When a writer wants to land an agent or that coveted development deal, they typically start out in their quest by writing a screenplay. That’s not a bad idea, but there are thousands of scripts knocking around Hollywood. To stand out, you really need to embark on what I call the Hollywood Trifecta.
Naturally, every suggestion I’m about to provide surmises that you have done your homework by taking the time to imagine an original concept that is well-conceived. Now let’s start…just what is the Hollywood Trifecta?
Your job isn’t finished when you write “the end” on the last page of your novel or script. In fact, it’s only starting. You have to create a body of work surrounding your idea so that when you get that all important meeting you can provide a book, a script, maybe even a television pilot. Basically, you don’t give them a reason to say no. You present a feature script, but they think the idea is better suited to a pilot. Well guess what? You’ve got that in your back pocket too.
But this takes so much time, you lament. Yes…yes it does, but it’s time well spent. Your writing will only improve. You’ll become more marketable. And, if you’re clever you can translate your different writing samples into calling cards.
When my client, Sammi Robin, developed her first feature script, she also wrote it as an ebook, “So Many Frogs, Not Enough Prozac,” which Evatopia published. One chapter of this ebook was then adapted into a wildly popular blog post called “The No Contact Rule,” which Sammi wrote for theblowoff.com thus increasing her notoriety, elevating her book sales, and yes, giving Hollywood more reason to take notice.
By creatively marketing her script and then, her book, she created a mini publicity empire. At the time of this writing, her blog post has received over 149,000 views. In short, she took the time and created her own Hollywood Trifecta.
You can’t escape that old adage, “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” It applies to most things in life and writing is certainly one of them.
Below, you can read Sammi Robin’s well-received blog post and find her book.
So Many Frogs Not Enough Prozac
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