Instincts of a Talent Agent

Entrepreneurial Takeaways from an Industry Insider

De: Marc Guss

Narrado por: Marc Guss

Instincts of a Talent Agent is an entrepreneur’s guide to success in the entertainment field, whether in front of the camera or behind it, on the creative or the business side.

Marc Guss’s advice is impeccable; he says the things no one else in show business will, things that those who want into the business need to know. He has a heck of a story to tell. It is powerful, outspoken talk from a widely recognized agent on how to master the industry using an entrepreneur’s specific skill set.

Guss shares deeply personal experiences from the trenches, experiences he has shared with such eminent names as Lauren Bacall, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Christopher Reeve, Quentin Tarantino, Whoopi Goldberg, Dr. Phil, and others, along with as what he learned and how to apply the knowledge.

He also offers cautionary tales and hilarious moments, all of which add up a book that tells it like it is for those who are truly serious about a career in entertainment.

©2022 Marc Guss (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

Incredible audiobook - outstanding narration

This book is full of generous pearls of wisdom.

Highly recommended for ALL entrepreneurs - not just voice actors like me.

For anyone wanting to take our businesses to the next level - "be in charge of your own destiny" and get this book and audiobook.

It’s packed with true stories, relatable information and tips that will level you up.

Fantastic! BRAVO 👏🏻

Wisdom that translates universally

I have the print copy as well. So many take aways from this "blueprint" of a book. How to succeed without sacrificing your integrity. Extremely well written... uplifting and inspirational.

Great life and career advice

Great from an experienced entertainment agent with valuable career and life advice, especially for aspiring entrepreneurs and entertainment agents and creative types.

Great insights!

Very informative and inspirational words and experiences by Marc Guss. I will use these words to guide my career as well as reread this book!

A MUST-READ in the Entertainment Business

Wow. This book. Where was this book when I first embarked on my journey into the entertainment business?? Marc speaks so many essential truths in this book - ones that I had to learn the long and hard way.

First of all - Marc did a fabulous job narrating his book. I loved hearing his story through his own voice, and highly recommend the audiobook experience. I found myself wanting to highlight and revisit sections of the book, so I bought the hardcover edition as well!

Early in the book, he mentions the all-too-familiar calling to the entertainment business. This is something I felt deep in my soul early on... but knowing exactly how to go after it (while balancing this thing called life) is the big question for everyone. Lucky for Marc, he was able to witness the spirit of entrepreneurship early on from his mother. Being an entrepreneur is the core of pursuing a career in entertainment, and Marc makes that a major principle of his book.

Though I had the ambition, work-ethic, and tenacity required from the beginning, I had to stumble my way into figuring out what entrepreneurship meant to create my own opportunities in this cut-throat business. It's something I wish I would have figured out earlier. I’ve spent my life training for a career in acting, and, while I took several “business of acting” classes, they mostly focused on headshots, resumes, etc…. I don’t think entrepreneurship was ever really the focus. I love that Marc honed in on this principle from the start.

Like Marc, I started out in the pursuit of a career film and television, but found my home in Voice-Over. But I think this book is relevant and valuable for anyone pursuing a career in the entertainment business, whether you’re an agent, talent, producer, or any other piece of the puzzle.

So many points are spot on. Here are some of my favorite takeaways from “Instincts of a Talent Agent:”

- Never sacrifice who you are (know your values, priorities, and boundaries, and stick to them, or you’ll lose yourself in this business)
- We all screw up, but your reactions and attitude means everything
- Persistence is key
- Listen to your gut (I’ve made my biggest mistakes in this industry by ignoring my gut feeling. This is HUGE.)
- Be a human being, not a human doing
- Have a great attitude and gratitude, keep your ego in check, don’t take things personally, be authentic, and have integrity
- Never make excuses. Be accountable. Show up. Do the work.
- Know when to let go (Oof - this one hit hard for me. I spent YEARS working on producing films in a toxic environment… I should have let go sooner)
- KNOW YOURSELF. Choose a partner who complements and enriches you
- Find balance

I am incredibly grateful to Marc for graciously detailing some of his mistakes and pitfalls in his journey and all the valuable lessons he learned. These humbling mishaps happen to everyone, and it's encouraging to hear the stories from successful entrepreneurs like Marc who learned from his mistakes and KEPT GOING, found balance, and maintained a great attitude. That’s something we should all aspire to.

I feel that this is a manual for success in entertainment. Not a formula or how-to, but an approach to a healthy and sustainable life and career, which I think is the most valuable thing of all. I plan to keep it in my recording booth and refer back to it often.

Skip this one, even if it is free

I will preface this in saying that i generally try to find the positive in many of the audio books I consume. If I don't like a book I do my best to be objective and understand that the content may be of value to someone else. That said, I cannot see how this book delivers anything of value.

The pitch "Marc Guss’s advice is impeccable; he says the things no one else in show business will, things that those who want into the business need to know. He has a heck of a story to tell. It is powerful, outspoken talk from a widely recognized agent on how to master the industry using an entrepreneur’s specific skill set."

What Marc relays in the book at best is incredibly base-level suggestions, to the point that much of this is common sense and applies to almost ANY industry, role or career. The word "Entrepreneurial" is forced into so many sentences that it feels like a buzzword and that its inclusion is simply for SEO purposes to rank higher on a Google search. He tries to attribute suggestions and rationale to a "Entrepreneurial mindset" or as key characteristics of an Entrepreneur when in reality nothing about those claims is exclusive to being an Entrepreneur...it just feels so out of place and so forced. The sad reality is that this last paragraph uses the term Entrepreneur less frequently than most chapters in this book.

I kept listening waiting for the book to get better and it never did. Even if you can learn one thing from an entire book it can be beneficial but I struggle to see where any of the information in this book would help the reader/listener "master the industry using an entrepreneur’s specific skill set."

I am not trying to dogpile here but Marc repeatedly mentions Voice Over as segment of the industry he specialized in. The irony here being that the narration of this book is very subpar. Often times it sounds as though he is reading a script he has just seen for the first time. The pacing and intonation is repeatedly off, to the point of being distracting. While there are parts where he tries to add emotion to a passage, it just comes across as flat, almost as if he read the sentence and only saw the exclamation point at the end.

This honestly seems like a quick side-project to write a book so that the author can add "Published Author" to their Linkedin profile while simultaneously promoting their own agency throughout the book. The seemingly glowing reviews of this book are somewhat suspect. At the time I am writing this it currently enjoys a 98% 5-star rating, with the remaining 2% being 4-star reviews, nothing lower, at least until this review is posted. If I were a conspiracy-theorist I would imagine that many of Marc's clients were suggested to write a review.

This was free on audible and I still feel ripped off.