4 Lessons I've Learned From My Now Two And A Half Year Journey As A Screenwriter-Director In Hollywood

Being successful in Hollywood (and I use that as an all-encompassing term for the entertainment industry) isn’t easy. Nor is monetizing any creative endeavor. People dream of making their passions into something lucrative and far-reaching, and therefore, there’s obviously going to be a lot of competition and varying levels of success. I’m certainly not at the point where I’ve made money from anything related to my film work, although I’ve only been at it for only about two years and a half (I started just before the writers strike began), and since then, I’ve written several screenplays and shot my first independent feature film.

Here are four things I’ve learned from my (still early) journey in this industry. And they’re not limited to writer-directors; they’re all-encompassing and cover the variety of entertainment industry roles available:

Consistency Is Key

Talk is cheap. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people call themselves screenwriters or actors or whatever else, and in the next breath say that they haven’t written or auditioned for anything in months. Now, most of these people are perfectly nice and good folks. But they’re either a) unorganized or b) not passionate enough. When you have thousands upon thousands of dedicated talented people working hard to get to the same place that you want to go, treating this as a relaxing hobby isn’t the way to go about it. (Unless you’re only doing it for your own pleasure, then this doesn’t apply to you, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that). I get it, life gets busy. People have jobs to do, kids to feed, and there are only a certain amount of hours in the day. But you need to come up with a consistent schedule that will allow you to routinely work on and improve your craft. If you’re not willing to work hard and improve on your goals, whether they include sharpening that screenplay or getting better at directing your short films, you’re probably not going to last long in this business. But the good news is that the process can (and should) be enjoyable. It should bring you joy knowing that you’re working hard at your craft in order to reach your full potential.

Networking Is A Must

The entertainment industry is extremely collaborative. You often get jobs from who you know. That doesn’t mean that skill and talent don’t matter - they do. But it does mean that knowing people gets your foot in the door so that the opportunity itself opens up. You have to be open to meeting people both at your level and above, because those at the same level as you will later themselves land new gigs or create new projects, which just might mean a new job for you as well. Or let’s say you want to start filming something - people are always open to collaborate and negotiate. If your social skills aren’t where you want them to be, I suggest getting out there and going to entertainment-industry mixers (the “Meetup” app as well as “Eventbrite” are great places to find these in your area). Or you can also utilize other social media, like Instagram and LinkedIn. What I’m basically telling you is…go out more! You’ll be glad you did.

A Few “Nos” Shouldn’t Make You Give Up - Be Resilient

If you’re in or thinking about starting a career in entertainment, I can almost guarantee you that you’re going to hear the word “no” quite a bit. Even if the no comes in a more polite version, the point is that you’re probably going to get rejected far more times than you’re going to hear “yes” or get hired for something. And here’s why that shouldn’t bother you - basically everyone else is in your shoes. Pretty much everyone has to go through their barrage of rejections before they hear that first yes. This includes hugely successful directors, screenwriters and actors that are household names. The vast majority of them had to work their way up and fight for what they want until they reached where they’re at. That can be you.

Don’t Wait On Someone Else To Make You Successful - Start Creating Your Own Projects

This last lesson is probably the most applicable to me, because before I shot my first feature, I was cold-querying (or cold-pitching) producers and production companies. This basically means emailing people you don’t know a log line of a script and a bit about yourself in order to get your projects funded. Let me be clear - I’m not against doing this, nor am I against trying to meet producers and investors in other ways in order to form valuable (and profitable) relationships. But what I am against is relying on this (or trying to land a certain gig) as your sole focus. We live in a digital age where it’s never been easier to make your own work and build an audience. You can shoot your own (low-budget) films, submit to festivals, put them on streaming, you name it! So please, don’t only rely on others - turn that spark into something amazing. It all begins with you.

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