As a former literary manager, I represented film and television writers for the better part of eight years. Many of the talented but less experienced writers who hadn’t yet made a living at the craft were solely interested in creating original screenplays that would be shopped to production companies, studios and packaging agents. They never wished to consider the myriad other ways they could make money in the industry with far less competition, even if such work might lead to their ultimate goals. Here are a few such ideas for those writers seeking to take the road less traveled: Become a Writer’s Assistant Feature film and television writers have assistants that do everything from menial work like rolling calls and faxing to more creative pursuits like researching, writing synopses, doing coverage, and even giving development notes. The hours might be long and the grunt work tiresome, but it’s one of the best ways to see how scripts get produced. It also allows you to make connections with other professionals like agents and producers. In the case of television, you see how a writer’s room runs while taking notes for the staff writers. Moreover, TV shows often promote from within, giving More
I Need a Grant
/ 2016-07-05By C. Hope Clark – I forget that new writers enter the profession daily, and I’m most reminded when a slew of them write me after seeing FundsforWriters.com for the first time. The first thing they see is GRANTS, and that throws their fledgling minds into overdrive, wondering how they can find some generous grant provider to offer money to a new writer. It’s like rumors that some government agency will pay off your mortgage or write off your debt. In writing, nobody offers you a free lunch. You pay for that lunch. You can hope for a coupon here and there, or a free sandwich if you buy a coke, but nobody is going to offer lunch for free. Let’s look at grants. Why do grants exist? Nobody cares about that, but grants have missions, too. Grants have specific purposes, and providing money to people who don’t have it isn’t the leading purpose. It’s more about what someone wants to do with that money that matters. 1) They are created to fill an identified need. 2) They are created to make a difference with humanity. 3) They must demonstrate to the world that the money they spend has done More