The Writing Week (Vol. 3) part 137 - Moving Forward

Big week! After months and months of drafts and re-writes and notes and tweaks, I got an extremely exciting email last night. The production exec we're working with in LA read the most recent draft and thinks it's ready - the draft we're going to go out with.

This week and the next are all about preparation and strategy. First, some time in the next 24 hours or so (possibly even later this evening), I should be getting a Word doc listing any typos or grammatical errors that need to be addressed. Granted, after reading the script so many times, these should be very few and far between. On the other hand, after reading the script so many times, there's a chance that I have read over the same typo a dozen times and failed to see it, as I'm looking for the content that comes before or after it. So, one of the first steps is to just make sure that the script is fully proofed and edited.

Next, the production exec and my manager are supposed to talk about which agencies to go to with the spec. We have a few goals with the agencies. First, obviously, is the desire to get me repped up. We're looking at the four biggest houses, I think. I should get more info about the strategy and the why and why-nots of it all later this week, but a lot of it is figuring the best angle and person to go to. This, because the point isn't just to get me an agent. Part of this process is to determine ways to package the script - get actors and a director on board (perhaps) before we take it to studios. This takes a lot of work off the studio and makes the script a more guaranteed (but never fully guaranteed) sale. A vehicle (script) with all the elements (talent) in place around it is a much more attractive prospect to a cautious studio than a script with no actors interested, since it shows a lot more interest. Especially the case if we can get big talent attached. 

In the meantime, as I'm implementing any minor edits and my manager and the exec are strategizing, we'll be waiting for the head producer at the production company to read. He's out of town at the moment, but the exec is giving it to him next week when he's back in town. Hopefully, this all means that the script gets some major traction in the coming weeks and that the end of the summer could see me out in LA taking a few meetings and, possibly, with an agent. Of course, since there's never any promising anything, I allow myself to be at best cautiously optimistic now. Nonetheless, it looks like we're finally moving onto the next step (knock on wood). As you can well imagine, I'm stoked!