Hey all. I'm just curious how others feel about the growing cottage industry wherein aspiring screenwriters are being encouraged to pony up a fee in order to get a foot in the door. A few years ago, about the closest to this you could point to would be pitch fests and contests, but now there are so many services pushing fellowships, mentorships, webinars, development services, more contests with access/exposure featured as a "prize,- and on and on and on... all for a price.
It feels to me that when agents started to become less accessible that led to the rise of managers, and now with managers generally having become less accessible, this is the next natural extension (or layer, or barrier even depending how you view it). Basically it's another way writers are being expected to pay money in the hope of one day actually making some. And the participants on the industry side are often being paid to participate from the industry side, with no guarantee any good will ever come of it for the writer. In some cases it now counts as an actual prize to be signed by a manager, which can easily amount to nothing depending on how that shakes out - after having paid for the perceived privilege of even being considered.
I guess this business of tapping aspiring writers more and more as a cash cow just seems unsettling to me. And yeah, sometimes you have to invest in yourself, and I get that and I have spent plenty, but it's starting to feel like more and more a requirement, and a lot more expensive than it used to be.
Thoughts? Opinions?
It feels to me that when agents started to become less accessible that led to the rise of managers, and now with managers generally having become less accessible, this is the next natural extension (or layer, or barrier even depending how you view it). Basically it's another way writers are being expected to pay money in the hope of one day actually making some. And the participants on the industry side are often being paid to participate from the industry side, with no guarantee any good will ever come of it for the writer. In some cases it now counts as an actual prize to be signed by a manager, which can easily amount to nothing depending on how that shakes out - after having paid for the perceived privilege of even being considered.
I guess this business of tapping aspiring writers more and more as a cash cow just seems unsettling to me. And yeah, sometimes you have to invest in yourself, and I get that and I have spent plenty, but it's starting to feel like more and more a requirement, and a lot more expensive than it used to be.
Thoughts? Opinions?
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