups and I look forward to doing what I can to get their voices heard. I’m Championing Diversity, no matter what it costs me.

Learn more about Tiauna and her agency by visiting tja.agency.

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