I finished my second short play over the summer. Now I'm getting it out to theater companies and short play festivals around the country. Most artistic directors allow for electronic submissions. Bless their hearts. Do you have any idea how much a struggling playwright/screenwriter saves on postage, ink, paper and shoes by being permitted to submit work electronically? You don't want to know, but trust me, it's a lot.
I sent out six submissions within an hour with this technology. Remember the old snail mail days? Writing, editing, printing, copying, packaging, labeling, mailing, and waiting for the response. My Lord, how did we ever survive that process? I used to run to the mail box for my rejections (I didn't know at the time they were rejections. Writers are like blind dates -- we go into it always hoping for the best -- but usually wind up disappointed.)
Anyway, hats off to all the trees we're saving too by not sending out packages of paper anymore.
Do people read these electronic submissions? Well, that's another posting. I think they do. I personally prefer a hard copy of something to read. So I just contradicted the above. I still love books and printed screenplays when it comes to my personal reading habits... but I'm moving slowly toward changing that.
I haven't read an e-book yet, but I may in the future. It's just that I already carry around enough gadgets with me... cell phone, iPhone, iPod... plus my laptop and desktop computer at home. I can't keep track of much more digital reading at the moment.
But Christmas is coming. I might ask for one of those Kindle or Sony thingies to download all my new books on for 2010.
Or maybe not.
Some habits die hard.
Until next time.
1 comment:
When to write? This was my question. When? When? When? Not how or how long, just When. But it’s not really just When is it? When is the mightiest four letter word, a big word full of lots of lovely issues to weed through. If I can answer the When then all that follows will flood. So, how does writing fit in to my day? How can it not fit in…If I am going to call myself a writer I’d better put something on paper regularly or I could only consider myself at best, ‘person who once wrote’ – which sits well in a sad poem but not in a life that needs action.
Thankfully I read a book called, Time to Write by Kelly L. Stone...this book guided me to what kind of writer i am. Should I write at night? During the day? After tea? Finally, the When, When, When! I sat in each pod and tried them all out, only to find that I am a morning writer! I rise with the sun and I listen to my thoughts and I write them all down. All of them; shit or glorious it all goes in to be edited on another morning when the sun will surely rise to see me with my tea and ink pen. I had been trying to write at night you see, night time, time of death to me with a pen in my hand. Tired, lost, sleepy, unmotivated… how can anyone write with that baggage at their feet? Well, certainly not me. Silly to think I didn’t even think of setting my alarm 5 minutes earlier each day until I had a full hour of time that would have slipped by without much notice. How easy is that to do? Not for everyone I’m sure. For me a revelation and now six months of words. Words, words, words. If there were now a book to tell me what order to put them in – but if there were such a book we’d all have it wouldn’t we?! Or perhaps not… that is the exciting piece isn’t it – the moment you are holding up the puzzle, completed to see its picture and right before it tips forward into the oblivion of mixed up pieces again you see it for how it is and you know – you know you have it right.
Sara Lovett - sara.lovett@chartisinsurance.com
Post a Comment