TRUE INDIE: Make Your Own Luck

Sometimes, I find myself reminiscing about an interview I did back in 2013 with the late, great Emmy-winning writer/producer Michael Ajakwe, and when I first found myself inspired by a different way of thinking. The founder of LAWebfest and a champion of indie series, his motto was “make your own luck,” a phrase that has always stuck with me and that I’ve always found to be true in my own life.

Mike felt that web series creators tended to suffer from low self-esteem because their work—with the exception of the few series that hit the big time—don’t tend to make much money, and because creators see their series as just web series and nothing more. Yet, he said, “…in traditional Hollywood, that’s not how it is. Everything is a transformer. Every book is a potential film, a potential TV show, or a potential Broadway play.”

That’s true, if you think about it. Everything is a transformer. Most every film concept has been a novel, comic, children’s book, short story, newspaper article, magazine story, stage play, musical, web series, video game, podcast, or even a physical product before the movie version came along. (Not to mention the number of films that first began as TV series.) In our conversation, Mike was candid about how when he was developing a new project, he first looked at the ways it could transform into other works and new potential revenue streams down the line.

I never forgot that, and I actually saw it play out when I worked at a production company in LA. The producer I worked for bought a screenplay and then hired a novelist to novelize the script. He then got the novel published, and went around town pitching the screenplay that was based on the published novel—even though, in reality, the novel was based on the screenplay. He made a point to tell me that it’s much easier to get a film produced when it has started as something else—even if you, apparently, have to make it start as something else. And it’s considerably easier if that something else already has a fan base. Intellectual property is everything.

For us indie creators who like to make our own luck, I believe this idea offers an abundance of freedom and opportunity. We don’t have to be chained to writing script after script, often doing heaps of free work, in hopes of placing in some contest, capturing the interest of an agent, cajoling an exec into reading our pages, snagging a writing assignment, or selling a spec to a producer.

If you love writing, why not take all of that energy to write a novel and produce your own IP that you can sell the rights to down the line? If you can draw, why not write and illustrate a children’s book that you can self-publish or traditionally publish? If you want to write for TV, why not shoot a series that can gather a fan base online rather than spending months or years developing a single original pilot that could potentially many take years to sell, if ever?

Why not put yourself in a position to have producers and studios approaching you rather than the other way around?

I’m challenging you today to think bigger. Bigger than “I hope I place in this contest.” Bigger than “I hope I get an agent.” Bigger than “I hope this script sells.”

Let's think bigger.

I have a Kindergartener who loves it when I read to her, so I’m knee-deep in children’s books these days. Honestly, though, nowhere are Mike’s words truer than in Kidlit. Everything is a transformer!

Clifford the Big Red Dog picture books > TV series > studio movie

Lyle, Lyle Crocodile picture books > TV series > studio movie

Wicked novel series > massive Broadway musical > studio movie

The Boss Baby board book > 2 studio movies (and a 3^rd in the works) > 3 TV series

Peppa Pig animated series > picture books > merchandising > studio film (in the works) > theme parks in US and UK

And, of course…

Harry Potter book series > 8 studio films > massive merchandising > theme parks at Universal Studios

And these are just a few examples!

So next time you’re developing an idea, think bigger and consider how your concept can be a “transformer.” Consider developing IP that you own and can leverage rather than just writing another spec and hoping someone will read it, or hoping it will place in a contest. Consider all of the many avenues that you can use to get your writing and talent out to the world other than screenplays.

Those other avenues might just help make your screenwriting dreams come true.

As always, wishing you the best of (self-made) luck!