Monday, May 03, 2010

I'm reading Mark Burnett's autobiography JUMP IN. It's fairly self-congratulatory, but I suppose the guy who owns SURVIVOR and THE APPRENTICE is entitled to congratulate himself.

One of Burnett's many pearls of wisdom is this: never pitch over the phone. Insist on a meeting. You want to see the body language as you pitch. Are they leaning in, or leaning back? If they're leaning in, you're getting their attention. If they're leaning back, you're losing them.

In show business, you often have the opportunity to send a pitch in. Absolutely try to avoid doing this. No matter how well you write your pitches, a cold read requires your reader to put energy into your material. They can take energy out of your live pitch.

I know some writer-producers don't leave material behind; they want to be judged only on their pitch, not what they wrote down. I've never tried this approach. I know whoever I pitch to is going to have to take the idea to their boss, and it will help if they have something to refer to. I don't want my idea mis-pitched; I don't want the gatekeeper to have to say, "Aw, you hadda be there." But "leave no material behind" works for some people.

Labels: books, reading

10:04 PM

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