NEGATIVE FEEDBACK/SUBMITTING

[zz]

I sent a spec I wrote to a lit manager I had not heard of yesterday at the behest of my friend, an acquaintance of said lit manager.

To say that her reaction was less than positive would be putting it mildly.

I am not defensive about people not liking my stuff if they have valid comments, but I won't lie, it hurts, it always hurts. However, do I keep submitting this screenplay over and over in spite of this? I know there are hundreds of opinions, and a different person might love it,
BUT, the way I see it, you only get ONE shot (going from person to person) to make an impression, and if they don't like you, chances are, they won't read any follow-ups.

What should I do? The next time an opportunity like this comes, should I submit the same piece? Should I send a different one which may have garnered better reviews from my peers? Or do I wait until I am sure I have created something can't miss?

AND, does anyone else want to make me feel better by commiserating/sharing stories of being told they suck?

[Jeff Messerman]

Double z,

I have a multitude of rejection nightmare stories from my stint out west in the 90's but sadly I haven't the time to regale them all...

Let me just say this:

If you let this rejection stymie you, you're doomed. The ONLY WAY I know of to shake it off is to (excuse the extreme French) write like a possessed muthafucka'. I would let my rejections dictate my time at the keyboard and it screwed up my head for, oh, I dunno', about 4 or 5 years!!!!

Gonna' re-write the rejected project? Get on it now. (I would actually advise against this but, y'know, your call.)

Have two or three scripts in the bullpen? Put 'em in, coach.

Best way of looking at it? That lit manager and her rejection and your time at the keyboard are two very, totally, utterly separate things. They have nothing to do with each other. When you write, I'm assuming you do so not to pay your next electric bill or garner the accolades of millions... you write because you want/need to... because it gives you pleasure.

That rejection, again, has no bearing on that. You must still write. 1 rejection, 1000 rejections, you still have that need and that want. The philistines can't take that away from you. No one can, really.

Oh and by the by, you more than likely don't "suck." How do I know that? By your reaction to the rejection.

The ones who suck are the ones who DON'T CARE. You felt it. It was a sock to the gut. Believe it or not, that's a good sign.

So what are you going to do when you finish reading this post?

"Why Jeff, I'm going to go write a few pages on a new draft, of course..."



Good boy.
;D

[oz]

Oh, ZZ, let me mother you for a moment ; ) ......hugs......

There. We're done with that.

If you've never been rejected and gotten the harsh stuff it means you're not putting your stuff out there. If you're not putting your stuff out there, well, it means you're too chicken s&*t and have convinced yourself that you have to wait until that perfect piece you got in you is written and THEN you'll submit. If you're waiting for that to happen, you may as well go back to school now and become a doctor because you'll always find something wrong with that next piece you're working on.

An insider I've known for years tells me anytime someone shoots me down, "That's just one no from one person on one project. Send it to someone else. Someone else is gonna love it. Just takes one. And what else you working on?"

So you keep track of whom you send what to when and you learn the business side as you tend to your wounds.

And that, my son, is how you become a writer!

Oh, and writing and reading and like Jeff said and never giving up and all that crap because he's right. We don't do this to get rich. It'd be easier to go back to school at age 50 and become a doctor! (sorry for the reality check) No, we do this because we can't NOT!!

So, whatcha working on?

[mscherer]

Double Z,

I agree with Jeff and Oz -- don't let those ‘Inglorious Basterds’ get you down.

Here's my war story -- though I have no spec sales, options, etc.
During the month of February, 2010 I have queried 140 producers and 123 managers. To date I have had 9 requests for my scripts -- 5 passes -- with 4 still out there swinging in the breeze. Do I find it frustrating? Of course. Will I ever stop putting myself out there? Never!

Why, you might ask? Because every once in a while you will get feed back like: well written; enjoyed your writing, etc. Little nuggets like that are remembered long after the criticisms.

My tag line at the end of most of my posts is: Keep Writing! But I also live by my rule of the 3Ps: Perseverance. Perseverance. Perseverance.

Here we go....
Keep Writing!

[tcsp]

you can only get hit so many times before you learn to dodge the punches.

[attatt]

You obviously have to keep submitting, man. The fact that you are here instead of writing in a vacuum in your basement means you are already improving your chances.

Not that we are all experts, but getting opinions and looking at your writing objectively puts you way ahead all the other yahoos who either do work in a vacuum or just steal scenes.

I say pour a drink and hang out with some naked laides (or men, whatever) everytime you get rejected. You wont feel so bad later and you might end up with a good story to write about

[zz]

Gang. You have all made me feel better.

Without even looking at Jeff's comments, I wrote with a vengeance (on a new project) last night where I am currently "in the weeds," the dreaded page 70, but I managed to get through it.

I have been told I suck many times

[nason]

As long as you write everyday, you will crawl, you will walk and then you will run. As long as you are never deterred, you are a writer.
50 years from now, if you haven't sold a thing and you are still writing? You are a writer.
If you can't "Not" write? You're a writer.

[nason]

No one can ever take that away from you.

[mscherer]

Amen!

[bushhippie]

Glad you kept writing ZZ and got through the weeds!

Z : )