{"product_id":"how-to-avoid-potholes-when-building-a-writing-career","title":"How to Avoid Potholes When Building a Writing Career","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #42C2CB;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: teal;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"http:\/\/admin.stage32.com\/vendor\/moxiemanager\/data\/uploads\/15.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"158\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #42C2CB;\"\u003eIt’s the dream of many to have a career as a writer for TV or film, to be able to make a living creating worlds and telling stories. Just ask almost anyone at any coffee shop. However the life of a writer, even the most successful, isn’t always easy. The career path is fraught, unpredictable, and inconsistent. Every writer breaks in (or doesn’t) in different ways, and as a result, there isn’t a singular roadmap for aspiring writers to find the success they’re looking for. That said, having a keen understanding of the industry you’re trying to break into and a wherewithal of potentially helpful steps on your journey is vital in finding your place and advancing in your career.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe truth is there’s so much more that goes into being a writer than just writing. Creative chops alone won’t save you. You are creating art for a market and therefore need to understand how the market operates in order to work within it. And while every writer’s career is unique, there are still commonalities and patterns among them and mistakes many have made that you can avoid by learning from them.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLee Sternthal is a screenwriter, director and photographer who has written screenplays for every major studio, including TRON: LEGACY for Disney, as well as scripts for Johnny Depp, Mel Gibson and many others.\u003c\/strong\u003e His film, \u003cstrong\u003eTHE WORDS\u003c\/strong\u003e starring \u003cstrong\u003eBradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eJeremy Irons\u003c\/strong\u003e was an \u003cstrong\u003eOfficial Sundance Film Festival selection\u003c\/strong\u003e and was later bought by \u003cstrong\u003eCBS Films\u003c\/strong\u003e. Lee is a \u003cstrong\u003eSundance Institute Fellow\u003c\/strong\u003e, and his work has appeared on \u003cstrong\u003eThe Black List\u003c\/strong\u003e. \u003cem\u003eThrough his journey in this industry he has seen it all - the good, the bad and the ugly - and has come to Stage 32 exclusively to tell you about it.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLee will reflect on his own career as a writer, the mistakes he’s made and the successes he’s found, both in the indie space and the studio system, to give you the perspective, lessons learned, and strategies to better navigate your own writing career.\u003c\/strong\u003e He’ll begin by focusing on writers just starting out and will discuss whether new writers need a manager and whether they need an agent. He’ll then talk about the pros and cons of having a writing partner and what to expect if you join forces with someone else. He will discuss Sundance Film Festival and reveal what actually happens if your film gets accepted. Lee will also discuss the insider Hollywood script survey the Black List from and illustrate what happens when your script appears on this list. He’ll then delve into screenwriting services, how they can be helpful, and how they can be harmful. Next Lee will then share his own experiences, both writing for a studio for the Disney film TRON: LEGACY as well as writing for the independent project THE WORDS to give you a sense of what those experiences are like from the inside. He’ll discuss how to know how much you’re able to take on and how to grapple with the doubt and Imposters Syndrome that is incredibly common among writers starting to find success. He’ll then go over the best ways to continue to pay the bills as a new screenwriter. Finally, Lee will give you his insider knowledge of the industry, including how to understand who “The Players” are and how to navigate them, what “The Venues” are and how they operate and how to work different rooms.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003chr\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #42C2CB;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"\u003ePraise for Lee’s Webinar:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #42C2CB;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"\u003e“It was great to hear about all of Lee’s different experiences. I feel like I have a better sense of what to expect and what to do moving forward to keep on writing!”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #42C2CB;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"\u003e-Dennis G.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #42C2CB;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"\u003e“Lee was great! This was such an interesting webinar!”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #42C2CB;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"\u003e-Betty H.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #42C2CB;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"\u003e“I’m so glad I saw this! Lee has so much knowledge to share.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #42C2CB;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"\u003e-Terry C.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #42C2CB;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"\u003e“Lee definitely answered a lot of big questions I’ve been asking myself about getting into writing, and now I’m excited to take some next steps. Thanks!”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #42C2CB;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"\u003e-Gwen D.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #42C2CB; font-size: 14pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: teal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #ffffff;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cimg src=\"http:\/\/admin.stage32.com\/vendor\/moxiemanager\/data\/uploads\/18_11.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"158\"\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stage 32","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48055894606131,"sku":"","price":49.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0700\/7728\/4659\/files\/image_65c59eabd31b0.jpg?v=1707450031","url":"https:\/\/stage32.myshopify.com\/products\/how-to-avoid-potholes-when-building-a-writing-career","provider":"Stage 32","version":"1.0","type":"link"}