The Third Draft

I love crazy challenges, things that are at the outer edge of what I know I can do. Like when I was asked to write a book of screenwriting tips in 6 weeks. My automatic response was, "Ha, ha, that's crazy. Sure, count me in!" I didn't know how I was going to do it, but I knew I was going to try.

I've had two such challenges appear on my plate within the last few months. One is a partnership with an international producer to create a series either for web or for TV. Another materialized just this week, and as a result I'm negotiating to option the rights to a true story. Luckily, I have a fabulous mentor who is also an entertainment lawyer. She's been egging me on to become a writer/producer for about a year now. I didn't know what that meant at first, but I'm beginning to learn. My view of the business is rapidly expanding, and with it my view of myself.

As a result, I've started thinking about marketing my script as less of a slog and more as a challenge. What's crazier than selling a spec to Hollywood? Suddenly, marketing fits.

Six queries went out this week. I've had 3 rejections so far. Six isn't a lot, but I've also learned that I have an easier time marketing when I do a little each day. Otherwise I get cross-eyed and find myself unable to make intelligent decisions.

I went a little crazy last week. I spent too many hours looking up producers, and by the end I was a cross-eyed basket case.

When I couldn't figure out how to log my submissions and my contacts, I knew I was in trouble. Excel list? Too unwieldy. Free manuscript tracker program? But I can't export or import the data. What else is on the Internet? FileMaker? What's FileMaker? Oh wow, I have it on my computer. Should I learn it? Looks complicated. Lemme try... This sucks! I should be writing. Why am I not writing?... I sat there staring at the screen, unable to make a coherent decision.

Somehow I found the wherewithal to shut down the computer and go to bed.  And the next day I gave the queries a rest.

So far, I've received 6 responses--all saying "no thanks." 

With my rewrite on track, I devoted more time to name gathering today.

Out of every 10 producers I look up, 5 are too established and 4 are too small. I feel like Goldilocks, desperately searching for  the one that's "just right."  

But truth be told, I don't have a clue how to judge "just right" yet. Like the time years ago. Fresh out of college, I had a job to put together a directory of Greek bankers in the US (don't ask). I was told to go through the industry listings and contact anyone who had a Greek-sounding name. Totally ignorant of the banking & finance industry but confident in my ability to spot Greek-sounding names, I sent our form letter to one George Soros. I got a very nice letter back informing me that Mr. Soros was Hungarian, not Greek. I showed my boss, and he nearly fainted.

It was then I realized that I had pitched our dinky directory (think the equivalent of a wrongly-formatted script full of typos) to the Steven Spielberg of the finance world.

Today I'm older and wiser, and yet just as green. I know that despite my best efforts, I will make some inappropriate submissions (not to mention a whole host of other mistakes). But I'm going ahead anyway. And I'm even looking forward to it.

Hey, think of the anecdotes I'll have to share!

With the writer's strike now over, it's time to put some energy into marketing. In anticipation of this moment, my screenwriting group has been working on pitches. I pitched them my current script, a monster-in-the-house thriller. They hadn't read it, so I was happy when they responded enthusiastically to the pitch and asked all the right questions. I'm not a natural at pitching, and was very pleased.

Except...one of the writers made a comment that suddenly gave me this incredible idea for my script. With one tiny shift to my antagonist, the script would have more energy and drive. How cool! I couldn't wait to dive into the rewrite.

But instead of acting on that impulse right away, I took a minute to ask myself some tough questions. Was the rewrite  necessary? Would my idea improve the script? Or was I deluding myself out of nervousness, tinkering with the script to avoid marketing? These are not small questions. I know from experience how fears can manifest and express themselves, how easy it is to make excuses for why you're not taking the next step. How easy it is, at least for me, to fall ill with the flu or have some other kind of crisis (such as "but it's not ready!") at a crucial moment.

But the truth was, the idea WAS good. It WOULD make a significant difference. I couldn't NOT do it.

I decided to do the rewrite, but to not let up on the marketing side. Now the rewrite is almost done, and I have gathered about a dozen prodcos to query.

Susannah and I had another Skype session this past Sunday. Our conversations focus on marketing, but we also swap scripts and bounce concepts off of one another. This past session was a little more diffuse than the others. We've both set a few things in motion, and are either waiting to hear back or a little unclear about our next steps. So we worked on trying to clarify our course of action at least until the next time we spoke. By the end of the call, Susannah said that she's already done more this year to market her scripts than last year. I realized so had I.

In my last post, film composer Rob Gokee  commented on how well I seem to multitask. I've certainly improved my ability to juggle, but it still remains too easy to drop those balls that are not essential--that is, anything without a deadline. The fact that Susannah is eagerly awaiting to hear what I've done since we last talked two weeks ago forces me to keep the marketing ball in play. For me, having to be accountable to somebody else really helps.

I'd love to hear from others. Any tips or strategies for staying motivated and on track?