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My POV
Brian A. Wilson
The Tao of Marketing Your Script
Marketing can be a nasty word to writers. It conjures up images of dorks in suits, long meetings and salesmen pushing vacuum cleaners door to door.
Don't burden yourself or your script with this bummed-out view of what should be a very fun process.
Follow the flow of your script as you put it out into the world. Enter contests. If you do well, and the contest holds some kind of festival or awards show, by all means, go! One of the most enjoyable chapters of my writing career was when I had a script make the semi-finals of the Austin Film Festival. I got an all-access pass for a hundred bucks, then proceeded to enjoy free food, scotch, screenings and the chance to be "on the other side of the velvet ropes."
More recently, a film I wrote and directed made it into the Seattle Underground Film Festival. Money is tight, and the idea of flying in these anthrax-infested times didn't really turn me on. But my wife and I forked out the money and went. It's impossible to put a value on the experience of watching one's script come to life on the screen and hearing a room packed with strangers laugh out loud at your creation. The festival director made a point of telling us that the film was so funny, "When I watched it the first time, I almost vomited."
Now THAT'S a compliment. And one I would not have received had I not gotten on that plane and gone to the festival.
We both came back feeling optimistic and revitalized by our fest-going experience.
As writers, it's too easy for us to slip into the trap of thinking that we must do nothing but bang away at the keyboard. Certainly, you do have to put in the time with your butt in the chair. But later, there comes a time to get up, put on something besides your underwear and get out in the world. See how your work impacts lives.
That's why we're writing, isn't it?
Make it a point this week or this month to send out your work if you haven't, and if you have, find a way to leave your computer and go see what effect your work is having in the real world. Meet people. Talk to them about what you've created.
Do this, and you're in for a pleasant surprise: You'll be marketing yourself.
And having fun doing it.
That's what it's all about.
Keep writing.
BW
LA
bigtex@loop.com
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