For screen & television writers (and other creatives).
When you have a script to sell, one of the best ways to achieve that is by expanding your network or networking. Everyone says, "It's all who you know."
This is true in many ways, but don't despair. You can network even if you don't work in the industry or in Los Angeles.
Here are some tips and dos and don'ts for networking.
REMINDER~this is an industry of opinions so these are my experiences and my opinions. You may talk to someone else who has different ideas.
DO THESE THINGS
CREATE REAL RELATIONSHIPS
This means don't just talk to them about what you are selling—your work—get to know them, talk to them about them, and not all about the industry. Remember back in grade school when you'd meet another kid, and you had a connection, so you formed a friendship? Do it like that.
In 2nd grade, if you played the flute and you sat next to the kid from another school in band practice who also played the flute, most likely soon, you'd have a playdate scheduled. If you were in class and you both loved the talk about the wild wild west, you'd tell your mom to arrange a playdate. It's no different in real life, as adults, in the entertainment industry.
What I mean is this. Say you are at an industry party and meet someone who shares your love for all things Christmas, and you are the same way. You know the type (I am one of them-see my Christmas blog HERE ) who counts down from Dec 26th to the next Christmas and puts their tree up on Nov 1st-if you meet someone like that, you can talk about what kind of tree you have, decorating tips, etc. It's a REAL CONNECTION. If you love to play Call Of Duty (insert any game), and so do they, maybe you can get on their Disord channel or exchange handles; it's real.
At that same party, you meet someone who has the opposite political views, hates your favorite actor, doesn't share any of your hobbies, and you generally find them annoying. You don't have to get to know them just because they are in the industry.
Find those who you like and connect with them. People will help their friends and or people they interact with a lot. It's human nature.
USE SOCIAL MEDIA
This can be a great way to continue to get to know someone you met in a workshop, conference, at a play, through others, or just saw something they posted and can relate to. Like the above, create a real connection and get to know them.
One thing about this industry is that hours are long, the work can be hard, and we are often sleep-deprived. So you want to be in that situation with people you like, which is why honest connections go a lot further than fake ones.
RESPECT PEOPLE'S TIME
When you meet someone at a networking event, on social media, or through a class, it's important to know that they work in this industry, so respecting their time is essential. For example, you might not work or have loads of free time, so you email someone on Monday, and by Wednesday, you are like, "Why haven't they replied?" They could be shooting, they could be using their only day off running errands, and they have not had time to respond, so just keep that in mind, especially when asking them for a favor, like reading your work.
BE HONEST
If you have always wanted to meet a particular director and get that opportunity but haven't done the above networking yet, be honest and direct. For example, it's okay just to say, "I wrote this script; I'd love you to read it." Sometimes, being direct is the best way. There's nothing worse than someone being fake. I'll cover that more in the what not to do.
ATTEND INDUSTRY EVENTS
One of the best ways to meet others in the industry is to attend events—yup, in person. You can go to screenwriting meetups, fundraisers for a cause you support, workshops, conferences, and classes. Comic book conventions, book festivals, and film festivals are great industry events that happen all over the country and the world. Attend and meet people. Don't pitch; just meet them.
JOIN ONLINE SCREENWRITING GROUPS
You can find these on social media, LinkedIn, Discord, and through the classes you are taking.
Be active in the group and support others. Always be kind and helpful. If you don't have something nice to say, you can scroll past. Get to know people.
JOIN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
The WGA may be out of reach right now, but many others like the Screenwriting Support Group, The Screenwriting Life, Scriptwriters' Network, and others like the Women's Fiction Writers' Association and the SCBWI for children's book writers.
ATTEND WRITE-TOGETHERS IN PERSON AND ON ZOOM
These are usually informal places to meet and get work done. Since 2020, more and more of these have been conducted via Zoom, so you don't have to be in Los Angeles to meet and connect with other writers.
ALWAYS BE NICE & KIND
No matter where you are and who you are talking to, either in person or via social media, you don't know who they know, so you always want to be NICE. If you have nothing nice to say, leave the conversation or don't say anything.
THINGS NOT TO DO
jax10289/Shutterstock
I hate having to write about what you shouldn't do, but since it happens daily to all of us who have worked in the industry, I feel like it can help you out.
PITCH YOUR WORK when you are NOT UNIVITED to do so.
For example, if you go to a fundraiser with industry folks, it is never okay to go up to someone and start launching into why they need to buy your script or read it or anything like that. If you are at a party and you see that Martin Scorsese is having a chat, you scurry over and launch into how you have the next great Mafia story for him.
Sliding your script under the bathroom stall door.
Pitching in the bathroom at all.
WAIT until you make that connection, and then they say, "What are you writing?" Then you can say, "I have this story, it's about this," and organically go into your SHORT pitch.
When you meet someone and they say they work in the film industry and you say, "I have a great idea for a movie" -Please don't do this.
SLAM THE GENRE THEY WORK IN
I wish this weren't true, but I can not tell you how many times in the last two years, new writers have spent loads of time telling me all the reasons that they hate Hallmark holiday movies after finding out that I am writing those types of scripts. They launch into some long spiel about the stories, the dialogue, the happy endings, etc. Then they go on to pitch their totally new and better idea and then ask me to pass their name along.
This goes along with how to write a TV Holiday movie post about why you are getting rejected that I wrote-you can find it HERE
If you don't love what someone does or where they have chosen to work, that's fine, but please refrain from slamming it to sound smart or like you know so much about the industry.
HOUNDING THEM TO CONNECT YOU
When you meet someone in the industry and immediately ask them to connect with someone else, but they haven't read your work, this is extremely inappropriate. But wait, Stephanie. I've been told to ask everyone to connect with me, so why are you saying this?
What I meant is when you haven't made that real relationship, or even when you have, and you ask someone for a connection that you haven't earned, it's awkward. If you do it because you know they write in the same area as you, that's fine. I have no issue with people saying to me "I know you are writing for...can you give me a name?". Just understand, that sometimes we simply can't give out someone's contact information.
When a person says that they can't make that connection right now, you get upset, start slinging insults, send multiple emails, and, worst of all, tell them to slide you a connection, and they won't say where they got it.
There are lots of good reasons why people don't share connections, and you have to trust them. For example, some executives don't want to get tons of unsolicited emails and pitches, so you have been told not to give out their contact information. However, when you say that you can't share it, people get upset.
You have to understand that one of the biggest things in this industry is that it's built on connections. There's an unwritten code of conduct that we don't give out information to anyone. It's a professional business, and those connections are earned.
NOTE: I will happily share connections at the right time. For example, if I am talking with an executive, director, producer, or actor/actress and they say that they are looking for a certain story and I know that you have written that, I will automatically say, "I know this writer who has something like that. May I give them your email?"
I always do this kind of thing. I will then get in touch with you and say, "So-in-so is looking for this type of script that I know you have completed, so I told them, and they said it was okay to pass along their email."
I can't and won't just give everyone I know the email to someone who I am working with or have worked with in the past. That could break their trust in me.
I know that it sucks, and if you are new, hard to understand, but you have to realize that there is this weird thing that happens in the industry with those on the outside, and personal boundaries are often crossed.
NOT UNDERSTANDING THAT WE KNOW TONS OF PEOPLE who work in the industry. This happens a lot. I hear things like, "If you worked with this person or that person, why don't you call them up and tell them to produce your script?" or worse, "Give my name to this director who only does huge comic book movies because I have this holiday comedy and I don't know anyone in the industry."
These people are colleagues for us, not just stepping stones to get paid for our work. YES, it's important to use those connections, but they have to be the right connections. To someone on the outside, this may not make sense, but to us, it does.
Let me break it down in a way you may understand.
If you work at a bank, you are in the financial world, so you probably know a lot of people in that industry, and you may have met one of the big Wall Street guys at a party and hit it off as both your kids play soccer. You want to go from Bank of America to Wells Fargo, and this person lives on the other side of the country and is a day trader-would you contact him? No.
If you are a school teacher and have a friend who has written a novel, would you talk to the head of the English department at your school about helping that person get published? No.
I worked in animation for more than twenty years as an artist, which led me to work on live-action films as a storyboard artist. Those connections that I made there are great for animation and board work, but none of those directors are directing what I am currently writing, so I wouldn't waste their time trying to get them to buy my projects. What I might do is ask them, "Hey, do you know anyone who is looking for something like this?" Maybe, and only if I felt like it was the right time.
I know this is confusing because every class or workshop you are in tells you to use your connections. And yes, I agree with that, but I'm specifically talking about when you meet someone and want them to use their connections to help you, even if they are the wrong type of person for your project. Again, those relationships are sacred.
QUESTIONING SOMEONE'S PART IN THE INDUSTRY in a rude way. Most of us who work in the industry are not famous, but we are getting paid, and yet you are Googling, searching IMDB, and whatever else you can to prove something about us. Not sure why this is a thing but it is. Newbie writers are always doing things like this. IMDB is not everything, so please stop using it as a weapon. Understand that we can work and get paid, but not everything is listed on IMDB. It's just the reality, and it's often inaccurate.
Putting someone on the defense guarantees they will never help you. Again, a business that is hugely built on connections, and you find someone who has many years in the industry, and you cut them down or insult them because you are trying to prove something? That's fine, but why would we help you after that?
Someone said to me the other day, "Wow, you have more credits than so-in-so." I was like, "True, but this person has worked on thousands of projects."
Not understanding how screen credits work is also a thing. If someone you meet works in the industry, just be friendly and respectful of the time they have put in. There is no need to challenge someone or be rude to them.
BEING RUDE or COMBATIVE or a KNOW-IT-ALL
So, you have taken a few screenwriting classes, so now, you know everything there is to know about the industry, and you want to share it and prove to everyone that you are someone to hire. This NEVER works, ever. When you are rude, dismissive, and combative to others in the industry that just tells us that you are not ready. We don't want to be around you and most likely others won't either.
This is such a newbie thing that is happening more and more. Especially with writers about a year in or maybe more, who have one script finished. They have taken a few workshops, and all of a sudden, they know everything and are rude to those who could help them because they think they know better.
You never know who knows who in this business.
There are writers who I have met in the past year who are so obnoxious that I would never pass them along to anything, even if they are good writers. That attitude you showed in a Zoom or FB post tells me that you are difficult to work with, so I won't recommend you. It's always shocking to me how entitled and rude these newbies are.
I'll share a personal experience that happened last summer with a writer who is a fairly good writer. She asked me my opinion about something she heard, misinterpreted, and then got on a high horse that she knew better. When I said that I wouldn't do that particular thing because, in my experience, that's not a way to do it, she lost her shit. Our relationship dissolved almost immediately. I then went to the original source---remember, you don't know who we know---and asked her if she said this thing. She rolled her eyes and said, "No, of course not. What I said was this..." But this newbie took it wrong and, for some reason, got really angry with me for suggesting that wasn't the way to do it, and she asked me for my opinion.
Many of us who are currently getting paid have connections and insights that those on the outside don't, so if we say, "I just spoke to an executive at this studio, and they are looking for this." but you heard in some class something different just say nothing or thank you for that information. There is no need to be rude and obnoxious or lie about all the requests for that script that isn't even done. You could just say something like "Oh that's great information, I hadn't heard that. Thank you."
ANOTHER PRO TIP-everything changes all the time in this business. All THE TIME. Executives leave, agents change, requirements change, what they want changes, what they did last summer may not be what they are looking for in October. They don't know until they see it. One person's experience is different than someone else's. There is not one way in, etc.
You get the point. Right?
I hope you found this helpful. Networking is such a HUGE part of any industry, but especially this one. I mean, I've only worked in entertainment, so maybe it's just as big in others, but I don't feel like that's true. I see people who have no industry jobs, and they just go to interviews to get the job. What? So simple. LOL. Also, ours is a business of OPINIONS, so really, you have to know this and have a thick skin going in, but also be nice to everyone.
The biggest takeaway from this post is to MAKE REAL CONNECTIONS.
Happy writing! I hope to meet you online, in a course, or at a party and cheer on your success!!
XO
Stephanie
Follow me on social @stephobourbon
If you are a female writer, I'd love to have you in my old but new FB group for female writers. Click HERE to join the Female Writers Society!
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