The bestselling authors, the agents and managers, producers, directors and actors who spoke to us at USC were realistic about our odds.
Two agents who met with us both talked about the importance of creating a saleable product. As artists create, they must consider bread before pleasure; work to put a roof over their head before creating something that's meant only for their pleasure.
To become and remain successful we were advised to read the trade publications every day. One agent was inspired by stories; another advised us to see every movie that's released and to study how they did opening weekend; then how they fared the next week and the next.
During her lectures Gina Nahai, one of my favorite professors and mentors in USC's Master of Professional writing Program, reminds students in each of her writing classes how many hundreds of thousands of books are published each year. Only a tiny fraction of them will become bestsellers, and she suggested that as we begin a new project that we ask ourselves: "Why am I writing this?" and "Why am I writing this now."
NOTE: These entries are inspired by the final assignment for The Business of Writing for Screen and Television, a USC School of Cinematic Arts' course taught by Frank Wuliger. Hoping to help the students become working screenwriters, he asked his students to create a five-year roadmap into the industry.
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