Out • come {out-kuhm}

- noun

1. a final product or end result
 

The definition referenced above is confirmation that you have total control over one outcome… Completing your screenplay!

Will it be represented? Will it be sold? Will it be made? Who knows, I don’t. But, what I do know for certain is this… if you decide to write a screenplay YOU can determine the story, the characters, the world, and when it will be a final written product.

As a strong reminder all other outcomes are not in your control. If you can embrace this as truth you will save yourself from years of heartache.

Just remember all other outcomes are out of your control.

For many aspiring writers the search for a representative to sign them and market their material or to align themselves with an established producer who will bring their words to life can be a daunting and frustrating task. It can make you SCREAM!

Submitting your material blindly and never hearing back a response is tough, but to submit material that has been requested and then NEVER hear back, ugh. Shoot me now.

That voice in your head turns on you. Doubt creeps in. Am I good? Am I wasting my time? Should I get a real job? Self-preservation of the ego kicks into overdrive. Then the big one: What have I done with my life?

Be assured you are not alone. You may feel alone, but you are most definitely not. First everyone in the business has their own challenge and while it may feel different from yours, it isn’t. The agent that didn’t make partner, the producer who’s last movie tanked, the actor who no longer opens a film, the writer who wants to direct, the TV writer who wants to be in film, the list is endless. This is the business of Next.

Keep in mind that you may never hear from the recipient of your material ever again. The reasons vary so greatly that you will never know why.

Next time you feel this way remember the following: You are in control of only one outcome --- completing a final written product. The rest is not in your hands. It’s just not. We trick ourselves into believing that if we worry enough and get angry enough we will somehow impact the outcome. It won’t.

Introduce your material and follow-up about a month later if you don’t hear a response. Follow-up a month after that and so on…

When do you stop following up? Depends on you...

Keep in mind that you are not the only screenwriter that submitted material. Additionally, the professionals I personally know have so much material presented to them from varying sources that much gets lost in the shuffle.

Submit and move on to the next. In fact, your mantra should always be NEXT, moving on! Submit, follow up, submit, and follow up. NOTE: If you submit via email it may be useful to attach your screenplay again to make it easily accessible to the third party.

Sometimes my office receives angry calls or emails because a writer is frustrated that we have not responded to their material. That immediately gets our response. My assistant scans our submissions and tosses their screenplay away.

Be original in your follow-ups. Maybe it’s not an email, but it’s a thank you card for the opportunity to submit. Maybe it’s an article you read about them, their movie or their client that you include in a note. Maybe you attend a conference where they are speaking. You get it… the possibilities are endless.

Be gracious, patient and most of all original when you follow up… you are a writer after all.

Submit, follow up, submit and follow up. Next, moving on!