Screenwriting is not a profession for anyone who’s used to being paid after putting in a day’s work. Punch in/punch out. Do your 40 hours. Get a paycheck at the end of the week.
If you went to college, you put in your 4 years and you got a degree. Put in 2 or 3 more years for grad school and you get a degree. Put in however long it takes to write your dissertation and you have a Ph.D.
You put in the effort and you get a reward. Makes sense.
What doesn’t make sense is when you put in the effort and there’s no reward. Writing a spec screenplay--whether you spend 5 weeks, 8 months or 2 years--doesn’t guarantee a reward.
For some, that’s very upsetting, especially if you’re a results oriented person. Most of us are results oriented. Who wants to do anything without some remuneration? Even a college student who gets a job as an unpaid intern will have a payback down the road: experience, maybe a promotion to a paying job upon graduation, possibly a good reference. So there is a payback.
But if you take up screenwriting you must accept the fact that your results oriented work ethic doesn’t mean crap. You have entered a new world of delayed gratification. Put in the time—months, years, lots of sweat and energy—with the idea that there will be a payoff later on.
There might be. There might not. No matter how good or commercial your first screenplay is it may never earn you a penny or get you an agent. Its only purpose may be to have helped you get your feet wet as a screenwriter. Same with your second, third, fourth and fifth screenplay.
Lots of hard work, but no deals, agents or managers. Maybe access to some producers, which is something.
But with each script, you’re getting better. Most of us, myself included, after we’ve written a few screenplays can look objectively at our first or second and realize that they were at best, workmanlike. Maybe even pretty mediocre.
Delayed gratification should be your mantra.
“I will do the work and put in the time because I believe in myself and my talent. I understand that this is a marathon and it’s not fair and that some people sell the first freakin’ thing they write. I can no longer follow my results oriented attitude and must accept the fact that I will hopefully taste the honey at some point. I know that the more I write the better I’ll get and that has to be consolation enough until my payday comes.”
If you can’t abide by this way of thinking, screenwriting will be a troubling, frustrating experience.
Took me a long time to learn what you said. Very true.
ReplyDeleteEven if you can abide by this way of thinking... screenwriting will still be a troubling, frustrating experience!
ReplyDeleteBut so true about delayed gratification. Hopefully mine's not delayed indefinitely.
My attitude is to be the Rocky Balboa of screenwriting. That way it's not about winning or losing, but going the distance!
This is a hard lesson to learn. But once you've understood that there are no reality based rules in Hollywood, it's much easier going. I've been out here for six years. Came close a few times. Worked hard. Paid dues. But at the last minute things fell through. At first it depressed me, but then I came to understand that you can't apply logic to, well, anything our here. It's important to just learn our lessons and keep plodding along.
ReplyDeleteI started writing screenplays late: at 32. I was a comic and improv guy. Myself and 3 friends started our own group hoping to become like The Groundlings or UCB. We worked for free, anywhere, just to get experience and build a rep. Our logic was that we would sow the seeds for the payoff that was to come. It never occurred to us that we would make any money for at least a few years. We worked as temps and whatnot to pay the bills. So when I started to write screenplays I had the same work ethic. It's silly to think otherwise.
ReplyDeleteIt's true what you say. It's all about getting better each time out. Maybe if we all started screenwriting at 6 years of age we'd not worry about the result but just be in love with playing the game?
ReplyDeleteMy guess is everybody gets into screenwriting thinking that we're going to make it fast. I think we need that pollyanna view to brace us for the rejection to come. If you don't quickly become willing to work long and hard for free, you're right: don't bother.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. Too many prima donnas want to crack open the bank. The bank is usually closed for a long time, which is why so many people who sell a script when they're young or get a movie made, never have another success. It's good to struggle. Makes us stronger and the reward sweeter.
ReplyDeleteI've only met a few screenwriters who hit it early and by early I mean under 25 and with rare exception they had connections: a father in the business or someone who helped them cut through the usual BS most of us have to endure. If you have zero connections it's a tougher journey, but the same can be said for actors and directors.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest thing next to writing a screenplay is to learn patience...in getting an agent or manager or producer interested in your work. I know people who can't even get anyone in the industry to read their scripts. You have to steadfast and willing to pay your dues. And those people who are connected by birth pay their own kind of price.
ReplyDeleteYou blog post ties in well with your quote of the week from Alexander Pope.
ReplyDeleteSo true.
This is a great lesson, D.B. I think when I was graduating you tried to tell me this and I didn't really get the message. The most important part is to keep writing - I got that part. I just was not prepared for how much the disappointment and impatience would affect my work.
ReplyDeleteLearn how to do it, then try to do it, then hope you do it right, then get it out there and after that it's out of your control...no matter how hard you worked at it or how long.
ReplyDeleteI've met dozens of screenwriters over the years who don't want to pay their dues. That's what this is really about!
ReplyDeleteI think younger screenwriters are more prone to want instant gratification. By younger I mean under 25. Those of us who started older (by older I mean late 20s) have more realistic expectations.
ReplyDeleteUnless you have connections you have to be humble and know your place. There are lots of good screenwriters and screenplays making the rounds. Being the one to get the agent and the deal has to do with things out of our control. Anybody who thinks otherwise is an idiot.
ReplyDeleteKinda sounds like when I talk to women... no results. But that being sad, like writing, once you get one hot piece for some reason all the rest want you!
ReplyDeletesaid* or sad I guess :/
ReplyDeleteResults oriented screenwriters need to unlearn all the good work habits they developed, otherwise they'll go nuts. I speak from personal experience. I believe in luck now more than anything.
ReplyDeleteIt's all about not being a prima donna. Nobody owes you anything because you worked hard for a long time on a script...whether it's any good or not. Bite the bullet or get out of the business.
ReplyDeleteI was in a screenwriting class with someone who felt insulted because she not only didn't sell her script, but couldn't get anybody in the business to read it. She wrote query letters, sent emails, called places and got shut out. She couldn't understand that the rules of real life don't apply to anything in Hollywood, especially with screenplays.
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