Have Some Self Respect, Damn It!

Yes, this may sound like strange advice from someone who fully advocates using your irresistible screenwriter allure to sleep your way to the top, but people, have some self respect!

Please!

In dating and in business, a savvy screenwriter knows when to put out and when to hold back. So believe me when I say, stop whoring yourself all over town!

Yes, the point is to get yourself out there and bag a honey and/or script sale, but nobody wants to marry sloppy seconds. Sure, you can spread your legs queries to every Tom, Dick and Harry with a listed contact, but do you really want to be known as 'that' writer? You may bag some booty reads, but do you really think your phone will be ringing off the hook the next day?

No one wants to marry someone who has been all over town twice, and that goes double for making a script sale.

Your body is like a temple, and so is your script. If you want someone to worship it... Well, it's like that strange free milk from a cow saying. The point is, if you offer your udders to everyone, soon no one will want to milk you. Show some class and have the common sense to do your research before making contact, and make sure they're buying what you're selling, or at least find out their name first. If you don't, you look like an idiot and a cheap whore, and you make it harder for the rest of the planet to be taken seriously.

The Hollywood Creative Directory is a tool to be used wisely, not the scriptwriter's little black book of late night drunken booty possibilities. Don't abuse it. If that's your thing, do the rest of us a favor and stick to those classy ads on Craig's List.

Don't be the screenwriter version of a dumb blond joke. Put yourself out there yes, but don't embarrass yourself in the process. Have some self-respect.



**A big shout out to my writing brother Ryan who knows how to put himself out there with class. A huge congrats for nailing two awesome pitches.




cow image by ewanr