Network.
You can’t have one without the other and hope to succeed. You need to do the work to have it to show and you need the advocates.
You have done only one — the work. Not enough to call a body of work. But it’s a start.
I encouraged you to write something you wanted to see — not something you thought could get made, or something that might fit a fickle marketplace. Something unique and original to you. Not geared to any particular segment of the audience or demographic, other than what appeals to you. It might be the demographic you’re in — or not. Doesn’t matter.
It’s creating and building something from the inside out, rather than the outside in.
If it appeals to you, there will be more like you out there. You are not the only one who has your sensibilities. There will be others. These days not that many others are needed. Audiences are getting smaller and smaller because they are targeted. The pie is being sliced up many more times. Hopefully, what you have will garner interest from the marketplace.
Now what do you do? Where do you go?
The next leg of the journey is getting you and your script out there.
If this is the only script you have, you are not ready to hit the street. You need more than one piece of work. Whether this is your one and only, or one of several, start another script — and not necessarily a Screenplay Pilot. Try spec’ing a current and existing series, even as the networking part comes into focus.
When so many want a place at the table, you have to fight for your seat. Nobody is going to give it to you, when so many want the same thing.
Every leg of the journey is a struggle — you can never rest on your laurels. If you’re lucky enough to be given a shot, you can’t let up. Getting the job is the preamble. As hard as you worked to get the job, now the real work begins.
But don’t cheat yourself from basking in what you achieve each step of the way.
However long it took you to write your script and get to this point, over time, as you gain experience and become more comfortable in your own skin and with your own abilities, you will discover how to shorten the process from concept to completion.
Remember, these are not businesses of geniuses!
I often hear the tales of writers laboring over features for anywhere from six to eighteen months — and sometimes into years.
In my view, no script in the world should take that long, which is one reason why I find the deadlines of television so helpful. Having to come up with a script in a couple of weeks or months, keeps the right side of the brain always working and moving along briskly — sometimes sideways, sometimes in circles, sometimes backwards — all part of pressing ahead.
Television strengthens those juices and creative muscles and conditions you to write and think fast — then critique and edit quickly. The script must be done!
In presenting your series, besides the Screenplay Pilot, you should include four or five storylines for future episodes, so they can see what the template is and the kinds of stories you want to do.
Nothing is encrypted in stone. Once the series is on its feet you — or somebody else — can always change it . And rest assured it will be.
An actor playing a minor character shines through and quickly, that minor character becomes a major character. And vice versa. The goal is to take advantage of any gold you strike, whether it is intentional or not.
A series is always evolving, trying to find itself — particularly a new one — as everybody gets to see what works and what doesn’t — which is often different from what was predicted.
Each plateau you reach is cause for celebration. Many try. Few make it. So the fact that you are still flying should give you confidence.
Truth be told, in show business, you’re never standing on dry land. You are always standing on Jello, so get used to it.
Before you came on board, I told you to view this as a workshop. That is you do the work first, then figure out where and how to shop it.
I didn’t want you to let the selling part come before the work. I didn’t want you to restrict yourself to what you think might sell — what the marketplace is looking for. Although you could do that.
I prefer to address the creative side first. The disappointments and achievements of the business will come later, but at least you have the satisfaction of writing from a place of passion — or else, why do it in the first place?
I know that sometimes, so much creative freedom is daunting and disorienting.
You need the structure, rules and guidelines — the formulas to hang on to, telling you what to do — limiting your choices, so you can fly on cruise control. To me that’s like hanging on to the side of the pool, never daring to go into the water that is over your head.
The nice thing about writing for yourself is you can just let it fly! Nobody will get hurt in the process. And nobody has to see it.
If your Screenplay Pilot script doesn’t sell — and most likely it won’t — that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value. It can still be extremely helpful in launching or continuing your writing career.
This is no different than what happens in the real world.
The busloads of dreamers and the stacks of half-finished, discarded scripts started with dreams and ambitions just like yours, futilely fighting for a seat at the table. Wanting to get into a business that promises fame and fortune, only to find out that what it takes to get the dream is more than they bargained for. Or the dream isn’t what they thought it was in the first place.
Most will never make it through. But you are different. You are in it for the long haul and are willing to do the work that it takes. If not, you might as well stop now.
I am a firm believer in going for what you think you want. Follow your dreams. Better to have tried and discovered it doesn’t work than to say, “I wish I had!”
There is an enormous dropout rate, which is a natural part of the selection process or the survival of the most tenacious — not necessarily the best.
Those left standing make up more than enough to supply the market. They might not be the best or most talented, but they are the ones who had the perseverance to make it through the gauntlet — they’ve done the work, faced the rejection, traversed the obstacle course and made it to the table.
I hope that following this process in writing your script has been liberating and allowed you to write for the sheer pleasure of creating something you want to see — and hopefully, work on it as it gets produced and runs for several years. I wish it on you!
You Are Now Ready to Take Your First Test Flight — Out of the Simulator!
You are ready to send your Screenplay Pilot script into the cold, cruel, real world. See how it does on its own without you. If you have friends or contacts you can give it to who are familiar with reading teleplays, do that first.
Your goal is to find those who do the kind of material you have created. Who agree with your vision and want to help you get it to the next stage, not only for you, but because it is good for them as well.
The key, as with any test flight, is to lift off slowly. Don’t e-mail hundreds of copies out to dozens of producers and executives whose e-mail address you got off a master list — which, with the Internet, is easy to do. Don’t just zip it to some stranger in cyberspace, without even querying first. Don’t. You might do serious damage to the prospects your Screenplay Pilot has. Be selective. Test the friendly skies first.
Try to come up with just a few select people and entities to send it to. But do your homework first. Make sure it’s the kind of material they do, or are interested in. If you don’t have any contacts or people in your network who can ferret this out for you, you can always get that information off the Internet.
You want to see what the initial reactions are.
What you have now only reflects your perception of what you have written in isolation and might not be what you intended. Somebody might come back with feedback that you might want to address before sending it out to any more entities.
We all know how even an e-mail can be misunderstood or misinterpreted, let alone a whole script.
Don’t let rejection deter you.
Eventually you will develop what I call the salesman’s mentality. The thick skin a salesman must have, to go from door to door. You want to get to a place where you are confident enough in your material, that you are ready for nineteen doors to get slammed in your face before you come to the twentieth door that welcomes you in — or at least will listen.
If you don’t know it by now, or haven’t experienced it yet, rejection is a large part of this leg of the journey. Those who have gotten the most No’s are the ones who make it to the top.
It still takes a strong constitution and a confident attitude to survive the onslaught. But you can develop that with recognition of the process and a positive attitude that your work will find its place.
In the network marketing business, or just plain sales, the suggestion is made that you have a little money jar. And each time you get a “No,” you put a quarter in the jar. The people who are the most successful are the ones who have received the most No’s — the ones who have the most quarters in the jar. It’s a subjective business.
Remember to always tell a potential buyer who turns your work down: “No problem. I’ll see you at the opening!”
Besides looking for a “Yes,” don’t stop at just one. It was pointed out to me a long time ago the difference between a fifty thousand dollar script and a two hundred thousand dollar script is that three people want it.
The first thing is to try and do as much of the networking yourself. Spread the word. You can always choose not to submit to someone if you don’t want to — or, if for some reason, you think it’s a waste of time. Often, we can’t tell if it is a waste of time or not — because that person might know someone who might know someone who might know someone who can help you.
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