Well, yesterday started out fantastic (for a variety of personal, professional, academic and artistic reasons), but then it quickly soured as I began to become anxious about script submission opportunities coming down the pipeline and my complete and utter lack of preparation and information in regards to their important details.
First, FadeIn Magazine's annual Hollywood Pitchfest.
I am only doing the virtual Pitchfest for a few reasons: 1.) I am trying to save money (for my Christmas and NYE in Europe) and don't want to spend the money to fly to, book a hotel in and travel around L.A. for a weekend, 2.) Pitchfest is the weekend before teachers go back to school... that would just be a nightmare to do my first day of school (even though it is only PD) jet-lagged and tired, and 3.) I just feel more comfortable and secure at home, with my cheat sheet in front of me and wearing what I want to wear (meaning a nice shirt, but pajama bottoms below my screen). Plus, I just don't know that I can endure the physical demands of running around and taking those exhausting, draining and stress inducing pitch meetings (I hate scrutiny) all day long. It was fine in 2015, when I was 35 and still had the energy of an ox, but at 44 I am starting to realize my limitations (in regards to every state of being).
At any rate, I thought I remembered an email from FadeIn a week or so ago, giving me all the information I needed.
I already signed my release form (via DocuSign) and submitted it to them.
But I was worrying about when the day for virtual pitching would take place and when the day to sign up for meetings would take place as well.
I thought I had seen it in one of the Pitchfest emails I'd read over the last few weeks, but my brain was so fogged from lack of sleep (this week was AP training) that I didn't remember and (when I re-read the emails last night) I seemed to skim right over it.
At any rate, I hastily emailed FadeIn last night.
This is what they sent me: "Did you get Update #2? Please check your spam. There's an issue with hotmail recently."
Now, mind you, this was entirely my fault for not reading the email more closely, but, really, would much effort would it have taken to simply copy & paste the parts of that email that answered my questions into their reply message?
Ah well. It's what I've come to expect.
At any rate, I now know:
Virtual Meetings will take place on Monday, August 5th from 2pm-8pm.
(this is actually perfect for me because it is the day before teachers go back to school. Hopefully, if my pitch meetings go well, I will have renewed energy and a sense of hope and purpose, as far as my writing career goes, as I head into a new school year).
The online sign up cattle call for meetings with producers and agents will be Wednesday, July 31st at 8pm (my time).
(The last year I did Pitchfest was 2022 and I did fine: I got all the meetings with all the agents and producers I wanted and (about) the times I wanted. But this year I have 15 pitches to use up and two scripts (one comedy; one horror) to pitch.
Then there are my issues with the antiquated video meet software known as Skye.
From my perspective, this is such a troublesome platform.
After about 400 tries I was finally able to verify my email (however it still won't let me verify my phone number).
I really wish FadeIn would either spring for a paid account for Zoom (and include whatever cost they might incur in the fee writers pay to participate in Pitchfest) , or just use Discord (like everyone else in the world... the Discord idea would actually be preferable, because then writers could network more easily with agents and producers and FadeIn could create a community for aspiring screenwriters to commiserate, slingshot one another and offer solace and advice to one another).
But I digress.
But then there is the big blow that yesterday delivered.
The Bloodlist is no more.
You read that right.
See the image below (the black headstone with the message on it).
I only submitted to them two years (2021 I submitted Personal Demons and 2022 I submitted Flatdog... they took 2023 off due to the writers and actors strike).
I didn't make the list either time.
This is a huge blow to undiscovered screenwriters trying to acquire representation.
Heck, Joe Bob just showed a movie on The Last Drive-In whose script script was discovered via the Bloodlist (The Autopsy of Jane Doe).
This almost destroys my motivation to revise (as I was mostly revising old scripts in an effort to prep them for submission to the Bloodlist)... But then I realized that the more projects I have to submit to film festivals, the more material I have to send out into the ether and the more chances I have of landing an agent.
Right now I am putting all my eggs in the Personal Demons basket, as I think (and many who've read it have told me) that it is indeed the best horror script I have written. It is also the won that has won me the most awards, accolades and recognition (and requests by agents and producers I have submitted it to).
But I need to expand my repertoire.
Flatdog and Cubs are good to go (meaning revised recently).
I need to start submitting those.
And I cannot wait to gauge the reactions I get from Muscles & Wine.
But first I need to synthesize, practice and perfect my pitch for it.
Which I intend to do after I run my miles and before I head out to my concert this evening.
And while Bloodlist closing is disappointing (it was a great opportunity that was singularly directed at horror writers), it is also just one avenue (and, IMO, not even a great one at that... how did two of my scripts never even get a mention?!).
Bottom line: I have a plan and I am happy and hopeful of this plan's viability.
You really can't get much better (at the preliminary stages) than that.
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