Be careful what you wish for
In a recent post and followup discussion about getting representation, I received this email from a writer:
Hi Scott -
Here’s the story of how I got signed to one of the bigger agencies.
I finished my spec script (from outside of LA) and had literally one connection to Hollywood — a friend of a friend of a friend who was an exec. at a production company.
I sent the spec to said production company. The exec’s reader read the script, liked it, called her, told her to read it. The exec read it that weekend, gave it to her husband — who was an agent at one of the big agencies. He signed us the next day. I was ecstatic. HOWEVER —
Being repped by a big agency isn’t the be-all-end-all. While our spec is being kicked around (i.e. not sold), we’ve had amazing meetings, but no paying work. Now we’re working frantically on our second spec, but we have an agent and a manager breathing down our necks, without the luxury of letting the idea marinate, as we did with our first spec. SO —
NOTE TO UNREPPED WRITERS: Take your time with the first script, and be glad you have the time to hone it and make it perfect. Once you enter the industry, there’s a constant ticking clock…
In the macro view of things, these writers are still ahead of the game in that being repped, they are now officially inside the Hollywood system. But as noted by the writer, it is a considerably different experience when you have agents and managers “breathing down” your neck, compared to when you are outside and it’s just you, a spec script, and your dreams.
The big takeaway here is how your focus should not just be about writing a spec script, but learning how to think and act like a professional screenwriter. The more you prepare yourself, the better your transition will be when you do sell that spec and break into the business — which by the way is one reason I do the weekly The Business of Screenwriting posts.
Per the situation described by the writer above, we come back to a very basic truth about being a screenwriter and one I have hammered on again and again on this blog: Always work on new story ideas. If all you have is one spec script, you severely limit your chances of landing a paying gig. Either you sell the spec or use it as a writing sample to land an OWA (Open Writing Assignment). If neither occurs, then you are left scrambling to pull something together.
If on the other hand when you land representation, you have at least a few other spec scripts finished, several treatments for original scripts, and a deep reserve of other potential story ideas, you increase your options significantly. Indeed having a lot of stories at your disposal can help make you a more attractive candidate for a prospective agent or manager.
All of which provides a natural segue to this plug: Starting tomorrow and each day in April, I will be posting a story idea, items I have found in the news during the last year that struck me as having potential as the basis for an original screenplay. This is a follow up to the “A Story Idea Each Day for a Year” series I ran last year. You can review those concepts here.
Why do I run this series? To remind GITS readers how important it is to apportion some part of each day to finding and developing original story ideas. If you are still ‘outside’ Hollywood, there is no time like the present to start acting like a professional screenwriter and generate story ideas on a daily basis.
And to the writer who emailed me with their story above, thanks for letting me share this with the GITS community. I hope your generosity of spirit brings you and your writing partner some good creative karma!