Yesterday
I uploaded a new screenplay to Amazon.
Jade Mask was the first screenplay that I wrote. I wrote it in Word
instead of Final Draft, and transferring it to Final Draft so I could save it
as a PDF and submit it was a very lengthy process, besides often working on
other things.
I
now believe that I could have saved it as an RTF and submitted it that way, but
I think it works out. It has been edited more thoroughly than the others, and
while it is older, it doesn't feel older. It feels very fresh and cohesive.
Believing
you have written a good script is one thing, but getting someone else to think
so is something else entirely. Even being noticed in a sea of submissions is
hard. I had been thinking about how to make this work.
I
have tweeted and linked on Facebook for every screenplay I have submitted.
(This is number 7.) It's very easy for people to miss tweets. Some of the
people who follow me follow thousands of other people, and they may not be on
when I tweet, and there's just no way of knowing that they will see it and
click. I do still believe that a higher number of clicks will be beneficial.
Amazon
tracks downloads, follows, and reviews. Higher numbers of any or all of those
should be good. So it occurred to me that I needed to ask people directly.
I
have started by going through the Kickstarter (15) and IndieGoGo (6) projects I
have supported, and asking them to check it out, sending messages via Twitter,
Facebook, or the project pages themselves. I already see a problem with this,
in that I asked them to visit, and I think I should have specified download. I
am changing that for the next round of messages.
Now
I am going through bands I have reviewed, though not all. Some are too big,
where I just know that they would never see the message. The number is pretty
small, but I don't think I should ask the bands that I hated, either. It just
doesn't seem right. Also, there is some overlap, because three of the projects
I backed were for bands I reviewed.
I
am not phrasing these requests as "Hey, I reviewed your band," and a
lot may not remember, so I don't know if that hurts or helps. I did mention
that I was a backer in the first round, because it seemed to make sense to do
so.
The
point that I really cannot stress enough is how much I hate doing this. I hate
asking for things, I hate selling, and I hate selling myself. It nonetheless
feels like something I need to do.
I
want to be a professional writer. I write a lot; I have the writer part down. The
professional part will require some stretching.
It
may simply be a matter of needing to get more comfortable asking, like maybe I
will need to be asking more in the future, or I will come away with some
confidence, or maybe it actually will pay off, and there will be enough
downloads that it will make the screenplay look like something worth producing.
I would love that.
Ultimately
it's my usual situation. I feel like I need to do something, and I am doing it.
So
please, check out Jade Mask. There is action, adventure, betrayal, and
passion.
It
will still be cool to see the movie, even if you already know what will happen.
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