Whoo! What a week this has been. Lots of goings-on on several fronts. Big picture stuff first.
-The semifinalists were announced earlier this week for this year’s Nicholl. 149 in total, out of somewhere in the neighborhood of 7,500 initial entries. Turns out I know at least 7 of those writers on a somewhat personal level, whether it be through social media or from actual physical contact.
I am equal parts thrilled for and jealous of all of them, but also made sure to send each a note of congratulations. They definitely earned it. And several of them have made it to this point before, and probably will do so again in the future, so that means the rest of us have to really step up our game.
Watching this as a non-participant definitely puts things in perspective. I didn’t enter any contests this year, so I can’t even begin to speculate how my script might have fared. It’s been a major effort to work on improving it to the point that I like to think it’s good, possibly even really good (he said, trying not to sound totally biased), but how would it do in a contest, especially one of this magnitude? There are no delusions of grandeur, but who doesn’t daydream about grabbing the top prize? Jittery nerves and lofty ambitions all at the same time. Only way to find out is enter it next year and hope for the best.
-Operation ManagerQuest continues. Fingers firmly crossed that all the research, fact-checking and list-assembling will result in something positive. Thanks to everybody who’s offered their good wishes and support.
Although this time is all about the western, I put together and sent out a handful of queries for the fantasy-adventure. Since those were sent to places that might be more interested in that kind of thing, each letter was customized for its designated recipient. Queries about the western will go out next week.
-As things continue to wrap up for the western, focus is shifting to what’s quickly evolving into a total rewrite of the outline of the mystery-comedy. Not gonna lie. This is the one that grabs people’s interest and attention, so we’ll see what I can do with it.
While the overall plot and concept remain the same, several new ideas, angles and approaches are being developed that I sincerely hope will make it better.
Not a bad week. Hope it was equally, if not more productive for you.
Maybe this is the experience talking, but my best guess would be that it’s from taking my time and reminding myself there’s absolutely no need to rush through it. These folks aren’t going anywhere, so taking a few more days to properly prepare won’t make much of a difference.
But it is making a huge difference for me.
I’ve got two exceptionally long lists of names and emails, but each is several years old, which requires some admittedly exhausting investigating through multiple levels of IMDBPro into how accurate and up-to-date the information is. Don’t have a subscription to it? You should.
Time, determination, patience and persistence are the four essentials in this scenario.
A lot of time has been spent tracking down where some of those names have ended up. While most are still at the same organization, a good many have moved on. Some to new places, some who’ve gone out on their own, and, from what I can gather, some have totally abandoned ship (including one guy who fell into the deep end of the cliche pool and now sells real estate).
My favorite one so far has been the manager who passed away several years ago, yet is still listed. Just their name and nothing else. I’ve no doubt that at this very moment, somewhere out there, a query email is working its way to them.
The last couple of times I sent out a massive wave of queries, it was in a very rushed and impatient way. “This has to go out NOW!” After finding an email address, I’d immediately cut-and-paste the body of the letter and hit ‘send’. Nothing else. I’d estimate about 75% of them went through, while the remaining 25% came back as ‘undeliverable’ or “address not found”. Those would be immediately dismissed. Over the next few days and weeks, maybe a few responses would trickle in; say 1 for every 10-15 sent. Not the best of returns.
But again, this time it’s different as I’m trying to be been much, much more thorough. Do they even accept queries? What sort of material do they specialize in? Sending to someone who specializes in horror would be a waste of time for both of us. When was their last project? Have I heard of any of their projects? How many clients do they have? What are some of their clients known for? (One place lists Rod Serling(!) as their top client. Interpret that however you want.) They still use Hotmail? Is that even still a thing?
So while I spend part of my time developing a workable list of query letter recipients, I’m also focusing on assembling the actual letter that will be sent. Type ‘screenwriting query letter’ in any reputable search engine, and you get page upon page of links to articles, columns, blogposts and so on. There are countless opinions about what should and should not be in there. Pay attention to those. I tend to favor short and to the point, but effective enough that it gets you noticed and hopefully piques their interest.
It’s pretty likely I’ll crank out a few drafts of this as well before finding one that I think works best.
Like writing the script itself, it ain’t easy. None of this is. But it’s what I have to do in order to make things happen and move ’em forward.
(And if anybody knows a manager they’d recommend or think might be interested in taking a look at my stuff, feel free to point them in this direction. Much obliged.)
The latest round of work on the western is done. Taking a little break while waiting for some feedback from friends and trusted colleagues, then off it goes to one more professional consultant. Hopefully not too much more to do with it after that.
(Also gearing up to enter it in a couple of contests next year.)
So what now? Easy.
Start researching potential managers to query about it, and get started on the next script – one in particular that may not need as much work as originally expected.
These are thrilling times we live in, chums, with bigger and better things yet to come.
And which of your many projects are you focusing on right now?
A couple of months ago I had the good fortune to attend the Great American PitchFest in beautiful downtown Burbank. Overall, it was a great experience and I’m very thankful I did it. I’d pitched the fantasy-adventure and the western to several productions companies and managers. Responses were generally favorable, including compliments on my pitches and a few requests.
I was feeling pretty positive about it as a whole, but as experience has taught me, opted to hold off on writing the job resignation letter and chilling the bottle of victory champagne. Just because the scripts were requested didn’t mean anything would happen.
And of course, I was right.
While I still haven’t heard from a handful of them (and honestly, don’t expect to), the rest have politely passed.
Slightly disappointing, but definitely not heartbreaking. This is the nature of the business. C’est la vie, baby.
In fact, I don’t bear any of them any ill will whatsoever. Their interests were piqued, they checked it out and decided it just wasn’t for them. Nothing else. I think it’s saying something that I got that far.
So although those temporary thoughts of “Whoo! Moving forward!” may have been temporarily scuttled, this just reinforces my commitment to making it happen. I’m of the opinion that both scripts are of high caliber (and the continuing polish/rewrite of the western will make it even more so), and am certainly not going to sit around feeling sorry for myself. I’d rather be productive and keep trying to get better.
Any writer who goes into this and thinks it’ll be easy is in for a very rude awakening. The amount of time and effort it requires just to get good at it, let alone good enough that you can compete with those who actually do it for a living, is overwhelming to begin with. There will be many, many crushing disappointments before you even reach what could be considered a significant victory, so you learn to roll with the punches. You have to. If you don’t handle disappointment well, you’re in the wrong business.
As I’ve said in many a conversation, there isn’t anything I’d rather be doing than writing. It may take longer than I’d like for good things to happen, but there’s no way I’m slowing down. This is just another pothole on a very long road.
So on that note, pedal to the metal and full speed ahead.
As all you phenomenal readers/followers out there may be aware, I was in Burbank last weekend for the Great American Pitch Fest.
Simply put, attending was one of the best screenwriting-oriented decisions I’ve ever made. I’ll get to the vaguely specific details about that in just a moment, but first, allow me to go over some of the supporting topics, starting with…
–Networking
I came armed with a new batch of business cards and the attitude of “Dammit, I’m gonna meet people!”
And I did. At the Friday night mixer. At the numerous classes/panels/workshops on Saturday. Even just stopping to introduce myself to folks sitting around a table in the hotel lobby.
Many are first-timers, nervous at attending one of these kinds of events. Certain that everybody else is a seasoned pro just brimming with confidence, whereas you’re feeling hesitant to even open your mouth and say something.
You know what? Almost everybody feels that way and is a little nervous on some level. Sure, others are a little more extroverted than some, but as I can personally attest, it’s a lot more fun when you get to know people. Besides, why pass up the opportunity to expand your personal network? That writer you just met from halfway across the country could turn out to be a vital asset somewhere down the line.
On a more personal note, I have to mention that the weekend was also a golden opportunity for me to actually meet several of my “Ask a Script Consultant!” interview subjects, including Pilar, Lee, JG, Signe, Tracee, and Steve. The interactions weren’t long, but each proved to be just as charming in person as they are in print.
–Pitching
The whole point of the weekend, and why I was here. First, the prep.
As I mentioned, there were panels aplenty where a lot of advice was given out (and sometimes contradicting something else you just heard). I had the benefit of having signed up for the pitch boot camp, where you and another writer would give your pitch, then exchange suggestions on how to potentially improve it.
I polished and honed the pitch for my western over the course of about six or seven run-throughs to the point where I had it down perfectly, then used that as a template for the fantasy-adventure.
As intimidating as doing this is, it all comes down to you being comfortable while having a pleasant conversation with somebody else about your story. The objective is to get them so interested that they really want to read your script. It’s not easy. Listening to other pitches, some writers would give vague story details, while others might go into too much detail.
As was pointed out, you’re also pitching yourself. You’re showing that you’re passionate about the work, hopefully have a pleasant personality, and are someone people would enjoy working with.
Now, a rundown of the results from the actual pitches:
(side note – As I would sit down with each person/pair, I’d ask how they were doing/how their day was going/etc. I’d rather start things off pleasantly rather than just launch straight into the pitch. Everybody was in good spirits throughout the day and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Many added that the quality of the material being pitched was very impressive.)
-13 total (although it felt like more)
-Two said “Thanks, but it’s not for us”
-The rest asked for a one-pager. More than a few asked “What else have you got?” (followed by handing over the other one-pager)
-Just about everybody said, “Wow! That was a great pitch!”
-One script request
-Two asked for follow-up emails
-“This sounds perfect for us!”
-“This is exactly what MAJOR PRODCO is looking for!”
-“We have to continue this conversation offline. Here’s our card. Call us.”
To say confidence levels were running high at the end of the day would be an understatement.
Epilogue
-All of my follow-ups have been taken care of. Since each one of them is also dealing with a lot of the pitches they heard, as well as working on their current projects, I expect it’ll be a while before I hear back from anybody. As always, fingers firmly crossed, hoping for the best while I bide my time and return to working on my assorted projects.
-Turns out I’m actually really good at pitching in person, or at least in a face-to-face scenario. Too nervous to do previous pitches via Skype, I’d always submitted a written one, which yielded zero results. This new confidence and willingness to be seen makes me feel that I’d have a much better chance of success in the future.
Conclusion
I’d started the weekend feeling very nervous and anxious about whether or not I’d do a good job. As time passed, I was able to relax and enjoy myself, which probably played a big part in how it all turned out. I had a great time, and left feeling closer than ever before to getting a professional writing career going.
If you’ve never been to a pitch weekend, I highly recommend it. You’ll meet lots of great people, make fantastic connections, learn how to get the most out of your pitch, and just have an awesome time.
-My only complaint was that since time was very limited, and I didn’t have a car, the enjoyment of pie did not take place. Maybe next time.
Maximum Z 