Today’s Subject Is…

….Uh, don’t really have one.  Sorry.  I guess you will just have to put up with my ramblings – old people have a tendency to do that, you know.

First, still been sending out the queries – every week.  I’m sure Hollyweird is getting very, very sick of hearing from me.  But, I have a theory about queries and it is this: you need to get your product out there in front of the buyers.  Sure, you will get rejected time and time again.  Over and over again.  But – and here comes the theory part – you only need to find that one person who is looking for the very thing you are selling – serendipity is the screenwriter’s best friend.  So, here is my score card to date – and don’t laugh, okay?

Production Companies: one-hundred-ninety-five (195) queries–five (5) requests for scripts–effectiveness:  2.56%. To date there have been no PASSES – but then again, no news – silence – very well could mean PASS.

Management Companies: one-hundred-twenty-three (123) queries–six (6) requests for scripts–efectiveness:  4.88%.  To date there have been four (4) PASSES – but encouraging words along the way.

I know these statistics sound horrible, but as I said: this is a numbers game and it only takes one YES.  It reminds me of the very old joke:

INT. RUSTY’S BAR AND GRILL – NIGHT

Jeff, 20s, average looking, wears bib-overalls – sits at the bar with his friend, Billy Bob, 20s, . dressed to the nines

Billy Bob turns to Jeff, asks:

BILLY BOB 

How do you manage to get laid every damn night?

JEFF

Easy.  I just walk up to a foxy babe and say, ‘Do you wanna F**k?’

BILLY BOB

Damn.  Don’t you get slapped a lot?

JEFF

Sure.  But… I get laid a lot too.

Go out and get slapped — then get laid

On a related note, there is a new service available to screenwriters that provides valid email addresses for industry professionals.  Valid email addresses are the hardest things to come by for us industry-challenged writers and I highly recommend that you check it out.  The service is called CONTACTOURAGE and is available for $79 a year to subscribers of TRACKINGBOARD and $99 per year for everyone else.  You can subscribe to IMDBPro and/or The Hollywood Creative Directory, but what both sorely lack are email addresses.  If you are interested go to http://www.trackingb.com/ and check it out.  Disclaimer:  I am no way affiliated with either website and I don’t get any compensation for this advert.  Come to think of it, I am cutting my own throat by telling you all about this!!  I’m creating more competition!!  Oh well.  Sigh.  What the hell.

Finally, some you may be aware of the GITS Club – loosely affiliated with Scott Myers’ Go Into The Story blog.  If you haven’t yet checked it out, do so at: http://www.gitsclub.proboards.com/ .  It’s free.  Fun.   And very educational.  A chance to link up  with like-minded writers.  Right now there is an interesting experiment in its embryonic stage where a group of perfect strangers – well, maybe they’re not perfect – intend to write a script via emails where each writes a twenty page segment and an editor will splice them together, tie things up, and present the world with a very unique reading experience.  Come on over and check it out – sign up to participate in the experiment.  Be a part of history.

Okay, that’s probably all I have time for – gotta get back to writing.  I’m deep into ACT I of my new thriller: BLACKRIDGE OMEGA, INC. – and we all know you can’t complete anything unless you

Keep Writing!