Time management question this time Scott.In some ways, I'm absolutely the wrong person to ask this question because the only networking, if you could even call it that, I did before the spec script K-9 sold was meeting Steve Siegel, who was in the USC Peter Stark Producing School, then interned at 20th Century Fox, thus becoming Siegle & Myers' in at the studio. That was the entirety of my contacts. So given that as a paradigm, the lesson you could take away would be, "Focus all your energy on writing a great script. The rest will take care of itself."
Thinking in terms of a pre-pro writer who does feature movies, how much time should such a feller invest in actual script writing vs marketing his or her wares? How much time should such said writer take to write cold call query letters to production companies and agents, and participate in the script competition circuit?
I ask this question because as a creative I find the actual outlining, developing, and writing of movies takes a lot of time and is quite engrossing. When writing I lose track of a lot of things. Perfecting the story becomes my end-all, and I'm wondering if I should commit more that time to marketing, and attempting to make inroads to put myself out there to people who could represent me and people I want to work with.
Now in truth - as I have confessed on this blog more than a few times - the fact I knew so little about Hollywood, the movie business, and the people who ran the movie business came back to bite me in the ass a number of times as a result of some bad choices on my part. So at the very least, I would recommend that you spend part of your time learning about the business. How to do that? Hm... well... there's this blog... called GITS...
In terms of actual networking, I remember reading a feature on a screenwriter who broke around 2001 or 2002 - I can't recall her name, but I was impressed with how she had approached managing her time: Even though screenwriting was her avocation, she approached it as her vocation. That is, she set aside a certain amount of time everyday for these areas of focus:
* Writing her current spec script
* Researching a future spec script
* Generating story concepts for even more future spec scripts
* Writing solicitation letters and letters of introduction
* Following up on her letters with phone calls and emails
And this was really impressive: She kept an updated Excel file with all her contact information from assistants to agents. Later on when she sold a spec and became established in the business, that contact list became an important list she used it to be proactive to augment what meetings her reps sent her out for.
But hey, every writer is different. If, for example, you are not good at pitching stories, then I suggest you take a pitching class. Learn how to tell a good story in 5 minutes. Perhaps you're great at pitching, but awkward at schmoozing. Maybe take an acting class to get more comfortable with yourself. If you're bad at remembering names, why not take a memorization course? All of those are invaluable assets for a working screenwriter in knowing how to 'work a room' and networking.
So broadly speaking, you can do like me and pretty much hope for some dumb luck or you can approach your time like you would a job.
How about you? How do you manage your writing vs networking time?
Posts
4 comments:
I actually think this is one of the biggest mistakes a lot of writers make - not spending enough time marketing their material. I'm terrible at networking in person but I have optioned and sold several scripts through cold query letters.
I'm someone who whole hardily does NOT believe in the old "write a great script and the rest will take care of itself."
Certainly early on in your writing career you need to spend your time writing, but once you've written 3 or 4 good scripts (which means probably a half dozen or so bad ones) I think you would be wise to spend a solid 25-50% of your time on marketing. I mean why not? If you've got some solid material why not push the hell out of it and get it out there to everyone who will read it?
Ashley at SellingYourScreenplay.com
I think networking works best when it doesn't feel like networking. Most of the writing jobs I've gotten have been through people who are my friends, not because they could get me a job, but because they have a similar creative sensibility and I feel comfortable hanging out with them and thus we became friends. Most of these folks I've met through doing stand up comedy, that's been the path for me, but if you're a writer and not also a performer, it's good to figure out ways to get yourself out into the world. That's why I think taking classes is a good thing, not just for what you can learn, but for the people that you meet who might become your friends and then maybe one day they'll help you get a job, or you'll help them get one.
Also, when I worked on TV writing staffs, I discovered that many of my coworkers started as interns and assistants, that is a great path into the business that I'm sure has already been addressed on this blog.
The one way I've never gotten a job is by going to a so-called networking conference and handing someone my card. Maybe that's worked for others but I'd sooner kill myself then go someplace specifically to "network."
One other thing I've noticed, and this of course is not true in every instance, but I've found that the more talented a person is as a writer, the less talented they are at networking, and if someone is great at networking they're usually a not very good writer. If agents and producers were really interested in finding great talent, they might be well served by looking for the shyest, most socially awkward and miserable looking person in a room and then asking them what they're working on.
@Frank: Your point about assistants is spot on. The current head of TNT/TBS Michael Wright started out as an assistant to CAA agent Jon Levin. The current head of Showtime Robert Greenblatt was an intern at, I believe, 20th Century Fox.
In conjunction with that, the second piece of advice my first agent gave me was "Always treat assistants well... because some day, they're going to be people who can hire you."
Scott, Ashley, Frank Conniff thanks for the advice. :-)
- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA
Post a Comment