Tips for Writing Applications

Juley-Ann Collins

1. Ensure your values align with the funder before applying.

Which artists and organisations do you like and admire? Find out where they got funding from or whom they funded. Then, consider going down that route.

Define your values as a creative professional. Do these align with certain venues, collectives, or funders? Ensure that your values align with the funders before applying. The guidelines of a particular fund will cite its purpose, objectives, and values. This is what you want to be aligned with. Don’t apply if they don’t match.

Be honest with yourself re. your values and skillset. These are different to other applicants’, which is why the right fit is important.

2. Build your personal library as your go-to for funding applications.

Having this library ready in a folder on your Desktop will save you time. Regularly feed in and update it. It should include:
– Up-to-date CVs; different versions – no more than 2 pages each.
– Your biography – have different versions.
– Headshot
– Images/videos/soundfiles capturing what you’ve worked on.
– Letters of support from partners outlining their relationship with you and details of partnerships.

3. Treat your application like a first date.

Don’t assume anyone knows who you are or what you’ve worked on when writing your application.

4. Your budget is your shopping list to get this project over the line.

Your budget must include every single thing that you need. If it’s not listed, you can’t do it.

Be specific, e.g., outline how many artists you need and for how many days/weeks you need them for.

Ensure you include:
– Any research/development work.
– Whether different people are needed for different dates on a tour.
– Any additional financial support from another funder.
– Marketing and PR costs.
– A contingency pot. This is your protected pot of money for unforeseeable circumstances.
– A breakdown of annual insurance into the days, months, or years relevant to your project.
– Benefit in kind. This is something that doesn’t come to you in funds but does have a monetary value, e.g., someone offering use of their venue for free or a mentor giving you half of their time for free. Your WiFi bills are included here too, as well as your work-from-home electrical costs.

No one budget will be the same.

5. When in doubt, call a friend to talk it out.

Get any issue out of your head and bounce it off someone. Your network is always bigger than you think.

6. Panelists are looking to eliminate applicants.

Before submitting, check you have all of the documents that you’ve been asked for. Make sure everything is as clear as possible on your application. Don’t add anything unless it’s asked for, e.g., only submit hyperlinks if you’re asked for them. Panelists are looking for a reason to eliminate you. Don’t give them any.

7. Tell yourself you’ll submit 48 hours before the deadline.

You never know what’s going to happen; what could crop up, e.g., waiting for supporting documents commonly causes delays.

8. Read your application out loud before submitting.

This will ensure that what you’ve written is clear and easy to understand for the panelist.

Tips: My play is ready, now what?

Pamela McQueen

1. Be sure the funding you’re applying for is right for you.

Have a clear sense of who you are as a maker/writer. Consider what stage you are at in your career: emerging or established?

When you’re considering a fund to apply for, take a step back and think about how it will benefit you at this point in your career or at this point in your play’s development. If it’s a once-off funding award, make sure it hits at the right moment in your career.

Awards usually have a list of people who’ve received them previously on their sites. Look at who these people are and what stage their career was at when they received funding. This will help you to decide if you should apply for a particular fund.

2. Local arts office funding has restricted applications

The competitive level is reduced for local arts office funds as they’re not open on a national level. Your odds of achieving local arts office funding increases compared to national awards.

Some local arts offices are better than others at providing funding so consider applying to the local arts office in your home county/region if it’s different to where you currently live.

3. There’s an understanding that venues will support artists.

Go and have a relationship with venues as an individual. It will improve your chances of connecting for playwriting support in the long-run.

4. Ask for more information.

If there aren’t detailed guidelines or FAQs accompanying a funding opportunity, send in questions before you apply. Anything that’s an open call expects to have interaction with the public, so dig deeper to give your application a stronger chance of success.

5. You may need multiple funders to get your new play staged.

If you’re looking at a new play poster, you’ll generally see several logos attached because that many organisations have funded it. That’s the kind of risk-deleveraging that’s often needed for new plays.

6. Consider UK playwriting competitions & awards.

Most of the UK awards are also open to Irish applicants; this still is the case post-Brexit, however check their FAQs.

7. Have a relationship with The Arts Council of Ireland

Subscribe to their monthly newsletter. Attend live clinics and meet the theatre team.

8. Always request feedback.

Always request feedback from both successful and unsuccessful Arts Council funding applications. This feedback informs your ongoing relationship with them.

9. Define your role in the casting process ahead of time.

Now that you have your funding and your play is being staged, ask yourself:

● What will your input into the casting process be?
● Will you be in the room with the director?
● Will you supply potential creative team names for consideration as part of the selection process?

Your agent (if you have one) will negotiate a lot of this, but if not, it’s up to you. Define what you want, and talk to the producer at the earliest stage regarding this.

10. Define your role in the rehearsal room ahead of time.

Before you get near the rehearsal room, define whether you’re open to edits during rehearsals or whether the script is locked off. You will have to facilitate technical changes e.g., a costume quick change, which is reasonable, but are you open to bigger changes like character discovery? That’s a conversation that needs to be had with the director before getting into the rehearsal room.

Define how long you’re required to join rehearsals for. Is it the whole first week? Are you required to be back for the first whole run-through? Crucially, define what the communication lines are for you into the rehearsal room. Will you receive the daily rehearsal report from the stage manager? Will you receive the annotated changes?

Some writers want to be there every day. Others don’t want to be there for the first weeks of rehearsal because it can seem like your text is being torn apart while the director and team figure things out. This is natural.

Other questions to consider ahead of time include: Who has final say on including any improvisation? Will you be the scribe in the room taking down new dialogue? Will you be doing the overnight edit of that? That’s a lot of work so be very clear on whether you are doing that. You should be paid for all of this work which is above and beyond any commissioning/royalty agreements.

Application Tips: The Arts Council Agility Award

Cli Donnellan

 

1. Apply for this fund if you’ve never applied for Arts Council funding before.

If you’ve never made an application to The Arts Council before, they encourage you to make an application to this fund. It’s suitable for you at any stage of your creative career.

2. Allow up to 5 days to receive your Artist Reference Number.

The first thing you need to do, if you haven’t already, is register to get your Artist Reference Number. This could take up to 5 days to arrive. When you get your ARN and you receive a password, you can then sign in. This is the only way to make your application.

3. Allow time to receive materials from any collaborators.

If you want to work with a collaborator or mentor, you’ll have to include their CVs/bios, as well as a letter of support from them which includes them saying that they’re happy to work with you and their fee. Contact your collaborators sooner rather than later to give them time to get these to you.

If your collaborator is not linked to an organisation, leave that box in the application form blank.

4. Working with children entails additional documentation.

If you intend to work with children, you will have to confirm that you have suitable Child Safeguarding policies and procedures in place if your application is successful.

5. You can apply for between €1,500 to €5,000k.

The assessors won’t consider giving you any more or any less.

6. Gather everything into a folder on your desktop before you upload.

This will make life easier for you. Keep in mind that 40MB is the max volume that you can upload. Ensure that any links that you include in your application are working properly.

7. Ensure your name on the application is consistent with all documents.

When you’re putting your name into the form, it must be the same as all of your other documents. It also must be the same as your bank details and tax clearance cert. Any discrepancy with different names on different documents will cause a problem. Use the same name across the board.

8. Stick to the cited character limit for each question.

If you don’t stick to the character limits noted with each question on the application form, the assessors won’t see it and it may cause issues when trying to upload the document. The limits are built into the form.

9. Avoid the rush and submit 48 hours ahead of time.

Don’t leave submitting your application until the last day. It’s difficult to get support after 2pm on the final day so plan to submit 48 hours beforehand.

10. Write your detailed answer before your summary.

Write your detailed proposal first, then go back and write the summary in the previous question. This will save you time and make it easier for you to write the summary.

11. Ensure any dates you’ve cited are no earlier than October 2023.

The dates you cite on your application should be at least 4 months after the closing date for applications. This will give your application a chance to be processed in good time before you commence work.

12. After submitting, make sure you receive your application number.

Once you’ve downloaded your application form, fill it out on your desktop, then upload it along with your supporting material when you’ve everything ready. You can upload various materials at different times and save your application as a draft online before submitting.

Once you’ve submitted your application, you should receive two emails back; the second one will have your application number. Check your spam if you didn’t get this. If you still didn’t get it, get in touch with The Arts Council.

13. Don’t be hard on yourself if you’re not successful.

The number of applicants are high so if you don’t receive funding it may not be due any fault with your application. Funding unfortunately cannot be awarded to every applicant.

14. The Arts Council will help and support you.

For any subjective questions or questions specific to your situation that come to mind when applying, contact The Arts Council.

These tips are all topline and should be considered in addition to The Arts Council Guidelines. Make sure to read those guidelines carefully. https://www.artscouncil.ie/Funds/Agility-Award-23/

Social Media Tips for Creatives

Corrina Kavanagh

 

1. Define your audience and who you’re targeting

Who is engaging with you already? Look at your social media insights, website analytics or your mailing list to be clear on who is currently engaging with you.

If you are new to social media and don’t have social media insights yet, look at your website analytics or your mailing list. Do a focus group with some of your audience to gain a better picture of who they are.

 

2. Understand your current and aspirational audience

Compile data on your audience

  • What are their challenges, their pain points?
  • What has brought them to your channel?
  • What social media channels do your audience use? Prioritise the best/right channels where your audience is e.g., if you want to target Gen Z, Twitter may not be the channel to focus your energy on.

Compile data on your audience, including:

  • age group
  • gender
  • location
  • stage of life e.g., teens/parents
  • how do they buy from you?

 

3. Create your buyer persona

This a fake identity based on the work you’ve done to understand your audience.

By keeping your buyer persona in mind, it’ll be easier for you to focus when creating content. E.g., your buyer persona might be… Maeve from Westmeath goes to college in Dublin. She’s 20, loves going out partying with her college friends when she’s not working on college assignments or working in her part-time job in the city centre. She’s LOVES dance music.

 

4. Check out your competition

  • What content works well for them?
  • What tone of voice are they using?
  • What networks are they active on?
  • What hashtags do they use?

 

5. Define your content pillars to support your brand

Ensure that together your content pillars authentically express who you are and are relevant to your audience. They should enable you to express why you’re unique.
E.g., 1. Skilled Musician 2. Humour 3. Passionate about community

Adhering to these pillars will help you plan content, and it will enable you to effectively position yourself to your target audience.

 

6. Does your content connect, entertain, or educate?

Always consider, is your content of value to your audience; to your buyer persona?

 

7. Keep content to the 80/20 rule

80% of your content should service your audience.
20% is strictly about you.

People get tired of promotion related posts; they want something focused on them and their needs.

 

8. Don’t be overwhelmed by content creation

Think outside the box with what you have available to you. From any one piece of content, you can derive multiple formats. E.g., while releasing new music you could publish…

  • behind the scenes music video clips
  • how-to tutorials
  • TikTok remix videos
  • celebration of milestones, i.e., first playlist on radio

Bank content where you can.

 

9. Carry out a social media audit

Look at every channel you have and make sure it’s all in line with your brand. Archive content that is no longer relevant.

 

10. Optimise your accounts for search

Clearly name who you are and what you do in your bio. Outline what you’re interested in. Use keywords that resonate with what you do to make you more searchable.

 

11. Use social media tools

Put together a social media content calendar to help you keep on top of your output. This will help you

  • stick to your content pillars
  • adhere the 80/20 rule
  • speak directly to your target audience

Use scheduling tools for all pre-planned content to take the pressure off. Social media platforms have native tools for scheduling. Meta have great tutorials online + a suite of resources.

 

12. Be natural and authentic + clear and consistent

This will enable your content to resonate with people.

 

13. Experiment

Trial and test your content regularly. Experiment with social media advertising if you have budget. Review content performance monthly to find out what’s driving your engagement.

Try applying a trend that may be popular among your target audience. E.g., Storytime on TikTok, i.e., video yourself telling a story… “Let me tell you about this time when…”.

Tips: Goal Setting, Productivity & Effectiveness for Creative Minds

Brian O’ Regan – Arts Leaders Associates

www.artsleaders.ie

 

1. Define and articulate your goals
Goals can be short, medium or long-term, but they are not the same as tasks. Short-term goals should be rooted in your daily/weekly habits, while long-term goals should take you a little bit out of your comfort zone. They should make you feel excited, motivated and the best ones can often feel a bit scary at the beginning. Remember, true confidence comes from competence.

2. Use the principles of strategic planning to help with goal setting
In strategic planning, we try to answer these 3 questions: “Where are we now?”, “Where do we want to be?”, “How are we going to get there?”. We can apply these questions to our goal setting, and activities such as doing a personal SWOT Analysis or a personal Resource Audit can be very effective in building a more detailed picture of where we’re starting out from.

3. Prioritise your goals and tasks – focus on the “vital few”
You can do anything, but you can’t do everything! Prioritising goals and focusing on the “vital few” will enable you to use your time and energy more effectively. Concepts like the Pareto Principle (or the 80/20 rule) and tools such as the well-known Eisenhower Matrix can really help you to prioritise, and de-prioritise your goals, as well as your to-do list.

4. Stop multitasking!
Research has shown that multitasking is less productive than single-tasking. When we think we’re multitasking, we’re really only jumping from one task to another. Every time we move between different tasks, we leave an “attention residue” behind us, which makes it more difficult to focus. Multitasking kills our productivity, and it can also be the cause of constant distraction, procrastination and negative stress.

5. Bring a sense of awareness and curiosity to everything you do
Awareness is the first step in making sustainable positive change. Without a sense of awareness, it’s hard to know what’s wrong and how to fix it. If you find that something isn’t working for you, don’t get frustrated – get curious! “Why isn’t it working?”, “What else can I try?”, “Why do I feel like this?”, “What can I do to feel different?”. Asking these questions with curiosity rather than frustration will help to open doors to solutions.

6. Think of motivation as the reward, not the stimulus
We often think that we need to be motivated in order to start something, but motivation is actually more likely to show up after you’ve started – not before! Think of motivation as being something that needs to be earned, and think of self-discipline as being the way to earn it. Self-discipline is like a muscle – it gets tired when you use it, but it also gets stronger when you exercise it.

7. Manage your energy and your focus – not your time
Knowing how to manage our time effectively is important, but what’s more important is knowing how to manage our energy and our focus. Time is constant, but our energy and focus are not. Having an awareness of what affects our energy and focus allows us to plan and execute our tasks more effectively, and with better results. Remember, there’s a big difference between being efficient, and being effective!

8. Work interdependently with those around you
We can achieve far greater things when we work interdependently, rather than dependently or even independently. When working with others, make sure you are listening with the intention to understand and not just to reply. In dealing with conflict or negotiation, respect other people’s perspectives and be curious about differences in opinion. Once you fully understand, try to figure out a “win/win” solution, or even better – synergise!

9. Don’t kill the goose that lays the golden eggs!
There’s a well-known fable about a farmer and his family who had a goose that laid a golden egg every day. After some time, the farmer and his family thought that instead of waiting for the goose to lay a new egg each day, they could kill the goose and get all the eggs at once. Needless to say, it didn’t work! When we’re working on a project, we sometimes turn into the farmer from this story. Sometimes we’re the goose, and sometimes we’re both. How many of us are guilty of breaking ourselves open to try and get all the golden eggs at once? Are we guilty of doing it to others?

10. Redefine what work/life balance means for you
Work/life balance is a false dichotomy, and trying to achieve any kind of balance based on these two components alone can be very difficult. Think about “life admin” for example, where does that sit on the work/life spectrum? Considering the other factors which play a role on the sliding scale of “work”, “life” and everything in between can help to get a more helpful perspective. Like riding a bicycle, balance sometimes requires momentum, and a lack of momentum in our lives can sometimes cause us to lose our balance. Developing a better awareness of where you spend your energy and how you replenish your energy will help you to rethink this idea, and what it means for you.

Tips for Gigging Professionally

Rowan McDonagh

 

1. Put together a stage plot

This is a drawing of your setup on stage which should go to the booker or production manager ahead of your live performance.

As soon as you’re booked for a gig, send them this and they’ll pass it onto the venue/stage crew. The drawing should include where you need:

  • power on the stage
  • Direct Inputs
  • monitors
  • elements of drum kit noting if your drummer is left-handed for example.

This will save you time having to explain everything on the spot + it will help everything run more efficiently.

Your drawing should be Landscape orientation and it should fit on one page.

Most stage crew will stick them up on a wall backstage so it should be clear and easy to reference quickly.

2. Compile your tech requirements

If there are outstanding requirements not captured in your stage plot, send an accompanying list. For example:

  • Perhaps you’re going to bring your own in-ear monitors and will need an XLR OUT from the desk
  • Maybe you’ll need phantom power for a particular mic you want to bring
  • Any lighting preferences
  • Whether you’re bringing a sound engineer

Include a link to your music so technicians can get a sense of what you’re about. This can be really helpful.

All in all, your stage plot and list of requirements should capture:

  • what you have
  • where you have it
  • what you need to make your setup work

3. Ask for the venue’s tech setup

Ask your point of contact for the venue tech setup. This list of details should include what the backline is made up of.

If you want the venue to add anything to that, e.g., a specific amp, it could come out of your fee so try to use anything the house has to accommodate you.

4. Be cognisant of your rider

Venues will often offer you a rider, generally it’s a couple of beers and some bottled water. After that, any additional items you request come out of your fee.

5. Rehearse your changeover

You’ll be given a changeover time. This is you time you have to set up right before your performance, i.e., after a previous act has left the stage.

Make sure you arrive at the venue 2 hours before your changeover time and ensure you’re standing at the stage at your changeover time ready to go, guitar tuned/voice warmed up etc.

Rehearse your changeover. If your changeover is 20 minutes long, make sure you can do it in 10 minutes. Have your gear gone from packed to set up in that time and rehearse it before the gig.

If your changeover runs over time, every minute you delay eats into your set time, so perhaps drop a song if that happens.

6. Time your set rehearsal

Adapt your set so that it fits within your allocated time. Rehearse it and time that rehearsal. Any change of instruments or reorganising the stage mid-set should be captured within your allocated time slot so work this into your rehearsal. Stage crews deal in minutes.

If you have found that your set takes less time than what has been allocated to you, tell the booker ahead of time so they can plan accordingly. Any surprise changes to timings on the night will knock everyone’s time out.

7. Prep your gear

Prep your gear before arriving. Don’t have cables in a mess, have everything ready and labelled so it’s easy to take out, set up and pack away afterwards.

8. Introduce yourself

When you arrive at the venue, introduce yourself to the stage manager and ask to meet the sound engineer and lighting engineer so they know who you are.

Get the names of the stage crew and ensure they know you. You’ll likely develop relationships with these people and meet them again gigging.

9. Keep amps low on stage

Always ask for more in the wedge instead of tweaking your amp.

10. Always send a clean signal from the stage

The sound engineer will add EQ and compression to suit the house so leave your signal clean at the source. Go through pedals and any different effects with the sound engineer during your soundcheck.

11. Stage manager is the boss

The stage manager is getting feedback from all angles, across the venue so wait for their signal to go on stage.

If ever they tell you to stop playing, it’s for a very good reason. Perhaps there’s a serious accident in the audience. Always heed their direction.

12. Never show up under the influence

That will be remembered and you will get a bad name.

13. Don’t bring open drinks on stage

Everything on stage is needed by many performers. Don’t bring open drinks on stage, unless it’s a bottle of water with a cap on it. It’s a mark of respect to stage crews. Entire rigs have been destroyed by a pint and it’s dangerous.

Tips to Empower Female Writers in The Business

Jennifer Davidson

 

1. Women don’t have to be exceptional

We’ll have true equality when it’s deemed acceptable for women to be as mediocre as the average man. A lot of men who get their projects commissioned are not exceptional.

It puts extreme pressure on us as women if we feel like every idea that we pitch has to be exceptional. That approach will impact upon the ideas we come up with.

2. You don’t have to be more like a man to succeed

To succeed, lean into your strengths and skillsets. Maybe that includes being particularly sensitive. Embrace that part of yourself rather than trying to fight against it.

3. Feeling vulnerable is an important quality as a writer

We can feel quite isolated dealing with emotional subject matter. You have to go to an emotional place to connect with your characters. Use your own emotional vulnerability as a strength.

4. “Fake it ‘til you make it” is not always a helpful concept

If you’re in the writers’ room or you’re working with a publisher, you’re not faking it. You got there. You’re in that seat because you’ve got a talent. You don’t need to fake anything.

5. Ask for more money

Women always price ourselves lower. Ask for more than you think you deserve, because chances are you’re worth more than you think you deserve. The worst you’ll get is a, “no”. If you do get the amount you’ve asked for, don’t be thinking you need to do extra work. You’ve already proved yourself. There’s a good reason you’re being paid that much.

Your request for more money is not you saying, “Give me more money and I’ll do more work”. Your request is for the task that’s on the table. Anything extra is a different negotiation.

Think about your cash flow. How much money do you want to bring in each month for the next three months. Set yourself a target of how much you want to earn every month and use that to adjust the rates you ask for. That will help you feel much more in control when you’re actively thinking about those numbers.

Act as if you’re negotiating on behalf of someone else. Say your rate and leave a silence. You’re not flexible and you don’t have to explain.

6. Never do a job for free

You’ve put years into your creativity and craft. Don’t underestimate that.

7. Talk numbers, talk money

The more we talk about money among ourselves, the more aware we are of what the standard price is. This gives us power.

8. Have your “assistant” chase payment

Culturally, there can be a shame around money. Make up an accountant or an assistant. Use a dummy email if that helps you have those difficult conversations or say things that you don’t feel comfortable saying.

9. Put yourself forward for more opportunities

Men have a much easier time with this because the system has taught them to ask for what they want, while women have been taught to people-please.

10. Networking is just about connecting with people

You don’t have to be as brash as a lot of men at networking events.
As a writer, you’re a good judge of character. You’ll know who you can trust really quickly. Focus on making connections.

11. We’re not here to teach men about feminism

A lot of men consider themselves to be feminist, however, often they behave in ways that are not feminist and they’re oblivious to it because they’re just being themselves in the room. The patriarchal system has taught them that that’s OK. If you don’t feel comfortable as an individual pointing that out to them, don’t feel under pressure to point it out. It’s not your job.

Networking Tips for Creatives

Eoin Sandford

 

1. Before attending an event, research.
Carry out some research about the people attending. Identify who you wish to speak to and go with a clear goal in mind. Are you looking for a potential new client? Are you looking for specific introductions to other people?

2. Starting a conversation.
Ask the person to elaborate on something you already know about them. Perhaps mention what you know about their last project and ask how it went.

3. Write notes.
Write notes after meaningful conversations if you’ve met someone new. Any little tidbits can always help. The name of the person’s child, the name of their school. Whoever they said they’d be happy to introduce you to.

4. Exit a conversation graciously.
Even if it was not a satisfying encounter always smile and say it was a pleasure to chat and wish the person well on their latest project.

5. Follow up.
Follow up with people you’ve met after every meaningful encounter. Even if you don’t have anything to follow up on, send a message saying, “Really great to meet you. Hopefully we’ll catch up again.”

Navigating the Business of Writing

16 Tips for Writers by Jennifer Davidson

 

1. Think of yourself as a businessperson as much as a creative.

Sometimes we can sometimes get lost between those two identities: artists and businesspeople. It’s a commercial world and we need to find our way of feeling comfortable in that world. Consider the question: Are you solving a problem for somebody?

2. Know your value, creatively.

If you’re writing for stage or screen, keep reminding yourself of how important you are to the process. What are you going to accept as payment for your work? You want the best offer.

3. Know your audience.

This includes producers and other collaborators, broadcasters, publishers, script editors. Who are the people that resonate with you? Or that you feel your work resonates with?

If you have time, think about your customer persona, almost like writing a character biography. Who is that producer you want to work with? For example…

Is it a woman in her 40s who is a massive horror film fan? Maybe she is incredibly busy working during the day but always makes time for her dogs and her cinema dates.

Don’t waste your time with people who you don’t want to work with. Writers need that clarity about who we’re writing for.

4. Focus.

Find the sweet spot between the three following questions.
What are you deeply passionate about?
What can you be the best in the world at?
What drives your economic engine, i.e., what work gets you the highest possible fee as a writer?

5. Trust yourself.

Trust the stories that you want to tell. Often they’re the kind of stories that you like to read yourself. Also don’t be afraid to experiment with different genres so that you can be sure you’ve found the best one for you. That doesn’t mean that you’ve got to stick with the same genre forever.

6. Know your economic value.

Part of knowing your economic value is talking to other writers or talking to the Writers Guild of Ireland. If someone offers you a price for your work, have a look and say, “I’ll come back to you”. Always ask for more than the initial figure you had in mind.

7. Accept you’ll not always be switched on.

There are going to moments and sometimes months, maybe even years where it’s not always going to be happening for you creatively.

To avoid burnout, look at your 12-month plan rather than month to month. What month is slowest for you that you can afford to take off, to recalibrate and enjoy?

8. Writers need other people.

While we might mostly work in isolation, we really need other people to spark ideas. There’s nothing better than sitting in a café and eavesdropping in on other conversations to get some inspiration.

9. The board you can’t afford.

When you’re a fully-fledged business, you can afford to have a board of advisors. Until you get to that point, who are the people that you can talk to as your sounding board? People who have expertise that maybe you don’t have; your peer network. Perhaps a producer or a dramaturg, people you were in college with, or did a course with. Or maybe you met them at a festival.

Make sure that group of people are the right people for you. You’ll know pretty quickly who’s a good match, and who isn’t. You don’t want people to tell you that everything you’ve written is brilliant. You want constructive criticism, constructive feedback, people who can give you support re. where you are in your business. Someone who can empathise with you when you’re not hitting your goals.

You want those people who will say your name in a room when asked, does anyone know a good writer? Have your accountability people. People in the business who are going through it with you.

10. Creative thinking time.

This is an important part of the process. Your work is not just about the physical time it takes you to write the script, it’s the time to think of the idea, feel inspired, outline the idea.

It’s important to have something in your back pocket if an agent, producer or publisher says, “I love this, what else are you working on?”

Within your week carve out half an hour of fun, creative thinking time where you’re coming up with creative ideas as opposed to focusing on money-making ones. Even if it’s 15 minutes every morning. Put that time in your schedule, it’s non-negotiable.

11. To get an agent or not to get an agent…

In Ireland you do not need an agent. There are disadvantages to it being a small industry here but there are advantages too. You can bump into people at festivals. While they can’t take unsolicited ideas, you can strike up a relationship with them. Suss them out, are they the type of people you want to work with?

If you have some success, maybe you’ve won an award or you’ve made a short film, let people know.

If you’re looking at working in the UK or going to the streamers, then you need an agent because it’s a bigger market. You need to have sample scripts before you go and approach an agent. Make sure they’re really, really good because you only have one shot.

Look at who the writers are in the UK, who do you like? Find out who their agent is. Strike up a relationship with them or their assistants because they are the ones building the lists and perhaps looking to establish themselves as agents. It’s a very slow process. There are lots of variables. You’ve got to be patient.

12. It is rarely about you.

When someone doesn’t come back to you, it’s rarely about you. You’ll feel the sting, but don’t let that get in your way or put you off. Understand that rejection is usually just a numbers game. Maybe they have someone on their books who is too similar to you.

13. A good fit.

Before approaching a producer or an agent, know what they do. You want to make sure that they’re producing the kind of stuff that you’re writing. It’s a long haul when you’re working with a producer, publisher or a production company. You want to make sure that you can work together when you’re at your best and when you’re at your worst.

14. Imposter syndrome?

Sometimes this is not a great description to use as the feeling you have is rarely down to you, it’s more about the space you find yourself in. If you’re not the default, then the space perhaps wasn’t designed for you. That feeling your having is usually a result of something that is larger and more systemic. Once you realise that, you can get out of your own way.

15. Say no.

It’s ok to say no to a producer or publisher. You don’t have to say yes to the first one who shows an interest. It’s OK to say no to a bad contract. Get contract advice. Producers are terrible at sending a contract saying they need it back by tomorrow, no they don’t. You can check any details with the Writers’ Guild of Ireland.

It’s ok to say no to a bad environment or if you feel like you’re not being treated with the respect you deserve in the writers’ room. It’s ok to stand up and ask the questions, figure out what’s going wrong. While we don’t want to be the difficult writer in the room and we don’t want to blow our chances, sometimes it’s better to say, “no”, than have something produced that’s a poor reflection of your work.

Don’t be afraid to ask to be part of the bigger conversations about your project. Don’t feel like you just have to hand over your script and away you go.

16. Join the Writers’ Guild of Ireland

We represent writers for film, theatre, tv, radio and animation, any writing that is for any type of performance.

There are two levels of membership. When you sign a contract and have been paid to write something, you get full membership. Before that, you can join for €60 a year and you get most of the benefits of full membership.

We have a directory of full members which is searchable for producers. We give a lot of contract advice, we run awards, networking sessions and more. It’s better to build connections so when you do send that email to that producer, they’ll remember you and know straight away if they feel like you’re someone they could work with.

 

Jennifer Davidson is a Scriptwriter, Development Writer and Chair of the Writers’ Guild of Ireland. www.script.ie