From The Stage To The Page

[JustKris]

First off, I'm extremely thankful for MJ and all of the threads on this forum. Chickenhawk's and Held For Ransom's progress threads were like a lightning bolt of inspiration.

A little backstory

My background is in comedy--standup and improv. I got started in college, then moved to Chicago to train/perform at all the big venues there. Then off to LA.

I've worked off-and-on as a writer for the past six years. Either as a hired gun screenwriter for various producers or ghost-writing on random projects. The rest of the time has been working day jobs or quasi-day jobs (acting in commercials, etc) to pay the bills.

After working on other people's projects for so long, I decided to start my own Fastlane project: A movie that I would write and star in. The result is a comedy/mystery that has gotten a lot of great feedback from the people who have read it.

But, as I quickly learned, mounting a movie is no mean feat. A number of directors really liked the script and are interested in making it, but they're recommending I try to attach a name actor as the lead. (Basically, they want to take my script and give it to a movie star. Dude, if I was going to do that, I'd just try and sell the damn thing.)

So right now I'm in the process of raising funds for a microbudget production and attaching a director who's cool with making something from the ground up. But it will be months before we shoot a single scene.

Another Avenue

After reading the Self Publishing threads on the Fastlane Forum, a lightbulb went off.

"Wait, what if I turned this story into a novel?" The thought of being able to tell a story without having to involve investors, directors, or any other strings attached was incredible. A screenplay is just a blueprint---nothing on its own. But it would be a great outline for a novel that I could send to an audience without any middlemen.

Plus, it would be a great way to test the market. If people liked this story as a novel, they'd like it as a movie, right?

And something incredible happened. I was excited to write again. I dug up all of my old short stories and half-novels that had fallen by the wayside. "What's the point?" I used to think, "Nobody will ever read this. I don't have a big-time literary agent. Better just hustle for some writing clients and take the paycheck."

I really LIKED these stories. And they were all in genres that had lots of readers---sci-fi, mystery, fantasy. Why stop with one novel? I could write a hundred of these things---all you need is your imagination and the willingness to put your words on paper.

Now

That was six days ago. I'm 12,000 words into the detective novel. I expect to finish my first draft (40,000 words) by June 19th. Then another couple months of editing and re-writing, with a publication date in September.

My plan is to write 3 books a year. I don't have any pie-in-the-sky projections. I'm in this for the long haul.

And to all of you that post to this board: Thank you. Without you, I'd still be firmly in the Slowlane (really, the Sidewalk) of a struggling artist. I'm not in the Fastlane yet, but there's plenty of gas in my tank and my engine is just warming up.

 

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[JustKris]

Apologies on the lack of updates. I won't bother with some goofy excuse.

Update:

The contract gig ended a few months back. I've shot a short film, with an eye to shoot another in a couple months. My main focus right now is to shoot a low-budget feature film (about $10k budget) in July. Writing the script for that.

I still do want to knock out a few novels, but it's just not as high a priority.

I'm still keeping an eye out for any needs in the marketplace I can solve. I don't know what my problem is. Meanwhile it's been over 2 years since my first post on this thread and still no finished novel.

 

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[JustKris]

Plugging away.

I took a short freelance gig that's related to my Fastlane business, basically doing marketing consulting for a B2B firm in Europe. It will be around $100/hr for 10 hours of work. So that's another $1000 for the movie. And an added bonus---it will make an excellent case study for my business. The owner talked a bit about coming on in a more permanent fashion, but we'll see how it goes.

Biggest priority right now is finishing the feature screenplay. Between a full-time Slowlane job, family, and freelance gig---I have to fight to schedule time for this project. I think the best solution, going forward, is to write first-thing in the morning. That way, no matter what happens later in the day, I've at least made progress on the movie.

 

[JustKris]

Getting ready for the launch. My goal is very simple for this launch: just get one sale.

- Made a really simple squeeze page in Leadpages (with a Wordpress plugin) for my main website. I started to get a super-long website together and got buried in action-faking. So I figured, "screw it, just get the simplest thing up there for now."

- Got my online course site set up.

- Started networking with some other businesses.

Now comes the real fun---the email, online ads, etc.

My daughter is due to be born in five weeks, so the clock is ticking.

 

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[ChickenHawk]

Wow, that's so exciting! It's empowering to consider the possibilities of focusing on a path with no gatekeepers (self-pubbing) as opposed to the movie avenue, where multiple people have to say "yes" before your vision can become a reality. And your background should give you a huge head start. Can't wait to hear more!

 

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[JustKris]

20,000 words in. I've been using the screenplay as an outline and I'm about 3/4 of the way through.

The novel is definitely very "talky" right now. Some chapters are just pages and pages of dialogue. I've been doing scripts for so long, I'm going to have to regain my "regular prose" muscles.

The rewrites will be a good opportunity to write more interior thoughts, descriptions, and tangential scenes that wouldn't fit in the movie version.

Also, shout out to @JackEdwards for his excellent advice on a movie-related Fastlane business I'm working on.

 

[JustKris]

Plugging away at the second draft. At around 26,000 words. The real challenge has been combing through the language to make the prose as tight as possible. And ironically, adding more material. Screenplays are, by their nature, sparse as hell. You put the bare minimum of description and dialogue, letting the set designers, actors, and directors bring it to life.

But in a novel, you can have long internal monologues or asides that are interesting and fill in the world of the protagonist. It's been fun adding little details and getting to know this character better.

 

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[JustKris]

Had my first meeting with a potential financier. Pretty interesting. There's a whole world of deal-making that I'm completely ignorant about. Foreign pre-sales, which actors do well overseas, VOD rights. This is going to be a fun journey.

Also, my script is out to a pretty famous actress. (Apparently we have a mutual friend. Weird how things start to line up when you start on the path.)

 

[loop101]

Some general thoughts:

If you retain ownership of whatever you make, then it is a potential Fastlane business. You could make a documentary about life in a troupe, and license it to Netflix, Amazon, etc. Give schools a free copy, write it off on your taxes (if allowed).

If you want to make a software service, consider the affect of technology. What if everyone in rehearsal had a gopro/ipod/iphone, and it was recording, or providing reminders? For example, if you were recording where the actors were, and what they were saying, you could merge the video streams afterwards so the troupe could review what happened.

If someone forgot their line during a production, the director could hit a button, and the iPod they were wearing on them would say their line (not loudly). Maybe a GPS function beeps when they get to the right spot on the stage.

What if the actors wore cameras (not too obviously), and the audience could view the action from the cameras via wifi? You could have an Alien-esque scene where the stage actor looked down in to an 'egg', and the audience could look with them. A killer might lurk in the shadows, and the audience could see from their POV. Maybe people could watch from home.

If you want to make a film, you could do something similar. Remember how the show "24" would have multiple POV's on screen? You could fit 4 portrait views in to a 16x9 screen. Maybe make a zero/low budget film from combined video streams.

Felix Dennis said ownership was everything. He owned everything he created, and he owned everything he paid other people to create. That's how you get to spend $100M on drugs and hookers.

 

[JustKris]

Super productive month!

I'm 40 pages into the feature script. Still aiming for a July 15th start of principal photography. Also 6000 words into a non-fiction book. My goal is to create a 25,000-30,000 word guide, with audiobooks, as well as some video add-ons. There's definitely a market for this, since it's the exact process I used to bring in an extra million dollars to my Slowlane company last year. It boosted their new business by over 70%.

At the very least, it will be a good bit of social proof for attracting consulting clients. I could do this exact same thing for a number of companies---but instead of being in an office all day, I could charge a flat retainer and % of sales. (That's basically the arrangement I have now. But I just hate being stuck in one place. Especially LA. If I can bring in the same amount of money and move to an area with a lower cost of living, it would be like making 2x the income.)

Also, a pretty fun moment----I was listening to a podcast by a pretty popular blogger. As I walked into my local Coffee Bean a minute later, I ran into him. We ended up meeting again (on purpose) and he gave me some really positive feedback on my blog, which was cool. Plus, I was able to connect him with some people for a project he's working on.

 

[JustKris]

Burned the candle at both ends and definitely feel the effects. Note to self: Don't neglect your health by hunching over your computer all day and skipping exercise.

I decided to validate my business concept by testing the market and pre-selling a product. It's just been a lot of administrative stuff getting it all set---stuff that I hate. As soon as I get a good handle on everything (and get some sales), I want to see what I can eventually outsource or automate so that I can focus on writing.

Speaking of writing:

9000 words into the book & 48 pages into the screenplay, which isn't a ton of output. But I did also spend a couple days writing a sales letter and landing page as part of the interview process for a copywriting gig.

Well, keep on keeping on....

 

[JustKris]

FINALLY done with the administrative stuff!

I'm testing the market a little with some Facebook ads and a lead magnet, just to see what the response is. I have to admit, this stuff is a lot easier at my day job where I have a developer and a sizable budget. (Not to mention a big email list.)

But regardless, I can at least track the ads and get back to writing.

56 pages on the screenplay. And another couple thousand on the other project.

 

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[JustKris]

Man, I am fighting for every word on this screenplay. Even if I have time in the evening, my head feels like it's underwater. It took me an hour to squeak out a page. I'm pretty useless after 8pm.

It might be time to get up at 5am, Miracle Morning-style. That will give me a good hour before my wife and son wake up.

Oddly, I can do business-type stuff even when I'm fatigued. Different mental muscles, I guess.

Side note: My Slowlane company might be in some trouble. They deal with franchisees of MAJOR brands---and apparently the top-level executives of one brand think our product features are non-compliant. The problem? That brand accounts for nearly 50% of our annual revenue. If it goes sideways, it would be at least $120,000 per month in revenue gone overnight.

Violate the Fastlane principle of Control...and pay the consequences.

Just another kick in the a$$ to get my own thing going.

 

[JustKris]

Still fighting. 2/3rds of the way through the draft. The lack of "deep work" is embarrassing. I'm definitely spreading myself too thin. Between work, family, the business, the freelance gig---it's just too many things to concentrate on.

I started working on the business so that I could (eventually) leave my job and have a more flexible schedule. And then I took the side gig because I thought it would be a good case study for the business. I keep stacking these things on.

As a side note, I don't know how most people live in Los Angeles. I make 9k a month and my wife has a decent job. We don't spend excessively, have no debt (aside from her student loans---about 12k)---and we live like college students.

Our crummy apartment costs 2,000 a month, which is actually a steal. We tried looking at other apartments and everything is at least 1000 dollars more. Or we could try to add 1.5 hours on our daily commute time and only pay 600 dollars more.

After our second child is born in the fall, we're getting out of here. So probably at least another year here. I'd love to figure out a way to move even sooner, but that's such a short timeline to try to replace my Slowlane income.

 

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[JustKris]

Really happy with the progress today. A lot of technical stuff that would have completely sidetracked me a couple of years ago. Got my software solutions set up---email, landing page, etc. Also did the groundwork for my email and Facebook campaigns.

I kept things simple---just focus on the next thing. Whenever I got stuck, that's all I thought about. The next thing.

Launch is in a week. Still a lot to do, but I only need to do one thing at a time.

Something feels different. I'm not hoping for some outcome, I'm not keeping my fingers crossed. I'm just focused. Just taking steps each day. Or as MJ would say, process instead of an event.

 

[JustKris]

Two big lessons from today:

1) When the universe starts giving you signs, you pay attention.

Had a guy randomly reach out to me on Facebook and ask about consulting. Apparently he had seen my post in an industry group and looked me up. Turns out he has a company in the area in a vertical I know really well.

"Oh, I'll definitely have our marketing person buy your course. And send me the breakdown for your consulting quote."

Might have my first sale before launching. Pretty cool.

2) Momentum is everything.

The initial grind, when you're working in a vacuum, is tough. But once you start to get traction, it's time to step on the gas. I've been working every night---writing copy, setting up campaigns, reaching out to potential customers. And it's honestly been invigorating.

It's so funny. I do a lot of this stuff at my day job (@Joe Cassandra, I'm sure you can relate), but it feels DIFFERENT doing it for myself. Every email click, every opt-in----it's like magic! Even though the numbers are WAY smaller than what a campaign at my Inc. 5000 Slowlane job would do, it doesn't matter. It's all going to a venture that I control.

To borrow the metaphor from MJ's book, my whole life I've been Azur. Breaking my back trying to move a single block. Now I'm in Chuma-mode, building the machinery to construct my masterpiece.

Let's keep it going!

 

[Cannonball]

Best of luck JustKris! Starting a progress thread on here has really helped me to focus. I hope it does the same for you.

I'm looking forward to reading your updates.

 

[JustKris]

Well, the good news is that I have finished the first draft a week earlier than expected.

The only downside is that the first draft is just a bit over 25,000 words. I'm going to have to write an "in-between" draft to fill in some of the holes and flesh out the story.

But now, it's time for a drink.

 

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[JustKris]

We're having our first staged reading next week. I also had a great conversation with a producer friend of mine, who had some cool tips for financing/deal structures that I'd never even heard of.

And just got an email from my first potential client in the Fastlane business, so things are looking up.

 

[JustKris]

Staged reading went really well. I'll be doing some traveling this week to meet with some potential investors. And my close friend is friends with a pretty big director who has worked with a lot of A-list actors. So after this next polish, we'll be getting the script out to some "names" as well as some film funds.

Man, there is a lot of paperwork involved with getting movies off the ground. Lawyers, unions, insurance companies, banks...whew.

 

[D11FYY]

Just stick with it my friend your going in the right direction. Just try get a part time job to keep your bills paid and the roof over the head for the moment. Harder you work the luckier you get.
But Im watching this thread from now on

 

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[JustKris]

Fun bit of synchronicity recently. I was at a friend's wedding this weekend and I was sitting with my old acting teacher. The movie came up and I shared my frustrations. "I don't know how to move forward," etc.

"F*ck that! Just do it. Don't worry about those agents and managers. You want to get to those actors directly," he said. Yeah, easy for you to say, I thought. But I just nodded and knocked back some wedding cake.

Then I read this quote in one of MJ's articles today----

"If you're an entrepreneurial masturbator the bottomline is this: Quit F*cking around, identify your need and then define your customer path — the shortest route to your first customer."

And I remembered that my teacher knew a couple of big name movie stars that would be really perfect for the film. "Hey, do you think they would be interested in doing a comedy?" I texted. He called them both and asked me to send over a script so they could read it.

One text message and I've made more progress than in the last four months. Shortest route to the customer. Word.

 

[JustKris]

Had an epiphany yesterday.

I've engaged in a lot of mental masturbation the past few months. Blogs, podcasts, books---but none of them were to deal with an immediate issue. It was just an illusion of work. I'm cutting out all unnecessary input for the time being.

I'm going to focus 100% of my creative energy on the novel now. The screenplay is fine---all it needs is financing, which is going to take phone calls and meetings, not writing time.

 

[JustKris]

Checking in after a long hiatus----

The financing/attachments fell through on the movie. I definitely understand the saying "Even a bad movie is a miracle" now. There are just so many moving parts. My option at this point is to do it micro-budget, which I'm fine with. First I'll probably make a short film version (7-10 min) and see how it goes.

Slowlane job is doing pretty well, so I have some money I can put towards projects. I launched a blog where I interview people who have created their own careers in entertainment (comedians launching their own tours, actors producing their own films), but I'm not sure what the policy here is on self-promotion.

Working on a new novel in a new genre (thriller/mystery). I’m at 6k words in so far. My original novel is still pretty bad, but I think with enough work it can be decent.

 

[JustKris]

11k words on the new novel. It's been a bit of a fight, but a great learning experience. It actually FEELS like a real book, instead of a script I just awkwardly re-formatted.

Some friends of mine signed a deal with [giant movie studio], so I'll be doing some script consulting and assistant directing on their upcoming project.

 

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[JustKris]

Whew! Freelance gig is wrapped up. 1200 bucks for 13-14 hours of work---pretty sweet, considering I can put all of it towards the production budget. Plus, the company threw in an extra $100 bonus. "This really isn't enough money for all the work you did," he said. Geez, maybe I'll charge 4000 for this type of work next time. Hahaha.

(Thanks for the Upwork insights, @SinisterLex!)

They actually want to hire me for another thing, but I have to finish this draft before taking on any other projects.

Now it's time to buckle down and knock out this draft.

 

[loop101]

I once had to write a finance strategy for an indie film, so this might come in handy for you. The general rules are: people who put money in early, get a better return; people who take money out last, get a better return; and everyone but you should have a cap on their maximum return. The multiple businesses are structured for legal protection. Sorry if you are already know this.


The film "ThunderStrike" will NOT be financed by the use of various grants, pre-selling rights, or deals with studios. This film will use the ideal investor for low-budget films - ones with considerable disposable income and an interest in show business. Before any fund-raising can be done, some infrastructure must be in place.

First, our production company "ThunderCo" will be created. The company will be formed as a Limited Liability Corporation. An Employer Identification Number (EIN) will be acquired from the IRS. The Certificate of Incorporation and EIN will be taken to a bank where checking and savings accounts will be opened. The checking account will be used for normal expenditures, while the savings account will function as a segregated "escrow" account.

Next, the business structure for our film will be created. "ThunderStrikeLP" will be a limited partnership with ThunderCo as the General Partner, and the investors as Limited Partners. This structure will be used so that the investors will have limited financial liability.

Potential investors will receive a Private Placement Memorandum (PPM) that they must agree to and sign. The purpose of the document is to make sure that your investors are properly informed about your project, and the risk that their investment entails. The PPM will contain all the information an investor will need.

The PPM will begin with a sales pitch to potential investors. The cover will have an engaging glossy photo. It will contain an executive summary that details why ThunderStrikeLP might be a good investment. Next, will be a brief synopsis of the script. Financially successful films that targeted the same demographic groups will be mentioned. It will be explained why ThunderStrikeLP will not make the same mistakes made by similar films that were unsuccessful. The quality of the crew and equipment will be showcased. After the initial sales pitch, the PPM will describe the technical details of the production.

The details of the film production will be presented in digest form. The budget top-sheet will be summarized by department. The production schedule will have dates pushed out, to allow for a late start if needed. Importantly, the marketing and distribution plans will show the investors how their money will hopefully be made back by the film.

The PPM will describe how the investors' money will be used. The development budget for ThunderStrikeLP is 20% of the $250,000 budget. Investors must first decide if they are investing in the development or production. Once the development budget is fully funded, new investors may not invest in it. Development funds will be made available immediately to ThunderCo, while production funds will be held in the segregated savings account. The production funds will remain in escrow until 80% of the total budget is raised.

The deal structure section of the PPM will describe what investors get for their investment. After-tax profits will first be used to pay off any deferred and contingent salaries. Then it will be divided evenly between ThunderCo and the limited partners. The profits due to the limited partners will be allocated giving monies invested in development a double-share of the profits.

Contact with investors will be maintained throughout all phases of the film production. An initial email, followed by monthly reminders, will instruct them to visit the film's website. Regardless of how the production is going, the investors will be informed of the progress.

The last section of the PPM will be a statement of risks to the investor. The risks will cover competitors having more resources, the IRS disallowing their legal protection, bad reviews, and many more possible events.

The pool of potential investors will be found by using friends and family and the "Rule of 3". We will network 3-ply, to give us an initial 27 potential investors. We will not accept more than 35 investors.

Once the minimum funds are raised, we will begin production.

 

[JustKris]

2nd editing pass is done. Now I have it to out to some entrepreneur friends for some feedback.

Whew, talk about going full circle. Back to publishing my first book (and online course). Got a pretty sweet logo on Fiverr for twenty bucks. Now it's time to design some course slides and handouts. (Or, much more likely---outsource it)

Weird bit of synchronicity. Literally ten minutes after I finished this edit. I got an email inviting me for a freelance gig for this kind of consulting. And looking at this guy's business model, I thought "Whoa, I could add this on as a product offering." So I'll either get a freelance offer or another business idea. Not bad.

 

[JustKris]

Stepping things up a bit. Almost done with my first online course, which I will sell alongside the book. Based on what I've seen with similar courses (though my niche is different), I should be able to sell it for anywhere between $300-$1000.

Which is just in the nick of time. Our second child, a girl, is due to be born in two months. My goal is to get my first sale before our daughter arrives. Nothing crazy, just one.

After I do some final editing and graphic tweaks, then it's just a matter of setting up the course. And, you know, marketing the thing. (The biggest challenge, hahaha)

 

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[JustKris]

Good day today. I played hooky from my Slowlane job (though ironically, I actually was under the weather) to do a presentation.

Got my first 6 signups to my email list and 3 people showed up to the call, which was cool. I know, crazy small numbers compared to what I can do with a multi-million dollar company behind me at my day job and in my spare time, no less. But I'm still excited.

Walking around today after the call---the sun was shining and the world felt different. It was like a glimpse into some future reality. "Whoa, what if I could work when I wanted to? What if I could do whatever I want and not have to worry about fixing somebody else's f*cked up business?"

It was magical.

 

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