A Hollywood Thread…
After a decade and a half in “the business,” I have learned this: Hollywood always finds a way to remind you that you’re not all that.
It doesn’t matter where you are in your career, or how much success you’ve had. (Look at the trail of fired showrunners over the last year.)
Sure, a healthy resume gets you in the door more easily, but every day, writers of all stripes hear NO.
Newbie going up for a feature writing assignment… NO.
Co-EP with a pilot pitch… NO.
Writer who created a wildly successful show, and has a new one to sell… NO.
Writer who wrote a huge movie, has a new spec script, and an A-list director attached… NO.
Almost every writer u follow, no matter how successful, hears NO more than yes. Nobody talks about it because it doesn’t feel good
Sometimes you’ll have a streak of YES — enough to fool you into thinking you won’t hear NO again.
When I first started, I booked three feature writing assignments back to back to back. The Hollywood Reporter called it “Hawley Hat Trick.”
I spent the next year writing & then I went out to get a new gig & heard NO. A lot. & had my first collision w the reality of Hollywood.
Whether you’re new to Hollywood or a deep in a career, the daily parade of sales and projects greenlit in the trades can seem overwhelming.
But each of those writers has a trail of NOs before that YES. The one guarantee in this business is that there is no guarantee.
Previous success does not ensure future success. Does it increase the odds? Yes. But it also makes the fall seem farther, the NO cut deeper.
Because rationally, you believe your success has given u heightened value. & that’s where Hollywood reminds you not to get ahead of yourself
And this is coming from a white male. The rock only gets heavier, the hill steeper, the NOs more frequent, for women and POC
So what do you do? You write. And then you write some more.
You do it because you love to create. If you didn’t why would you put yourself through the pain of having your art rejected on the regular?
Bottom line: There is no short cut. To have a career, you have to fight.
You have to finish one thing, put it out in the world, and say “what’s next?” — Before you even find out the first project’s fate.
U send out a spec & pick up the book your agent sent that needs adapting. U walk out of a pitch thinking about the assignment you’re up for.
If your agent calls to say they bought your pitch or your spec, you celebrate. If they don’t, you’re already on to the next thing.
This. Is. Not. Easy.
You invest in every story you tell. And yet, maintaining distance is the only way to protect your sense of self-worth.
Cause if you leave Hollywood an opening, it will kick open the door to the Total Perspective Vortex and shove your ass inside. /end
