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How to "Book Out" with Your Agent

I've talked about the concept of "booking out" before when it comes to working with a modeling agency but because this is such an important part of keeping on your agent's good side, I felt it was worth following up with a post to help navigate how to do this action properly.

To refresh your memory: "booking out" simply means letting your agent know when there are days you are not available for either castings or gigs.

Nothing is worse than having an agent submit a model, only to find out after the fact that the model wasn't even available to attend the casting or gig in the first place. This is why booking out plays a vital part in communicating with your agent.

While no two agencies operate exactly the same, there are a few common ways to handle booking out. Usually, models newly signed are given this information as part of their "Welcome Packet." When in doubt, ask your agent what their preference is. 

EMAIL

At the bare minimum, some agencies are fine with models shooting an email with the dates/times they will be booked out. Of course, receiving tons of emails in regards to this will not only get overwhelming for an agent, it can easily lead to a full inbox so while this is certainly an effective way of booking out, it isn't always practical.

WEBSITE PLATFORM

I use the term "website platform" broadly because agencies in all markets have their preferred systems for models booking out. To avoid the email clutter situation, a common method is for agencies to direct their models to use a specific website platform, casting site, special calendar software, etc. 

Using technology in this way not only keeps an agency's inbox less slammed, it is convenient and allows models to book out in real-time. Additionally, each time a change is made to a model's schedule/calendar, the agent receives an alert. This gives them the chance to submit models to projects using the most up to date information.

Some online calendars/platforms will let you make notes as to what time frames you'll be unavailable, while others may only give you the option to select "unavailable" for the whole day or "available." 

If you're dealing with an online calendar/platform that only lets you choose either or, you'll need to think carefully about which option to select. Do you know you'll be gone for a half day or longer? Then book out for that entire day. 

Will you only be unavailable for about an hour or two? Then instead of booking out, shoot your agent a brief email to let them know the specific time frame you'll be busy on that particular date. Even if there ends up not being anything for them to submit you to, they'll be appreciative of the heads up.

HOW FAR IN ADVANCE SHOULD YOU BOOK OUT?

As soon as you know there are dates that you'll be busy, book out! Castings and gigs come up on short notice but some shoot dates are planned out in advance so it's better to err on the side of caution and book out on dates you know you won't be able to work. The good news is that if anything changes and you're suddenly free, go back and update your online calendar/send an email with the most current information.

It's extremely important to make it a habit to book out when it comes to planning your schedule in the weeks and even months ahead. This means syncing things up with your school schedule, if you're a student, work schedule, as well as vacation times. Emergencies tend to happen unexpectedly so if you find yourself unable to access your online calendar or other method of booking out, send an email to your agent when you're able and let them know what dates you need to book out.

I'm sure there may be other miscellaneous methods for booking out but I wanted to mention these two for now. I didn't bother listing phone/text because no agent wants to have everyone on their roster calling and texting with dates they're booked out. They'd go insane so please do yourself and your agent a favor and do not call/text with your list of booked out dates!

DON'T OVERTHINK IT

While I'm stressing the importance of learning to book out properly, I don't want this to turn into something you lose sleep over. No one is asking you to account for every hour of every day. Booking out only applies to dates you know in advance that you'll be busy and unable to take on modeling work.

It's not just a requirement for keeping the working relationship smooth, it's also a professional courtesy that will be greatly appreciated by any agent. 

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