# The Business of Art

As the screenwriter, as an artist in general, all I’ve come to do is trust the process. Trust that if I’m incredibly efficient, if I display range and depth ... this will win out in the end.

Many facets of the Hollywood game are draped in shadow and secret. And as I see it, they really shouldn’t be.

I had to learn to become as good a businessman as I was a wordsmith.

Don’t go out of your way for someone who doesn’t value you.

This mutually exclusive conundrum is where I found myself after finishing my first novel ...

Nailing your professional bio, and understanding that a single bio cannot rule them all, is an invaluable skill for every aspiring writer, filmmaker, director, and beyond.

From what I’ve experienced over the past year and some change, I believe screenwriting is a team sport.

This is a copycat industry—if something works, you can all but guarantee someone else is going to be right on your heels with the follow-up.

When your screenplay finally finds a buyer, you'll need legal advice. Ken Aguado shares insights into the legal agreements every screenwriter must know.

You have to find something, anything to latch onto—anything to keep you going.

I couldn’t escape the thought that maybe I just didn’t have the personality to make it as a screenwriter.

Once you’ve had five meetings with managers, who do you get the best vibe from? Which of them showed the most passion for your career? Who do you feel is going to work the hardest for you?

You will have to make changes to your story, at some point or another, that you might not want to ... This is just how the world works, for better or worse.

With every industry starting to realize how meaningless geography is in determining talent, perhaps they’ll be useful even beyond the pandemic.

One of the worst pieces of advice ever given to a screenwriter has to be: “Write what you know.” The key is relatability. If you can relate, you can write.