Read 'Getting the most out of your visit to Los Angeles' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

I get quite a few emails from people who are visiting Los Angeles and want to know how to get the most out of their trip in terms of advancing their screenwriting careers.

I wrote a post on this very subject a little while ago, so check that out if you haven’t already read it: Taking a Trip to Los Angeles to Jump Start Your Screenwriting Career.

I recently learned of a program run by Alan Denman, a writer and mentor, where he will actually help you plan and execute your trip to Los Angeles. He’s calling the program L.A. Residential. If you’re planning on visiting Los Angeles you should definitely check it out. I’ve corresponded with Alan via email and he seems like a very genuine person who’s looking to really help screenwriters.

You can learn more about this program by going here: http://www.script-to-screen.com/Script-to-screen/L.A._RESIDENTIAL_2.html

Read 'Do you see a lot of screenwriters with wife and kids moving to Los Angeles?' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

I got this question recently:

“Do you see a lot of screenwriters with wife and kids moving to Los Angeles?”

When I first moved to LA I was single, no kids, just graduated from college, and only 23 years old. I thought I would be very typical of the sort of person who moves out to LA to pursue this crazy dream of becoming a screenwriter. And while there certainly was no shortage of recent college graduates flooding into LA that Fall, I was actually surprised how many older people I met. And I’m not just talking about writers but also producers, editors, actors, directors, make up artists, etc. There’s actually a ton of people who had a career for ten, twenty, or thirty years but always had this dream of making it in Hollywood… so those people are in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and even 60s. People of every age and position move to Hollywood. Some with families, some recently divorced, some retired with a nice nest egg, some eager to find a day job to support themselves. It’s really a big mixed bag.

One thing about LA, because it’s such a big city no matter what current career you have, it’s pretty likely that you could find a job in your field and make a comparable salary, if not better depending on where you’re coming from. I was emailing with a guy a little while ago who’s getting a degree in Kentucky in equestrian management and I mentioned to him that there was a lot of horses in and around LA, especially up in Ventura and sure enough he found a job lead pretty quickly. The point is it’s not nearly as hard to move to LA as you might think. I personally love living here and even if I wasn’t writing scripts I would still want to be in Los Angeles.

And as a side note, I get tons of email from people who live outside of the USA who really can’t easily move here so if you do live in the USA be appreciative because for many people it’s not easy and isn’t really an option.

Read 'Is living in Arizona almost as good as living in Los Angeles for screenwriting?' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

I got this question recently:

“I live in Arizona and having read everything you posted on living in LA to be a screenwriter, I wonder if us Arizonians are viewed a bit differently in light that we’re just 6 hours from LA. Of course, I would be missing the whole idea and point of making contacts, meeting the right people and networking but as far as an agent or production company wanting to set up meetings, would they still look at an Arizonian as an ‘amateur’ and not worth the hassle?”

If you haven’t read my posts on Living in Los Angeles, you should take a look at them. You can find them here: http://www.sellingyourscreenplay.com/tag/living-in-los-angeles/

To answer your question, no, I don’t think that living in AZ is any better than living in any other city outside of LA. While you’re right there is some proximity to LA, a large part of it is just the perception that people who are really serious about screenwriting, especially people who are trying to break in, live in Los Angeles. There’s really no getting around this fact mainly because it’s true. Now with that said, there are plenty of screenwriter’s who have made it even though they didn’t live in LA… I can’t think of any off the top of my head but I’m sure there are some.

The thing is, the point is not just to have a physical LA address and phone number, you could get those two things for probably less than $20 / month. The main point to being in LA is just being around the business. You run into professionals and up-and-comers like yourself on a daily basis everywhere you go that you can network with, you see productions taking place around the city whenever you go out, the 5 o’clock news spends more time on entertainment then most other cities, you see movies at Mann’s Chinese theater, there are lots of screenings where the filmmakers show up. There are countless small little things like this that you simply can’t get anywhere else. Living in LA immerses you in the business, almost without trying, and I think this is very valuable.

Read 'Should I move to Los Angeles to purse my dream of becoming a screenwriter?' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

I got this question recently:

“Hi there.

Do you think it’s worth it for a 20-year-old like me, to move from my country, Portugal, to Los Angeles or somewhere close, to follow the dream of writing screenplays?

I mean, if it’s a tough world to the American writers, isn’t it even tougher for a foreign boy to do well?  Or if you’re really talented, it doesn’t matter?

I’d appreciate an honest answer, it’s very important to me.

Greetings from Portugal.”

It’s really a personal decision and I would never want to try and push someone in one direction or the other.  It depends on how passionate you are about making your dream a reality balanced with how much you value time with your friends and family at home.  There is no right answer.

It’s going to be very difficult to succeed as a screenwriter even if you have a lot of talent so if you’re not ready to work hard it’s probably not worth moving to Los Angeles.

I personally feel like Los Angeles is a great place to live and work, even if you’re not in the entertainment industry, so I don’t see a lot of downside to giving it a go even if it’s just for a few years.

I’ve written some posts about moving to and living in Los Angeles which you can read here:

http://www.sellingyourscreenplay.com/tag/living-in-los-angeles/

Especially these two articles:

Moving to Los Angeles and preparing for the long haul

Do you have to live in Los Angeles to be a screenwriter?

Read 'Taking a Trip to Los Angeles to Jump Start Your Screenwriting Career' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

A got a few questions from two aspiring screenwriters a couple weeks ago who were planning a trip to Los Angeles.

1. What are some ways to arrange meetings before we arrive in L.A.?

2. While there, do you have suggestions on how to meet industry people? Are there any bars/spots we should visit to network?

3. What are your thoughts about going to a company directly to give them a script?

If you read my blog regularly you’ll know that I’m a big proponent of moving to Los Angeles if you’re serious about becoming a screenwriter.  I’ve written these two posts on the topic:

Do you have to live in Los Angeles to be a screenwriter?

Moving to Los Angeles and preparing for the long haul

While I think a short visit to L.A. will be fun and certainly can’t hurt, I’m doubtful that it will result in any tangible benefits – unless of course you use the trip as a launching pad to moving here.

With that said, if you’re planning a trip to Los Angeles I think there are a few things you can do to make the trip as valuable as possible.

1. What are some ways to arrange meetings before we arrive in L.A.?

I would purchase the Hollywood Creative Directory (HCD) and cold call a few agents and producers.  Pitch them your script and try and set up a meeting.  Offer to buy them lunch (or breakfast or dinner or coffee or drinks) even if they aren’t interested in your script idea.  Tell them the truth: you’re just starting out and you’re looking to meet people in the business to learn as much as possible.

http://www.sellingyourscreenplay.com/links/amazon/73

Most people in the industry didn’t get to where they are because of nepotism or blind luck, they got to where they are because they worked hard.  They were once a newbie too so many people will have compassion for people trying to break in, especially if they’re polite, energetic and seem smart.  Not everyone will be willing to meet but a few might.

Keep in mind what you’re trying to do with these meetings.  You’re not trying to sell your script – if that happens great but it probably won’t.  You’re trying to sell yourself.  What you’re hoping for is to learn what this agent / producer is looking for and to get some quality face time with them so that you can contact them in the future as you write more scripts.  Make sure you get their card and put their information into your rolodex of industry contacts.

You’re going to need great phone sales skills and you’re going to need to make dozens – if not hundreds – of calls for this to work.  Over the course of several days of making hundreds of calls you should be able to set up at least a few meetings.

2. While there, do you have suggestions on how to meet industry people? Are there any bars/spots we should visit to network?

If I were you I would try and line up as many meetings as possible and simply ask at the meeting if they know of any good networking hotspots.  If you’re lucky they might be going to a party that they’d invite you to.

I’m reluctant to recommend any place specific because on any given night there could be no one in the industry in a given place.  However, as a rule Hollywood, Venice, or Santa Monica are pretty trendy places and any bar will have at least a few entertainment people.  In all my years in L.A. I’ve never made a single meaningful contact at a party or bar so I’m not speaking from experience here.  Hopefully you can work a room better than I can.

3. What are your thoughts about going to a company directly to give them a script?

I wouldn’t do this.  Unless you’re an absolutely great salesman and you’re used to this sort of door-to-door pitching I doubt it’s going to work out.  L.A. is very spread out so you won’t be able to get to enough companies in a day to make this work.  People who work in the entertainment industry are busy and they’re not going to want to drop everything to meet with an unannounced stranger.

Spend your time cold calling companies before you get out there.  At least with a phone call you’re only taking a few minutes of their time and then you’re letting them pick a convenient time to meet.

If anyone is taking a trip to Los Angeles and tries any of this out please let me know.  It would be great to hear some in the trenches stories from people who have had some success doing this.

Read 'Moving to Los Angeles and preparing for the long haul' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

I get this sort of question quite frequently from people: “I’m moving to Los Angeles in a few months.  Where should I live and what is a good job to have while pursuing a career as a screenwriter?”

Getting established in Los Angeles is a critical step in building a career as a screenwriter.  You need to prepare for the long haul because you’re most likely not going to sell a script for a long time.

When I first moved to Los Angeles years ago I lived in Valley Village, which used to be part of North Hollywood.  It’s not one of the hip, trendy places in L.A. to live like the beach communities but it’s well positioned so you can get to just about anywhere in L.A. in a reasonable amount of time and it’s about as inexpensive as you’re going to find in the L.A. area.  It’s very close (less than a 15 minute drive) to Burbank, Toluca Lake, Hollywood, and Studio City.  You can get to places like Los Feliz, Silver Lake, and downtown L.A. fairly easily.  You can get to the Westside (Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Brentwood, Venice and Culver City) usually in about an hour during rush hour traffic.  So no matter where you end up working or where you want to get in L.A., Valley Village is a good choice and probably the best value for your money.

Valley Village bleeds into North Hollywood and prices get even cheaper the further north you go.  If you’re going to live in North Hollywood try and stay as far south as you can as it gets a little dodgy way up in the northern part of North Hollywood.  Stay in Valley Village or as close to Studio City as you can afford.  As a rule the closer you are to Ventura Blvd. the better the neighborhood is going to be.

Here’s a link to Valley Village on Google Maps:

http://maps.google.com/maps?rlz=1C1GGLS_enUS313US313&sourceid=chrome&q=valley village, ca&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&gl=us&ei=Rl77SaGIF6DaswPgwJzgAQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1

Update: A reader emailed me with a nice tool so you can see pricing and safety ratings in neighborhoods around Los Angeles. It’s here: http://www.lalife.com/

Valley Village is here: http://lalife.com/Valley_Village

One word of warning: Valley Village is in the San Fernando Valley and there are people in L.A. who thumb their noses at the Valley.  It’s definitely not the hippest place in L.A. to live but personally I never cared and was glad to find someplace centrally located for a reasonable price.  If this is a concern for you look in the Hollywood area.  You’ll probably pay 10% to 25% more in Hollywood and 50% to 100% more to live in a trendy beach community like Santa Monica or Venice but they are “cool” compared to the valley.

Another thing I like about the valley is that it’s much more suburban where as places like Hollywood or Santa Monica have a more urban feel and getting around is much more difficult than in the Valley.

Don’t move to L.A. without a car.  Public transportation can work in a pinch but L.A. is too spread out for it to be useful.  L.A. is essentially urban sprawl for hundreds of miles so walking places usually isn’t feasible either.  I love to walk and I’m a very fast walker but I rarely walk anywhere.

When you first get to L.A. I highly recommend that you find the best job that you can even if it’s NOT in the entertainment industry.  If you have experience in a particular field purse a job in that field.  When I first moved to L.A. I worked at a tennis club.  There were lots of actors, writers, producers, and directors who were members of the tennis club so I made lots of “industry contacts” quickly.  However, not one of these contacts ever produced any tangible results as far as actually helping my screenwriting career.  Sure they gave me some advice, passed me scripts to read, and even read some of my material and gave me notes on it, but nothing that really helped me sell a script.

Unless you’re above the line talent (producer, director, actors, and writer) working any job in the entertainment business is going to be long hours with minimal pay.  Once I worked as a production assistant for an independent production company and they paid me $50 per day for working 10 to 12 hours a day.  After I was hired I found the stack of resumes that they had gone through to choose me.  They had received over 100 resumes so I was lucky to even get the job!  Since I was only making $50 per day working for them I continued to teach tennis on the weekends.  As things got busier with the production company they wanted me to work on the weekends and when I refused they fired me!

It doesn’t take a mathematician to realize that if you’re working 12 hours per day Monday thru Friday and then working a second job on the weekends you’re not going to have a lot of time to work on your writing.  Don’t fall into this trap.  If you’re a great networker maybe you can make it work and an industry job would be worth the time you lose.  But I’m not a good networker so I never made any connections through the industry jobs and I would have been much wiser to spend my time working a more normal job with normal hours and writing in my spare time (which is what I eventually did).

Try to make your life as comfortable as possible so that you like living in Los Angeles.  Find a second career that you enjoy, can make decent money at in case screenwriting doesn’t work out, and gives you some spare time and money to continue writing.  If you like living in Los Angeles you’ll be more apt to stick it out for years, which means you’ll be more likely to finally sell a script.  If you take that “survival” job and end up hating your life you’ll increasingly feel like moving back home.  Getting established as a screenwriter isn’t going to happen overnight.  In fact there’s a Hollywood saying that goes something like “the overnight success takes 10 years.”  I firmly believe this so if you’re moving to L.A. be prepared to work hard for 10 years or more before selling a single script.  Make those 10 years as enjoyable and productive as possible.  Life really is a journey not a destination so enjoy the 10 years.

Keep in mind, too, by living in Los Angeles you’ll be meeting other aspiring filmmakers all the time – even at your non-entertainment industry job.  If you have time and money you can start to work with them on small projects.  Maybe you’ll meet a director and you can pool some money together and shoot a short film that you wrote.  Maybe you’ll meet a talented actor who wants you to help him write a vehicle for him to start in – and maybe you’ll want to shoot a trailer for the script to try and find financing for it.  These are the sorts of things that can slowly build your career but you can’t do them if you have no time and no money.

Check out my post Do you have to live in Los Angeles to be a screenwriter? to learn why I think living in L.A. is so critical to being a successful screenwriter.

Read 'Do you have to live in Los Angeles to be a screenwriter?' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

I’ve gotten this question quite a lot over the years when I talk to people about being a screenwriter. To me it seems hard to imagine why anyone would bother asking such a question.

Of course you don’t have to move to Los Angeles to be a screenwriter; people have succeeded while living in other places. However, if you’re serious about being a screenwriter why wouldn’t you?

Look at it this way: the chances of succeeding as a screenwriter are slim to none even if you do live in Los Angeles. If you live outside of Los Angeles you’re chances are a lot less than that. If you’re serious about something why not do everything within your power to try and make it happen?

There’s nothing like living in Los Angeles to keep your screenwriting juices flowing. Virtually every time you go to a Starbucks in Studio City you’ll see someone reading a script. The local L.A. news pays way too much attention to the entertainment business. When you’re out and about you’ll often drive by one of the major studios. While these may not seem like tangible advantages the proximity to the business can’t help but to rub off on you and keep you inspired.

But more importantly if you live in L.A. many of your friends will be writers, directors, and actors and they’ll be potential collaborators and connections which can help you get your script to the right people. I’m about as anti-social as anyone I know and I knew no one when I moved to L.A. but I still have many friends who are in the “biz” and have helped me on many of the projects I’ve worked on. And I’m not talking about nepotism or unmerited favors. I’m talking about making real friendships with people who share your dreams and aspirations. These people can help you and you can help these people. A talented director needs a quality script to direct. The greatest actor in the world isn’t so great unless he has great material.

My good friend, actor Jeffry Stein, has worked on several of my projects. I met him years ago while waiting in line at an open call for extras. He had just arrived in L.A. and so had I. He’s starred in two feature films I wrote, as well as countless shorts and we’ve collaborated on several scripts including one that was produced as a stage play in Burbank. I know his acting style and I know what he’s good at and I can often write certain parts with him in mind – and I know I can get him to be in the film since he’s a close friend. He’s helped me out as well – both scripts we collaborated on he found producers for and got them optioned. He ended up producing and getting the money for the stage play we wrote together, so I got a nice writing credit just by helping him re-write his script.

Most of the directors and producers looking for material live in the L.A. area and if they see that you do too they’ll take you more seriously.

I optioned a film noir screenplay called Inheritance many years ago to a special effects company in Hollywood and I ended up spending quite a bit of time working with the director on re-writes. Over the weeks we became good friends and have continued to work together on other projects. If I didn’t live in L.A. he might have optioned the script from me but we become because of the day-to-day, face-to-face interaction.

It’s pretty simple: Living in L.A. is an edge and you’re going to need every edge you can get to sell a script.

For specific information about getting established in Los Angeles read my post, Moving to Los Angeles and preparing for the long haul.