Do not take up his time by telling him what a fine act you have.  He does not know you, and if you praise it too highly he may be inclined to believe that you do not have anything worth while.  But do not under-rate your material, either, in the hope of engaging his attention by modesty.  Leave it for him to find out if you have an act, first, that is worth while, and second, that fits him.

If you do not hear from the performer, you may be sure that he is not interested in your act.  He may be out for the first few weeks in a brand new act, and not in the market at all.  So if you do not hear from him, wait until another act comes along and you see someone for whom your act is “just made.”

(c) Should you receive a favorable reply to your request for an appointment, you may be reasonably sure that your prospective purchaser at least needs a new act.  In meeting your appointment, be on time, and have someone with you.  A woman, of course, would have a chaperon, precisely as she would if she were meeting any other stranger.  And a man might care to have someone to engage the attention of the performer’s companion and leave him an uninterrupted opportunity to talk business.

(d) Ask for an immediate reading of your manuscript, or at least request it read the next day, when you can be present while he is reading it.  Do not leave a manuscript to be returned to you by mail.  Vaudeville performers are as honest as any other class of men, but they are busy people and the thing that is put off is forgotten.  They are in one town today and miles away tomorrow, and they may leave the manuscript on the bureau of their hotel room intending to mail it at the last minute—­and rush away and forget it.  Therefore you should ask for an immediate reading.  It will take a performer only a few minutes to decide if he cares to consider your act.  He knows of what he is in need—­and usually is prepared to tell you.

(e) Do not ask for specific criticism, for of all people in the world vaudeville performers are the most good-hearted.  They would rather please you than hurt you.  They will evade the point nine times out of ten; so save them and yourself needless embarrassment.  And thus you may also avoid a false valuation of your manuscript.

(f) If the performer cannot use the act himself, and if the act possesses merit, the chances are that he will suggest some other performer who might want it.  If he does not suggest someone himself, ask him.  Vaudeville performers know what other performers want, because they are continually discussing plans for “next season.”  You may thus pick up some valuable information, even if you do not dispose of the particular manuscript you have for sale.

3.  Producing Your Act Yourself

While you are likely at many turns of the sales road to have offered you an opportunity to produce your own act, this method of finding a market is rarely advisable.  You would not start a little magazine to get your short-story into print; your story could not possess that much value even if it were a marvel—­how much less so if you were unable to find someone willing to buy it!