It didn’t start out as well as I hoped. I had submitted Dark Mother, my feature-length contained psychological thriller, for a Stage 32 consultation with Tammy Hunt of Sandstone Artists. Like most unrepresented writers, I was seeking to interest a manager in repping me and I was aware that Sandstone had signed writers from Stage 32.

Tammy was delightful and full of Southern charm, but as she began to give me her creative feedback on the script, it became clear that while she liked the writing, the material itself was not her cup of tea. I quickly understood that if I was to salvage this meeting, there was only one course of action: I had to pivot!

I started asking Tammy more about Sandstone Artists and she explained how she and her partner Jamie Bradley were focused more on television than feature film projects. So, with her permission, I pitched her a one-hour spec TV pilot entitled Disturbed.

She liked the concept and asked me to send her the pitch deck and then a day later, asked me to send her the teleplay. A few weeks later, she e-mailed me after reading the script and said, “Josh, just finished, and wow!” I have to admit that was nice to hear.

In a follow-up meeting with her and Jamie we decided that with their focus on television, the best way forward was not an overall representation agreement but rather a shopping agreement specifically for Disturbed. We signed on March 4 and they have a year to see if they can garner some interest in the project via their industry contacts. Should the project attract financing, they would act as producers on the series.

My takeaways are: first, in a general meeting and/or project consultation, while you have to convey a sense of who you are and what your focus is as a writer, try to also get as much detail as possible about what your meeting partner is seeking, and second, have a range of spec material at hand so you can quickly pivot, should it become necessary.

Meanwhile, as Sandstone Artists moves ahead on Disturbed with my blessing, my spec feature Dark Mother was awarded First Prize in the FADE IN thriller screenplay competition and I’m confident it will eventually find a home as well. My thanks go out once again to Stage 32 for making the introductions and facilitating these meetings!

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