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Building Your Screenwriting Career - The Missing Pieces
Once upon a time, there was a young man who very much wanted to be
in show business, or more specifically, making movies. He attended
one of the best film schools in the world, while there discovered the
joys of writing and producing and everyone around him had high
expectations about his career. Yet for more years than he cares to
admit, that career was stalled.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that young man was me. And this article
is for everyone who, like me, has visions of having their name up on
the big screen as a writer. It's all about the importance of
getting a balance of what I call "macro training."
Over the years, I've invested tens of thousands of dollars in
classes, seminars, books and retreats all intended to teach me to be a
better writer. Don't get me wrong. Many of these classes were well
worth the money when it came to teaching me about the CRAFT of
screenwriting. I absolutely learned a lot. But talent and craft by
themselves are not enough to make you a regularly working professional
screenwriter.
I learned through painful experience that if you want to succeed as
a professional artist in show business, whether it's as a writer,
actor, director or any other craft that's employed by the networks
and studios, you have to treat your career as a small business with
yourself as the CEO. As countless people have said to me over the
years, it's called Show "Business" for a reason.
Eureka! This was the missing piece. When it finally registered
with me the importance of treating my artistic endeavors like an
entrepreneurial small business, I began to see things in an entirely
different light. I call myself a writer and producer - and those
are accurate titles - but the business I'm in is really
manufacturing, sales and distribution. Huh?
Think about it. As a professional writer, you're manufacturing a
product - the things you write. In order to get paid for that
product, you also have to have a sales, marketing and distribution
mechanism in place so that the scripts you write can generate money
for you.
Of course you have to have the talent and skills to consistently
deliver quality scripts and do so on time. But talent and skill alone
don't hack it. If you want to be a successful, consistently and
steadily working writer, you have to understand that you're in the
business of creating and selling products. Your products are your
scripts.
Like any manufacturer, in addition to dedicating part of your
business to developing and creating products, you also need to address
the sales, marketing and distribution of those products (scripts)
along with the business affairs aspect (contracts, accounting, etc.)
of working with your customers (studios, production companies and/or
networks). You don't have to do it all by yourself, but you do need
to make sure these aspects of your business as a professional writer
are handled. Just by making that shift in the way you see yourself
and your career, you'll immediately transform from would-be writer
to an entrepreneurial professional well on the road to success.
About the Author: Gordon Meyer created, produced and hosted the
long-running series, "Hollywood's Master Storytellers" which
enabled audiences the opportunity to see and hear some of the most
successful and celebrated filmmakers in the world talk about the
movies they're best known for, including Academy Award® winners
Oliver Stone, James Cameron and Paul Haggis. His book "The
Screenwriter's Manifesto" explores the concept of the writer as an
entrepreneur in detail and can be downloaded for free at
http://www.stiylagency.com/screenwriter/index.asp
Once upon a time, there was a young man who very much wanted to be
in show business, or more specifically, making movies. He attended
one of the best film schools in the world, while there discovered the
joys of writing and producing and everyone around him had high
expectations about his career. Yet for more years than he cares to
admit, that career was stalled.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that young man was me. And this article
is for everyone who, like me, has visions of having their name up on
the big screen as a writer. It's all about the importance of
getting a balance of what I call "macro training."
Over the years, I've invested tens of thousands of dollars in
classes, seminars, books and retreats all intended to teach me to be a
better writer. Don't get me wrong. Many of these classes were well
worth the money when it came to teaching me about the CRAFT of
screenwriting. I absolutely learned a lot. But talent and craft by
themselves are not enough to make you a regularly working professional
screenwriter.
I learned through painful experience that if you want to succeed as
a professional artist in show business, whether it's as a writer,
actor, director or any other craft that's employed by the networks
and studios, you have to treat your career as a small business with
yourself as the CEO. As countless people have said to me over the
years, it's called Show "Business" for a reason.
Eureka! This was the missing piece. When it finally registered
with me the importance of treating my artistic endeavors like an
entrepreneurial small business, I began to see things in an entirely
different light. I call myself a writer and producer - and those
are accurate titles - but the business I'm in is really
manufacturing, sales and distribution. Huh?
Think about it. As a professional writer, you're manufacturing a
product - the things you write. In order to get paid for that
product, you also have to have a sales, marketing and distribution
mechanism in place so that the scripts you write can generate money
for you.
Of course you have to have the talent and skills to consistently
deliver quality scripts and do so on time. But talent and skill alone
don't hack it. If you want to be a successful, consistently and
steadily working writer, you have to understand that you're in the
business of creating and selling products. Your products are your
scripts.
Like any manufacturer, in addition to dedicating part of your
business to developing and creating products, you also need to address
the sales, marketing and distribution of those products (scripts)
along with the business affairs aspect (contracts, accounting, etc.)
of working with your customers (studios, production companies and/or
networks). You don't have to do it all by yourself, but you do need
to make sure these aspects of your business as a professional writer
are handled. Just by making that shift in the way you see yourself
and your career, you'll immediately transform from would-be writer
to an entrepreneurial professional well on the road to success.
About the Author: Gordon Meyer created, produced and hosted the
long-running series, "Hollywood's Master Storytellers" which
enabled audiences the opportunity to see and hear some of the most
successful and celebrated filmmakers in the world talk about the
movies they're best known for, including Academy Award® winners
Oliver Stone, James Cameron and Paul Haggis. His book "The
Screenwriter's Manifesto" explores the concept of the writer as an
entrepreneur in detail and can be downloaded for free at
http://www.stiylagency.com/screenwriter/index.asp
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