# The Business of Art

Throw them all out into the world as your time, energy, and budget allow and see what sticks—which methods, which messages, which audiences.

It’s probably too much to ask for Hollywood to ever be a real meritocracy. Nowhere in society does there exist a “real” meritocracy. All we can do is try to make things better for ourselves and for each other ...

Where are these advance fans supposed to come from?

When I asked why novels and not screenplays, I was met with, “We’re only looking for existing IPs that have a built-in fan base. We don’t want to take the risk on an original idea.”

If I had taken the time to ask, or even search for the phrase “What does ARC mean?” on Google or Twitter, I would have found so many answers.

Some people get bit by a creative bug early in their lives that keeps an inner flame lit from within, and for those who share this quality, sometimes you just need to see how it all gets made.

Why is Oscar season, the time of year when Hollywood has to do nothing but laud themselves, wrought with such silliness, offensiveness, and controversy?

When you write something and present it to the world, it’s exciting. It might feel like a dream come true. But what they don’t tell you is that it’s also terrifying.

They did not want to collaborate with me. They wanted to use me. And thankfully, I was smart enough to see the difference.

Clearly there is a knowledge gap out there … there’s something that a hell of a lot of writers out there need to know, and they don’t know it right now.

But for our other mediums we must travel to what some cynics describe as the least truthful place of all—Hollywood.

It was time to grow. I could see it coming miles away, and I knew it wouldn’t be pleasant.

It's more valuable that you know how people answer their own questions without your input, since you won't always be in the room when audiences experience your work.

"I’ve become, like many of my peers, frustrated with the machinations of getting a film made in Hollywood ... I’m only interested in work that speaks to me on a very personal and intimate level.’’

Mistake 3: Accidentally direct-messaging an agent on Twitter who I thought was my IRL childhood friend.