Don't Quit Your Day Job...

It's hell out here...

Just another day in the office…life of the working writer…

If you read damn near any article now about the entertainment industry—TV and film specifically—it’s a hellscape out here.

With the very loud bursting of the streaming bubble, post writer and actor’s strike pullback, and a general reluctance or leeriness to push non-(proven) IP material, this is a ridiculously difficult time to launch a full-time TV/film writing career, in an industry that is notoriously hard all the time.

Veteran and well-established writers, producers, directors, and more are feeling the pinch. In the face of ongoing layoffs across studios and networks, there’s a belief there’s simply not work enough to go around, prompting the oft-heard “Survive to ‘25” mantra, even though 2025 is already fast approaching.

That’s not to say that great shows and movies aren’t being made (they are) or that even on this year’s somewhat slimmer theatrical slate there aren’t huge hits—Inside Out 2 and Deadpool and Wolverine both spring to mind—as well as more unique successful big swings, like Longlegs. I’m personally excited for Alien: Romulus; the original Alien is one of my favorite films, and I love the look and tone that Fede Alvarez is bringing to his take on the franchise mythology.

Look, a certain amount of gloom and doom sells; these articles and “hot takes” tend to be self-perpetuating prophecies. Although I’m not certain that sky is truly falling on the entertainment industry, it is a tough time to be a “working writer,” even harder to be a new on the scene when there are already a large number of fantastic and established writers vying for a small number of gigs.

One of the oft-shared mantras of novel writing is “don’t quit your day job,” and for the last eight years, I steadfastly followed that advice, balancing my writing with said day job. Now, writing is my only job, and I’m facing the same headwinds as every working writer in both publishing (which is not immune to the “big hit or miss” mentally) and TV/film. The fact that I actually retired (instead of quitting) before pursuing writing full time is a distinct advantage, as are the relationships I’ve been fortunate enough to cultivate over those years leading up to this moment. I’m not really pounding the pavement for work, and I have the latitude to choose only the work I most want to do. That’s a true luxury “real” working writers—those whose day job has only been writing for a long time now—don’t enjoy. I am cognizant of that, and never want to suggest my situation is similar.

Still, I hope the spigot will get turned on wider in the coming months, and that there will be new opportunities for us all.

Until then, all we can do is keep writing.

A little update on my own writing, as I was (and will be) traveling, while also waiting for some things to firm up. I’m deep in the drafting of a spec feature screenplay, and just started my next novel. Neither are on external deadlines, but I’m looking to finish a really solid draft of the screenplay by the end of next month, and the book around March 2025. As always, those dates are subject to change.

Later this month, I’m heading down to Nashville for Bouchercon, a great writing conference for mystery and crime authors and their fans. I’ll be on a panel (more information to follow), and my plan is to use those days to do “some on the fly” interviews with authors to post up here on Substack notes. We’ll talk about their books, movies, craft, anything that comes to mind.

Hopefully, I can give you a little feel for the conference…almost like you were there!

As always, feel free to—