As we near the end of the year, I look toward 2024 and start thinking of my goals and dreams. After winning the Native American Media Alliance fellowship TWICE this year, I have a dream to win Disney, CBS/Paramount, NBC, Nickelodeon, and/or Warner Brothers in 2024. If I got selected - that would mean a year in Hollywood - and possibly getting hired to write for a TV show. When I started this new career a year ago, I made a three-phase plan. Phase One was to write and rewrite lots of "inventory" of good scripts and then submit them to contests and fellowships during Phase Two.
The AFF - Austin Film Festival was amazing! I was first focused on pitching. I had snagged a pitch ticket on Friday in the 3rd session. I completed Carole Kirschner's course, How to Pitch a TV Script that Sells and learned how to write and deliver a pitch - a method to "sell" a screenplay. I was terrified, but it was amazing. I had not allotted time for the laughs my pitch got. I left the session - not as a winner, but elated that it went well, and so many came up to me after and said I should have won. I truly felt like a winner.
The AFF is also a writer's conference with tons of panels and roundtables to attend. As the holder of the precious 2nd Rounder badge, I got to pick some special "finalists" only roundtables. The two I wanted to meet the most were Megan Alderson, Creative Development Executive, Pixar Animation Studios and Liz Kelly, Creative Talent Development Executive, at Disney. I wasn't able to snag Megan's panel, But I did get a spot at Liz's roundtable. But I couldn't find her - the volunteer from AFF said that she hadn't shown up, so I sat at the closest table to the door - extremely disappointed. I had come all this way and didn't see the two people I wanted to meet.
But then the BEST thing about AFF happened. My table was led by Larry Postel, a non-represented screenwriter living in Dallas. Larry’s story is unique in that he has managed to have four original spec screenplays purchased, produced and released since 2020. He told us his secret; he sent out query emails after doing lots of research on who would be a good producer for his scripts. Research? That is my middle name!!! Emails? That is my life!!! I left walking on air and found a new direction.
So Phase Three starts. I want to sell a screenplay. Another Carole course (How to Get the F* Unstuck) that I took carefully taught me not to have goals that I can't control. Times are tough in the entertainment industry after two long strikes. There are backlogs of scripts, shows, and meetings. TV writer's rooms are filled. Everyone is too busy for emerging screenwriters like me. I can't control someone buying one of my scripts. So, as Carole taught me, I set a goal to send out 5 weekly queries. I will carefully write and record 5 pitches, write 5 query letters for my top 5 scripts and then read the trades, research producers, and send. I finished my query pitch for Blood Moon Wolf, and I'm rewriting my pitch documents and creating pitches for my top 5 scripts. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx_8Ja4anZU7427aV5A98VQUPYtmdfWJc
I made a YouTube of my trip to the Austin Film Festival with my visit with Andrea. https://youtu.be/MOxjDbqX0sQ?si=YX0JXhxwjpnIavJw - it is a little long, 28 minutes; beware!
I have now reached 68,000+ views on my YouTube channel! I do not have many subscribers, but I'm happy to get many views. Be sure and Like and Subscribe to be notified of the AFF video. Next month, I will talk about my script, Kira and Henry and how I grew up thinking I could fly.
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