It’s nearly mid June. Say you’ve got something coming up. Perhaps something like the London Screenwriters’ Festival. Say it’s coming up at the end of October this year. There is a fantastic opportunity for you to pitch something there, to talk about your work, to get yourself out there. But NOW is the really crucial time for you as a writer or filmmaker.
You need to decide now what projects you’re going to take in with you. To be your answer when people ask you what you’re working on at the moment (they always do). To have something ready when they say ‘What’s it about?’ so you don’t end up rambling about your story and they end up getting confused or overwhelmed by your rough pitch.
You need to decide now what you start to work on before you get there, so that you’ve got something to show for it. Even if you aren’t pitching (if you are pitching, you definitely need to do this around now), you need to know what your strongest projects are to talk about with other writers.
Honestly, start thinking about it now. Put in the development time to get it to a readable place if it comes to that. If people want you to send them something, make sure you’ve got something to send. Give yourself the best possible shot to get something up and running out of it. I’ve lost count of the amount of stories I’ve heard of people saying ‘I pitched last year and got a lot of interest in my idea but I didn’t have anything ready so I never sent anything through.’ Don’t be that person this year. Be the person who has a strong idea, a solid pitch, a one page outline ready to send (or give out on the day – but ONLY IF THEY ASK).
Consider what you want to get out of the festival. Then arm yourself with the tools to get it. You wouldn’t go into battle with just an idea of how it’s going to go and hope you’d win. You’d have weapons and strategies and concepts to give yourself the best possible chance of winning. Do the same at your festival and event. But start planning NOW.
If you aren’t sure about your project or know it’s not prepared enough to pitch at whichever event you’re headed to, I run a script reading service and would love to help you out with your script. Find out more here.
