Mind Your Business. Michele Wallerstein

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СКАЧАТЬ millions of dollars on you and your work. This is a tremendous responsibility for you and for them. These are very busy people with many others vying for their time. If and when you finally get that chance to meet with them, you don't want to blow it over some minor infraction that you don't even realize you committed, such as wearing flip-flops.

      You may be a writer, but you are looking for a writing career. The career part is what you may be playing fast and loose with by way of your personal presentation. Remember grammar school? Neatness still counts and so do a lot of other things that may have slipped your mind since childhood.

      Here are ten do's and don'ts, based on my years watching clients destroy themselves in ways that had absolutely nothing to do with their writing talent and ability:

       1. DRESSING WELL

      You have a meeting at a studio or production company or you have signed up for a “pitch” session. You are going anywhere where you might meet someone who is connected in any way with the entertainment business. You are going to hear a speaker at a writer's seminar or to meet with a possible agent or manager. It's jeans, right? Okay but what about that T-shirt? Wrong. What about shorts, baggy or otherwise? Wrong. What about high heels and a tiny, tiny skirt? Wrong.

      First of all everything needs to be clean. That includes your shoes, pants, tops, purses, hair, skin, and fingernails. The jeans are fine if worn with a sport shirt (preferably with long sleeves, rolled up) or a collared knit shirt. With regard to women, the same principles apply vis a vis the jeans and a nice blouse or shirt. The people you are meeting will notice if you are a mess or unkempt. You want them to notice your work and ideas, not your dirty fingernails or great legs. You don't want to overdress in a suit and tie, and you may not want to dress in the long-skirt-and-turquoise-jewelry look or as the “artiste,” since these outfits may be more dominant than your screenplay ideas.

      Try to keep your wardrobe simple. Let the people you are meeting see you, not your outfit. Let them hear what you have to say, not focus on your costume.

      I once represented a writer who co-wrote a spec comedy, which sold for $850,000 and was produced and released very quickly. It was a hit and the writers were wooed all over town. They had decided to write separately after that script, but since my client had been a TV comedy writer, most production companies wanted to see him right away. I set up meeting after meeting for him. Some of the companies that wanted to meet with him had mentioned that they had open writing assignments they thought he could fill. As time went by and nothing came of these meetings, I finally asked him to stop by after one of them. He walked into my office and I was appalled by his appearance. He was a big, muscular man who was wearing hiking shorts, a skimpy tank top, and hiking books. He looked like an ad for some macho man magazine. (I'd only met with this writer a couple of times and he was always dressed in a casual, but respectful manner.) Then he sat down and didn't stop talking for twenty minutes straight. That's how I found out why he would never work again and he never did.

       2. ARRIVALS

      If you are on time, then you are late. Get to your meeting-place a little early. Remember you have to find a parking place, find the right office or building or restaurant, and most important, you do not want to keep your meeting waiting. If you are ten minutes late they will hate you, if you are fifteen minutes late they will probably not see you. The people you will meet are extremely busy or like to think that they are and want you to think that they are. You are the low man on this totem pole so you must arrive early. It shows you respect their superior position. If there is some emergency that keeps you from being early, you must call their office and explain and ask if you can be late or if you should re-schedule, as you apologize profusely. It better be a damn good reason. Early on in my agency career I was Larry Hertzog's first agent. Larry was always early to a meeting, admitting that if “one isn't early, then one is late.” Larry became a most successful television writer, executive producer, and series creator. He created Tin Man and Nowhere Man, and wrote and produced many shows for Stephen J. Cannell Productions as well as others. Even after all of his success, he was still early to meetings. Larry once told me that he always sort of “skulked” around outside of my office suite, until it was time for our meeting. I found that to be very endearing.

       3. DEPARTURES

      This one is hard to quantify but I'll try. Don't overstay your welcome. Be sensitive to body language, roving eyes, clock-checking, and taking calls. These are sure signs that the meeting is over. Once you've been served your coffee or fancy water, had a five-to-ten minute social chit-chat session, pitched your project or yourself, and heard what the other guy has to say, the meeting is usually over. Most meetings don't go over thirty to forty-five minutes. Once you see them start to shove their chairs back, you must stand up and begin to thank them for their time and interest, then leave. Don't hang around with long goodbyes. These are painful to busy people and may cost you dearly.

      No one wants to work with a pain in the ass and if you can't end a meeting they won't give you the writing assignment.

       4. TALKING

      Not as easy as it seems. Aside from pitching your project, you must do some P.R. on yourself. That means sharing. Not a dirty word, guys. If you don't talk a little about yourself, they will never remember you. Keep this part of the meeting short, but it is important. I can't stress this enough. You want to be remembered. These people hear movie stories every day, over and over again. It's nice for them to hear a little about a real person that they meet. There may be more than one person in your meeting. Quite often producers or agents will have development executives or assistants in the room with you. Try to keep as much of your conversation toward the main power in the room. Don't be pulled into talking too much to anyone else. Without being rude, return your attention to the person behind the desk.

       5. LISTENING

      I've represented more than one compulsive talker in my life and they rarely got the job. If you talk too much, you'll be out on your ass and never seen again. Listen to what is being said by others. Ask questions, and show interest in the answers.

       6. ENTHUSIASM

      Above all, be enthusiastic. No drooping face, foot shuffling, or moody attitudes. If you are terribly shy, get over it; you're an adult, so act like it. Firm handshake, eye-to-eye contact and a big smile are all required. Show that you're happy to be there and they will react in kind.

      You have to let people believe that you believe in yourself and in your work. You must project self-confidence in your screenplays. I never want to read a script by someone who tells me that it is okay. I want someone to tell me that the script I am about to receive is great.

       7. HAVE THE GOODS

      If you are pitching a project, you better have the finished script or at least a well-thought-out and fairly extensive treatment to leave behind. It's even better if you have a copy of the script with you. Don't waste people's time pitching an idea if you are a new writer and don't have the pages to back it up. It's okay for the pros, but not for you. If you have pitched your finished screenplay and it is not something that the company is interested in reading, they might ask if you have any other ideas. If that happens you may pitch a few, maybe three, projects that are in various stages of development. Make it clear that these are not-yet-completed projects.

       8. THE WRITTEN WORD

      Show the same respect for your written work that you show for your wardrobe. Keep it clean. No typos. No grammatical errors. Take the time and make the effort to see that your script is perfect. As a matter of fact this applies to all of your writing, even СКАЧАТЬ