I am an African American woman who has been working in administration for over 20 years, and I feel my career has gone nowhere. My dream is to become a screenwriter. I have completed a script and I’m working on another. I would love to get my script read and produced and also find resources to help me network with people in this field. I have sent inquiry letters to many production companies and agents to no avail. Can you help?
–D. Robinson, Kentwood, MI
If I were you, I’d check out www.screen writer.com and www.screenwritersutopia .com. They offer everything from script analysis and online screenwriting classes to interviews with working screenwriters. You can also subscribe to publications such as Screenwriter Magazine and Screenwriter’s Monthly.
There are also several books that you might find useful. Here are two to start with: The Screenwriter Within: How to Turn the Movie in Your Head into a Salable Screenplay by D.B. Gilles (Three Rivers Press; $14); and So You Want To Be a Screenwriter: How To Face the Fears and Take the Risks by Marie-Eve Kielson, Sara C. Caldwell, and Carla Haken (Allworth Press; $14.95).
Go full speed ahead with your investigation and pursuit of your dream, but don’t quit your 20-year administrative career until you are sure you can support yourself as a screenwriter. You can combine both professions by getting an administrative support job in the film industry. Also, make face-to-face contacts by attending screenwriter conferences and conventions.