You win some, you lose some

First the good news. I heard from a producer that's been involved in some decently sized movies and he emailed to ask if one of my shorts was available because he might be interested in producing it next year. That's great news, right? I was excited to hear, of course. But...

Then minutes later, I get an email from an even bigger producer who I've been working on a few projects with over the years, and he says, he loves my new draft, it's really funny, loves the setup, but the comedy is out of his wheelhouse and he's so busy on movies going into production next year he won't be able to work on this with me. What??? No! This has been a relationship I've literally been developing, writing scripts, pitching ideas, meeting. I thought for sure, this was going to happen! And now, nothing? Ooh boy. Not what I wanted to hear. That's a huge blow for sure.

So of course I'm bummed. It's part of this business, I'm sure. I get it. But no one wants it to be them when it happens. So, instead of remaining bummed, which would be an easy thing to focus on, here's what I'm going to do to get out of this funk.

1. I'm going to focus on the first great news of the day, that the other producer is interested in producing my short! Yay! That's great news! Let me enjoy that for some time! It's not a definite, but it looks likely. And even if god forbid it didn't happen, this producer still did email me that he's interested. That's good no matter what happens.

2. If I wasn't working with the other producer, maybe I wouldn't have gotten this script into the awesome shape it's in. I plan to get it out to whomever I can next year. So who knows what great things can come from this.

3. I worked with Pilar Alessandra, story analyst, like I wrote in a previous blog, and she is getting me on one of her podcasts. If I hadn't been getting my script to that producer, maybe I wouldn't have hired her. And then that great thing of being on her show wouldn't have been an opportunity.

4. And let's not forget, the really big producer really did love my script and found it very funny. Funny! That's huge! I can't let that pass me up. He works with huge writers, and yet, he still did love my script. sigh. And even though it might not happen with him, I'm not going to ignore the compliment.

I'm sure there are more great things too I'm not quite ready to see. So, instead of sulking. I'm going to work on the outline for my newest script that a huge production company has already said they want to see the script for. Because one of the most important things about being a writer is to always work on the next thing. So that's exactly what I'm going to do instead. On to the next great thing!

After the meeting

So I went it to meet with the producer on a script I was writing for him. I thought I'd have to pitch it to him, but turns out, he actually wants to read another script of mine now. He thinks that one might be closer to being ready. I'm on a 3rd rewrite. So I should be happy right? For some reason I'm feeling kind of panicked over the whole thing. Maybe because this whole script has been sort of tricky. It's a comedy, so you'd think it would be easy. But I guess if comedies were easy, everyone would be writing them. I'm at the midpoint and solved a huge issue I had with it. Now, to write it. The easy part. Not!

My writer friend gave me advice to go in to the meeting with ideas to pitch. So luckily I brought in a couple ideas with me. If he hadn't told me I don't know if I would have known to do that. So if you have a meeting, always bring in other ideas! The producer is interested in a new idea of mine that I pitched. So who knows, could end up working with him on other ideas. That's what these meetings are all about. Working with people you want to work with. And so far, he seems willing to work with me. And definitely, I him.

So there you have it. Always bring in other ideas to any meeting. Now, to finish my rewrite. Wish me luck!

Pitch after the rewrite

So I have a meeting coming up with the producer I've been working with. It's very exciting because he's a big guy in the biz. But, preparing for a pitch isn't always my favorite thing. Not really sure why. So instead, I'll write my blog!

So, to get ready for this meeting. I wasn't really sure what to expect. It's a little different than what I've been through before, so I called a screenwriter friend with more experience than me and thank god I did. He told me things I was not prepared for! He let me know that since this is a rewrite of an idea he's read a first draft for and that he's busy, he may not have even read the rewrite. Wow. Not at all! So he said I have to basically pitch him the new draft! Okay, that was not what I thought was going to happen. Thank goodness my first meeting with him was rescheduled, so that gave me time to be ready for this meeting. He also said to go in with two new ideas to pitch, because you never know. Which I also wasn't expecting.

So I had to spend a lot of time rewriting my whole pitch on this story, since it's a page 1 rewrite. This is because his development guy gave me new notes, totally different than what the producer had me start with. I am loving this script even more now though, so that's good. It just meant a lot of work to get ready for the meeting.

So there you have it, if you're ever in this boat, which I hope you will be someday too, that's what you need to be ready for. I'll write you after my meeting and let you know if I learned anything once I'm actually in the meeting too. Okay, back to learning my pitch. Happy writing.

How to get rid of the excuses that keep you from success

So most screenwriting blogs are about technique. And that's fine. We writers definitely need that. But what I like to write about is how to move past our blocks that help us reach success. So right now I'm listening to one of my favorite authors, Wayne Dyer. His new book is called, "Excuses Begone". This book I must say, has done more for me than any thing I've ever read or heard. Ever. Maybe it's because I've read a lot of books like this and it's just that it's finally resonating with me. The premise is that it's all about how we are aligned with an inner source that is who we are, and what our life purpose is. Now, if you're not religious at all, I'm sure you can have that inner source be whatever power that makes sense for you. But what's important, is that this book really helps you reach the screenwriting success you've been looking for. It helps you understand why we make excuses, where they come from and how to finally just say, no more! The premise of the book is that we allow these excuses to keep us from reaching the potential of who we are meant to be. So it finally helped me see, that in order to reach my success, I have to stop believing these excuses I've listened to my whole life. The funny thing is, we don't even realize we're doing them. But as I was listening to the book, I could see how many stops I've had in my career. How many blocks I'd allowed in my career. And it finally helped me push beyond them.

Since this book, I've set up a meeting with one of the producers I've been working with, but he had been too busy lately. But I went beyond my comfort level and got his attention in a way I'd never done before. I also reached out to a friend who's husband is a big wig at a studio. Something I felt uncomfortable to do up until now. I've also reached out to many producers and managers that up until now, I'd never have felt comfortable doing. I even got a gig through a producer I worked with years ago, but just never contacted him. But why not? I reached out to him and he had an assignment for me right away. Although it was a short film, it was something that could eventually get me a lot of attention. And the fact is, each assignment is something that allows the universe to build upon my success. The fact is, I'm allowing success to happen. I'm in the flow of it.

So, if this book sounds at all interesting to you, I think you should check it out. I'd like to hear if it helps you like it's helped me. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

It's a TV exec meeting!

I just realized I never wrote about the meeting I had over the summer. I guess they are becoming so normal I forget to share them! It's been my goal to share these experiences to help writers who have not been through them yet. So that when you are, you know what to expect. So if you've read any of my previous pitches, you'll notice that when I first started pitching "for real" I would get pretty nervous the first day and it would take me a few pitch meetings to really warm up and be myself. So over the summer, one of my friends who is a high-profile TV producer had asked me to come in and help him with ideas for a TV show of his, and that the network head would be there. Yikes! When I first posted this blog, I said I hadn't met with one of those before. But silly me, I had when I pitched to the ABC execs. But what I hadn't done is had a meeting with them. I've had a pitch meeting where you go in and say, hey, you don't know me, please buy my show. But this was a meeting where a person the exec respects and works with is saying, please meet this talented writer who you should respect too. NOW that was a new thing for me. I should probably back track and explain that my TV producer friend produces live event shows and award shows, things like the Emmys, but not the Emmys. So he tells me the Network exec is flying in from New York for the day and he wants help coming up with ideas. He tells me they want to revamp the show from previous years. He tells me a couple clips I can find online and that's pretty much it. He's so busy, he doesn't give me more direction than that. So, just as a heads up, if you're ever in that position, you do NOT wait for more direction! You dive in head first and figure out every single scenario they could probably want solved and how you'd solve it. You look at the show and figure out what you like, what you don't like, and what exactly you'd do if you were to make the show something YOU'D want to see. I repeat, you do NOT wait for them to tell you what to do! If you do, you've blown your opportunity to impress some really high up industry people. So, I spent a couple days getting my hands on as much info and clips of the show as I could. Then figured out what could possibly make the show even better. I knew that I only had one afternoon with this woman to impress her, so I didn't have my usual meeting or two to get comfortable. My TV producer friend trusted me enough to come up with great ideas, so I had to go with that and share exactly what I thought would help them. Luckily when I met the Network person, she was very nice and made me feel very comfortable. So once we started working and talking about the show, I told myself, "Here we go!" and started giving my opinion whenever asked or whenever I thought I could help. Both of them were very open to all my ideas and that only added to me feeling more and more comfortable. I will say, that when I have an idea for a show or script idea, I do have a knack for seeing the big picture and the ability to see what really can improve a story idea. Overall, the meeting went great. I'm glad I had that kind of experience. The more I work with high-profile execs, the more comfortable I get doing it. But it does show, as writers, we just need to trust ourselves and trust our opinions. I guess like anything, it takes practice. And the more we do it the better we get. Here's to seeing more and more of that in all our futures!

My pitch meeting!

So, it was finally here. I'd spent the whole weekend preparing for it. The pitch ended up being 7 pages long. I was told by industry friends I needed to show the beginning, middle and end of the story. Show the character arc. Tell the theme. Give the beats of end of Act 1, midpoint, Act 2, and Act 3. Explain who the main characters are. Give a basic idea on what I really hope to tell once I write it. Okay, I got all that. Not a problem. I'd been sick all weekend, so that wasn't really helpful. But at least I was well enough for the meeting. I had to hope I knew my story enough to be able to tell it. It's really the passion for your story that gets a producer excited. And since I love screenwriting more than anything, passion is just natural for me. And this story, super excited. So what else do I need? So I go to the meeting and he's super busy. I wait in the office for a few minutes while he fields calls for a movie he's producing in two weeks, with no final cast yet! Yikes! It was interesting sitting there waiting as call after call came through and important industry people tried to get a hold of him. You'd see his assistants write on these dry eraser boards of who was on the phone, go into his office and see who got the, "Yes, put the call through" Or "No, calling them back". So I finally got to go in to the meeting and the producer said, "Tell me what you got for me". I said I have everything! He was like, "Great! You just made my life easy." So I told him the whole story. And he loved it! I even added a different kind of twist to it that I wasn't sure if he'd like, and he loved that too! It just goes to show as a writer, we have to trust our talents and our style and go for it. That's why they're hiring us, for our writer's voice. If that's your style, don't hide from it! So he only made one minor change to the ending, which I really liked. He tells me he wants to see the outline by Friday. Friday?! But it's Monday! But I tell him, yep, no problem! No matter what deadline he wanted, I'd meet it! I'd written an outline for another producer in three days, so I could do it again. I'd have to hunker down, but I would do it. If I was organized, I could use every minute of my day to get this thing finished. I was not going to miss out on this amazing opportunity to work with this huge producer I respected. So, I divided each day by acts. Monday finish Act 1. Tuesday get to Midpoint. Wednesday end of Act 2. And Thursday Act 3. Sure enough, I stuck to my schedule. I even had time to go to writing group and meet a friend for lunch! Just goes to show if you're organized, you can do it! I decided to sleep on it Thursday night, in case anything else came to me. But by Friday, I still felt this was the story! And sent it. Yay! Haven't heard back yet. His production on his film should have started this week. So I know he's got a lot on his plate. If I don't hear from him this week, then next week a little "checking in" email might be just the thing.

How to do well in a brainstorming meeting

So yesterday was a big meeting for me. I seem to have had a few of those in the past week. So that's a good thing. Met with a producer friend on a show I think I'm going to be working on with him. We haven't really nailed down the details yet. This is a show he's worked on a few years now. And one of the Network execs was in town to discuss the show. Thought I could share some of my experience to help you learn from it.

So first off, I was told that the execs were coming and what they were hoping to change this year. He told me to watch last years clips that were still on the Network's site. So when you are in this kind of situation, please by all means, watch what they ask you to do. Then, see what other clips you can watch also based on this show you are going to be talking about. Then, look up everyone who's worked on the show in previous years. Try to figure out who the players might be and what else they've done. Then, take notes relating to what they asked to change. Ask yourself, if you were to make those changes, what would you want them to be? When you go into a meeting like that, you want to be as prepared as you possibly can be.

I was even supposed to have a phone meeting for something else I'm pitching, that morning. But I moved it because I wanted to be as prepared for the afternoon meeting with the execs. You can never give yourself too much time to be prepared, in my book. The more prepared you come, the better you look, and the more chance they'll want to work with you again.

So I arrive to the meeting early, which is also a good thing. When the Execs show up, they're nice, easy going, people. So they make me feel comfortable right away. Thank goodness! I of course know my TV producer friend, so that helps, but luckily everyone was nice.

So we start talking about the show, what they want, where they see it going. Now, normally in the past when I'm new to a pitch brainstorming session, I find I tend to be a little shy at first. But these people flew in from NY and it's the only day I'll get to brainstorm with them. So I don't have time to be shy. So I have to work up my nerve to just dive in with both feet. And you know what? They liked what I had to say. Of course not every idea was a home run, but I could tell they liked more ideas than not.

And I find just having an opinion, and being able to back it up, speaks volumes too. It lets them know your views on what you like. And that's a good thing. It helps them trust your abilities.

Also, all the homework and notes I took before I met them, spoke volumes too. I wasn't left wondering what they were talking about. I wasn't left saying, "What show? What sketch?" I had seen everything, I had formed opinions, I could call upon segments I watched. It all gives them the impression that I am ready to work and ready for this meeting and I'm going to work as hard as they need me to.

So overall, it went pretty well. I don't know what the next steps are as far as my involvement goes, because my friend and I didn't get to discuss it yet. But hopefully there will be more meetings like that. It sure was fun!

Let's do lunch!

So, got an exciting and unexpected phone call yesterday from the first producer I pitched to months ago. He was the first one that was interested in the idea we've got generating around town right now. So he called and apologized for not being in better touch. Of course I said, no worries, that's fine. But he sincerely apologized again and said he's been busy but really is sorry. Said as much as he likes the idea, the Studio he works with, he knows they're not going to want to produce this indie idea. That they're looking for big tent pole ideas. But, he says to me, I can do something even better. He tells me he's going to take me to lunch in January and pitch me the ideas he wants to do and see what I want to write! OMG! That's like a dream come true! He tells me, "You're a really good writer and I want to work on something with you." Yippee! Do you know how long I've been waiting to hear this from a huge producer?! I was on cloud 9 or 10 or 11 all day! Still am. So exciting. So can't wait for our lunch. Can't wait to hear what ideas he wants to do. Will be so much fun working with a producer that can get anything made and get huge stars attached. It's super exciting and feel like my 2012 screenwriting career is really moving forward. Yippee!