Have You Paid Your Dues?

The Dues Paying Myth and Hollywood

Why is the idea of “paying your dues” so widely regarded as sound advice in entertainment?

A client recently met with a show runner about their TV series; I suggested that since this high-level writer had paid their dues coming up, they may not be as receptive to a creator with limited writers’ room experience selling an idea right out of the gate. Their feedback that indeed this well known voice was less than encouraging was a reminder of how just deep seated  “pay your dues” is in our industry. Fellow creatives, supposedly on the same path, will regularly cite this antiquated wisdom as a reason to not offer up assistance.

Let’s not sugar coat it. The “unpaid internship” legend that everyone sells you as the starter pack to a career in writing for tv and movies is meant more to protect the status quo than teach you a valuable lesson. 

“Start as an assistant, fetch coffee, and one day you’ll be running the room!”  

Is that true? Or do they just really need someone to fetch coffee and couldn’t find anyone who would do it?

These lines (that have little to no basis on statistical facts) get parroted almost as often as the original: 

“There are no small parts just small actors” 

Boy, if that’s not a cleverly worded way to get someone to play an essential role that no one else wants to take because a.) it provides no true career advancement and b.) it offers less than exceptional visibility.

“Why go fast when you can go slow?” is what the industry seems to say.

Who needs to pay rent? Build a life. Grow a business. You can just swing wildly from one “possible career advancement” opportunity to the next while you watch others skip the line.

Wait, skip the line? How dare they!

Finding Your Skip The Line Mojo 

This fallacy, that we owe the industry years of poor financial health to “make it” is a remnant of past eras just waiting to die off.

So what to do until then?  

For writers, I find the most challenging part of working with me is coming to know and accept their true creative value. Suddenly, they see where they accepted less than their value in the past. I then watch as clients turn down opportunities they once thought they had to jump at because it was a stepping stone.

So how does a writer proceed when they know their work and message is powerful and valuable yet “value” isn’t always on offer in a dues paying ecosystem? 

Say no. A lot. Fearlessly harness your network to get an audience with people who can get your project made. Let go of the worry that your tunnel vision and relentlessness will make someone mad or offend the wrong person. It will. Let go of the worry that your newfound audacity will lose you friends. It will. 

And then, once that pitch or important meeting arises - and it will, just act “as if.” Learn enough about the business, about how pitches get made and sold, about how film finance works, and how producers think to come into your meeting as though you have years of experience. Don’t just skip the line and land goofy footed in front of decision makers, prepare diligently to speak their language, parry their concerns, and cite compelling data to back your creation’s potential.

Sure, they’ll check your credentials, and will be rightfully hesitant if they’re slim - but a unique idea powerfully told is any great producer or executive’s kryptonite. Or, better, become an undeniable creative voice with a message that hasn’t been brought to the fore? Heck, no buyer wants to be the person who slept on the next big thing. 

So “act like you belong” can supplant “pay your dues” when you know what you’re talking about.

And by that same token, asking for your worth as a writer-creator is easy when you know what you stand for. 

The truth is, the industry actually wants to break new talent, so long as established talent surrounds them. 

Once you understand this math, that they can greenlight your idea - and pair you with someone who did, perhaps, follow the conventional path - you can aim for the role you truly want instead of settling for assistant positions your proverbial elders suggest you take to maintain humility. 

Or, if you’re an established talent in one arena and are new-ish to show creation or pitching/selling to buyers, lean into leverage to remind the power brokers of your value to open a new door. This has happened for clients of mine who have moved from Series Regular roles to being on staff as a writer of the same show.

This Week On The Pod

My co-host, Steve Harper, and I dig into what disruption looks like in the entertainment space. While some of you may only know disruption as a term in tech entrepreneurship, its basic tenants - to break up the established patterns of doing business - can be applied to any industry.

But can it work in an industry as set in its ways as Hollywood? Check out the pod to find out.

Until next time, if you don’t like the current story being told, go ahead and craft a narrative that suits you best.

Nick