How To Manage Industry Relationships
A client recently emailed me that he was attending an event with a huge screenwriter and asked my advice regarding the situation. I jokingly replied “Are you asking me how to greet and converse with another adult?” Clearly, the client was wondering how he could utilize this meeting to advance his writing career. I’m glad this happened, as I was able to reiterate that his screenplays were not ready to hit an agent’s desk. He knew this but still didn’t want to miss out on a perceived opportunity. Rest assured, there was no opportunity passing the writer by because there was nothing for him to sell! Screenwriter Josh Olsen (A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE) wrote a popular blog entry about this called “No I Won’t Read Your Fucking Script”. I would suggest Josh wasn’t upset at his friends who needed his professional feedback before turning in a studio assignment, but at the droves of unrepresented writers who routinely ask him to check out their latest abomination of a spec in the hopes he can get it into the right hands. Remember, if a writer doesn’t have major agency representation, there’s about a 99% chance their material is NOT ready for the market. This has nothing to do with writing talent, simply that the writer hasn’t completed their screenwriting education yet (and the vast majority of that 99% never will). I’m...
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