The Richness of Writing for Children & YA

Hello,

If you are thinking about writing for the children's or YA market you don't want to miss this call on Wednesday, December 10th at 5:30PM Pacific (Live Worldwide).

This San Francisco Writers Conference Teleseminar features award-winning children's book author Douglas Rees (Uncle Pirate, Vampire High and Grandy Thaxter's Helper) and his agent, Laurie McLean, with Larsen Pomada Literary Agents. Doug and Laurie are excited to share their views on the wealth inherent in children's book writing (and the many ways you can define the word "richness".)

The Richness of Writing for Children
Wednesday, December 10th
5:30PM Pacific / 7:30PM Central / 8:30PM Eastern

Register at: www.sfwriters.org/ask5/index.php

There is no cost to be on the live call outside of your regular long distance charges or cell phone minutes. Don't forget to ask a question! Tell your friends about this free teleseminar--especially anyone writing Children's Books. Even if you can't make the live call -- register and you'll be sent the link to the MP3.

A REMINDER REGARDING 2009 San Francisco Writers Conference
February 13 - 15th at the St. Mark's Hotel

Go to www.SFWriters.org for details and on-line registration.

A HOLIDAY GIFT FOR YOU!
FREE SFWC TELESEMINAR SERIES DOWNLOADS at www.SFWriters.info.

There is so much information to hear during an SFWC Teleseminar, that you simply want to hear them again and again! So we want to be sure that you know you can download any or all of the SFWC Teleseminars at www.SFWriters.info. Four of the seminars are now available as downloads.

To your success,

Philippa

--
www.creativecvg.blogspot.com
www.yoursignaturestory.com
www.screenplaybyphone.com/career
www.sfwriters.org
www.sfwriters.info
--

The Power of Your Media Brand

This is my second blog post this month over at Write Non-Fiction in November

Read more of Nina Amir's blog at www.writenonfictioninnovember.wordpress.com

How Writers Can Create Their Own Media Brand

“Branding” has become quite a catch word these days. As nonfiction writers, we, too, need to “brand” ourselves and our work. We even need to go so far as to become a “media brand.” In the process, however, we can make our writing more marketable to publishers, and, ultimately, to readers.

What exactly is a media brand and how do we as writers go about accomplishing the creation of our own media brand? Back today to tell us is entertainment professional and consultant Philippa Burgess of Creative Convergence. I’ve heard her speak about this topic, and I’ve always found what she has to say fascinating. I know that by applying the principle of branding to myself and to what I write, I can not only make myself more-marketable as a writer, but that I can help myself build a platform across all media - all of which will make my books sell better as well.

So, today, take off your writers hat and put on your marketing hat. Or, better yet, wear them both. That, I think, is the idea.

The Power of Your Media Brand
By Philippa Burgess
Entertainment Professional and Consultant
Partner, Creative Convergence Inc.

As nonfiction writers, I encourage you to think about becoming a media brand. In my previous post we talked about how to create compelling content. Beyond that, the success of your project lies in your ability to market it to the greater public. The easiest way to do this is to cultivate a relationship with your audience that includes desire, familiarity, and value using a myriad of media channels. In doing so, with a certain amount of consistency and growing visibility, you become a media brand. The additional benefit to doing it this way is that you are able to develop your content and your platform concurrently. When your book is ready you’ll have a better product that’s knows its place in the market primed with a ready audience.
Here are some key points you need to know and keep in mind when creating your media brand:

A media brand is a promise. If the expectation is a positive one, every time it delivers on its promise it deepens the loyalty of its audience. A brand seeks to earn mindshare, which is a general awareness that it exists. From there, it has the aim of creating top of mind awareness in its category. This means that if someone says, “Toothpaste,” and you say, “Crest,” this brand of toothpaste not only has mindshare, but represents the category leader in your mind. This holds true for media brands such as Dr. Phil, Oprah and Martha Stewart, who all have vast mindshare and are category leaders in their respective arenas.

See your media brand as a relationship that creates and fulfills a desire for its audience. A brand is not just a fancy logo or a catchy tag line but an experience that is shared between the company, product or service and its audience. Therefore, a successful brand is able to become a proven commodity in the marketplace. Writers, celebrities, and titles are just as much as brands as Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Tiffany’s.

This is important to you as nonfiction writers, because today’s audience encounters over 60,000 marketing messages a day. Everyone is vying for our attention while looking to make a positive impression. If your brand has rooted itself within the hearts and minds of your audience through repeated interactions over time, then it has established value. From there it can be promoted across larger and larger media channels with greater traction and ultimate success.

Build your media brand so you can distinguish yourself and your message from other nonfiction writers in the marketplace. If you are writing a memoir or offering practical advice on anything from how to run a business, a family or a hi-tech gadget, then you need to be sure you are distinguishable in the marketplace from all others. You want your audience to develop a relationship with you, and then consistently seek you out for the fulfillment of their desires - be it for information, inspiration or entertainment.

Your media brand builds on its success and provides additional opportunities to get your message out. There are many who come to nonfiction writing with academic or real world credentials, but all nonfiction writers need to start thinking along the lines of gaining media credentials. If bloggers, magazines, conferences and talk shows want to talk about what you’re doing because they think you’ll entertain and inform their audience, thus making their brand look good, then you’re on your way to being able to successfully grow your brand into the publishing arena, television or even film.

Your media brand helps you to consistently reach and call your audience to action. We often hear “platform” as a buzzword in the publishing industry. It is becoming more essential to have a platform, because it means that you have cultivated an audience so there is less risk involved for publishers when it comes to investing in your project. They know that when you speak, your audience listens. They have confidence that you have learned to navigate the infrastructure you need to reach your audience and have proven your value through repeated interactions. Moreover, you know how to motivate (or ethically bribe) your audience into action. It also becomes easier to move a story across media channels, such as articles, books, graphic novels, television, or film, if the story or its author, are branded.

Your media brand gives you the opportunity to monetize yourself and your project. Given your ability to deliver an audience, you have created more opportunities for speaking, articles, book sales, film rights or other business transactions. You’ve proven that you have something to offer; now comes the time to start packaging it to sell across media platforms. The more established your brand becomes the more value is attached to what you are selling. The term “rich and famous” is just simple math. The more people a brand is able to connect with powerfully, the more revenue it can generate for you and others.

Start small and grow it with steady efforts. As you look to establish your brand across media channels, remember that every oak tree was once an acorn. Trust that you will get experience as you go - “ready, fire, aim.” You won’t do all of this perfectly, so don’t worry about it. You’ll need to step out and jump. Then you can adjust course along the way. The idea of starting small can help you get practice, but it can also help you learn what your audience really wants and needs from you. When you make mistakes, they are in front of a smaller audience who are more forgiving. Plus, your brand will still be emerging and less will be at stake.

Cultivate your relationship with your audience as you develop your content. In this way you’ll get to work on your material and see how you are able to deliver the most value. Writing articles or giving talks is a good way to find the parts of your story that are the most compelling and valuable based on audience feedback. As you develop your stories, join writers groups or speaking clubs, such as Toastmasters, to polish your skills.

Take the time to go to the bookstore, the video store and Amazon.com and look at competing authors and titles. You want to find authors and titles you can point to in your space that have been successful, but you also want to find ways to distinguish yourself from them and fill a gap in the market. Think in terms of presenting your brand as “the fresh in the familiar.” Doors in entertainment and media are not difficult to open if you have the key. It is a very doable process if you take the right steps to fashion such a key by creating a strong media brand.

Not only do titles, books and authors become media brands, so do particular niche markets and categories. Find your category, take the steps to developing your media brand and look for the audience that is looking for you.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

SFWC Teleseminar Series

Over the past few months we've had the great pleasure of working with Elizabeth Pomada & Michael Larsen of Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency who are the co-founders of the San Francisco Writers Conference and Writing For Change Conference, along with their team who are instrumental in the organization and running of the events.

Together we've put together a series of teleseminars on various topics with some of the conference speakers that are important to writers at every stage of writing, development and promotion.

I'm posting them here for you to check out at your leisure. There are some terrific gems of information to be gleaned from each and every call. They cover the storytelling, PR, blogging and the role of an editor in publishing.

Elizabeth Pomada interviews Chris Soth of MillionDollarScreenwriting.com about story structure and techniques that makes a book a "page turner" and a script a "must-read."
www.creativecvg.com/SFWCChrisSoth11-19-08.wav

Michael Larsen interviews PR Guru Jill Lublin about scoring coverage in the media to build your platform both before and after the book is written.
www.creativecvg.com/SFWCJillLublin10-30-08.wav

Michael Larsen interviews Britt Bravo of HaveFun.DoGood and Kevin Smokler of VirtualBookTour about the bloggesphere.
www.creativecvg.com/SFWCBravoSmokler9-15-08.wav

Michael Larsen interviews industry veteran Alan Rinzler, Executive Editor at Jossey-Bass/Wiley & Sons.
www.creativecvg.com/SFW4CAlanRinzler7-16-08.wav

The San Francisco Writers Conference is this next February 13 - 15th at the St. Marks Hotel.
Learn more at http://www.sfwriters.org/. Early bird rate ends on December 31st.

It's a fantastic event and we hope you will spread the word and make your own plans to join us there in 2009.

Write Non-Fiction in November

You may have heard of Nanowrimo for the novel writing in November. But there is also a group for all the non-fiction writers out there run by Nina Amir called Write Non-Fiction in November. She's got a terrific blog packed with great information for all of you non-fiction writers out there.

You can check out the site at: www.writenonfictioninnovember.wordpress.com

I am today's guest blogger. Here's the write-up.

Today's agenda: Learning ways to make our writing more marketable, a necessary skill for writers to learn if they are to successfully sell their writing. After all, if we want to be published writers, or authors, we have to be able to sell our writing. That means what we write must be marketable. Makes sense, no? Sounds simple, but it isn’t.

To help us learn this all important lesson, Write Nonfiction in November welcomes guest blogger Philippa Burgess, an entertainment professional with Creative Convergence in Los Angeles. She specializes in developing and marketing literary content across Hollywood and the publishing and publicity industries. Out of all her experience, she’s culled three guideposts to help us hone our prose into marketable manuscripts.

Marketable Prose Informs, Inspires and Challenges Readers
By Philippa Burgess
Entertainment Professional and Consultant
Partner, Creative Convergence Inc.

I commend you on your participation in Write Non-Fiction in November. I know you’ve already received a ton of invaluable expert tips, and I have no doubt there will be more to come. I’d like to offer three of my own signature guideposts in order to help you develop your content so that it is inherently more marketable: to inform, to inspire, to challenge.

1. To Inform

What type of non-fiction are you writing?
Broadly speaking there are two types of non-fiction. You may want to consider which one you are writing because that will help you think about what types of media you can use to best share your story.

Type 1 - Narrative Non-Fiction - This tells a true story about your or someone else’s experience using a clear narrative structure. This type of story can be told in any particular literary genre, such as romance, comedy, thriller or adventure, but all the facts, characters and timeline are true and corroborated by primary and/or secondary sources. There are a lot of opportunities to publish these types of stories and they can take the form of articles, memoirs, biographies, and other types of non-fiction narrative books. They also may be pitched or adapted for television and feature films.

Type 2 - General or Prescriptive - This offers information that is either a newsworthy account of facts or a how-to approach that provides the audience with a way to save time, money and/or energy to achieve a desired result. Another popular style is to offer an opposing view to conventional wisdom. In either case, you are coming to the conversation with a certain amount knowledge that gives you credibility based on a combination of experience, education, and research.

2. To Inspire

How can your story generate the greatest impact?

For maximum impact you want to make sure your content is authentic and compelling. I offer you a simple but effective “Your Signture Story” formula that you can use to hit your mark with any story or message.

Picture a triangle and each side answers a different questions: Who are You? + What is Your Mission + Who is Your Audience? In the middle of that triangle is the answer that comprises an authentic and powerful story or message.

Who are you? What experience or expertise do you have? What human and emotional truths can you share? All notably authors (either fiction or non-fiction) have a clearly defined voice and point-of-view about the world. Take for example John Grisham, JK Rowling and Sebastian Junger, who all brought part of their own story to their writing. Grisham was a Southern lawyer (writing about Southern lawyers), Rowling lost her parents (remember, Harry is an orphan), and Junger writes about dangerous jobs (he’d had his own workplace accident while cutting trees and was a war correspondent for many years).

What is your mission? Whether it is to inspire, inform or entertain, you’ll do best with a clearly defined agenda when you enter the marketplace. Grisham spins tight thrillers that take us inside the justice system and into world of high powered business professionals; Rowling shares a philosophy of life and entertains with spellbinding magic and lore; Junger tackles what it is like to take serious risks with your life and in your work, because he believes humans have a greater capacity for physical risk than we normally acknowledge.

Who is your audience? It is important to know the audience your story or message is meant to touch. Think about what other books they might read, what TV shows and movies they watch, what magazine they buy, and what internet sites they surf. Surely, you might say that your story is ideal for everyone, but it helps if you have a primary demographic in mind when you start. This helps you in three ways: 1. You focus your voice. 2. You can explore the marketplace and see how else it has been served and where there is a gap for you to fill. 3. You’ll know exactly where to find your audience when you are ready to get yourself and your stories in front of them.

What is your signature story or message? Your particular story or message should serve each side of the triangle. It’s a good way to start for whatever type of writing endeavor you are initiating or a tool you can use as you approach rewriting your material.

3. To Challenge

But really, who cares?

I trust you’ve been informed and inspired, and now it is time to challenge you. You’ve got a great story to tell. You know what type of non-fiction story you are writing. You’ve done well to ask those hard questions about you, your mission, and your audience and crafted a story or a message that supports it. But then someone turns to you, as I have done to many writers, and asked the most challenging question of all, “Who cares?”

I am not trying to insult anyone in asking this hard question; it is a “tough-love” challenge. Many writers have stared at me in wonderment (or great disdain) at that moment. The key here is that the story may be about anything and just because you wrote it, you think I should care. The truth of the matter is that, as a reader, I want to know (I mean really know) that there is something in it for me. I want to know that I will uncover some secret knowledge that will make my life better or be moved by our human condition and get in touch with my own emotions. I want to be empowered either with information or with a renewed confidence in my own strength and abilities.

The answer then, when you are posed with the question, “Who Cares?” needs to be a resounding, “You.” The person you are pitching your idea to at that moment should be able to find something of value in it for them. And if they are really not your audience, because they don’t happen to fit the demographic you’ve defined, then jump right in and enthusiastically answer with great detail who you know cares and why.

With my three tips - to inform, inspire and challenge - in mind, I’m going to use myself as an example, so we can look at them in action. I’ll do this by asking myself the same questions and answering them.

Here goes:

What type of nonfiction do I write?

I write prescriptive non-fiction on marketing for writers.

What kind of impact do I want?

(Formula is You + Your Mission + Your Message = Your Signature Story)
I am an entertainment professional, and my mission is to inform, inspire and challenge writers to achieve greater success. My audience is writers, authors, experts and content creators who are interested in working across media channels.

Who cares?

I trust those writing Non-Fiction in November or those who want greater success in accessing and leveraging the power of Hollywood, publishing and publicity can benefit from my experience, guidance and message and that of my company.

I encourage you to continue on your road to Writing Non-Fiction in November. My thanks to Nina for inviting me to share on this blog. You are invited to learn more about our professional services at Creative Convergence Inc. and our teleseminar courses, resources and free member site for writers, authors, experts, and content creators. All of this is all part of Your Signature Story: From Content Creator to Media Brand.

About Philippa Burgess

Philippa Burgess is a partner at Creative Convergence an entertainment company in Los Angeles that specializes in literary development and marketing across media. The company has recently sold client projects to Warner Brothers, Paramount, Lifetime, and ABC Family. Recent TV production credits include “52 Fights” for ABC/Touchstone and “Men’s Guide the the Women’s Bathroom” for CBS/Paramount. Among their non-fiction film projects were “Thieves of Baghdad,” “Queensized” and “52 Fights.”

Philippa oversees the consulting division of the company. The department provides a collaborative creative and business development process for a dynamic list of consulting clients that include emerging non-fiction writers, experts, authors, and content creators who want to establish a media brand. She teaches at conferences around the country and faciliates the popular “Your Signature Story: From Content Creator to Media Brand” and “Million Dollar Screenwriting & Content Career” teleseminar courses.
www.creative-convergence.com

Some New Resources and Pre-Expo Round-Up

I've got a lot of great information for you about Screenwriting Expo this weekend.

First, whether you are going to be at Expo or not -- I would like to invite you to sign up for:

Our new Million Dollar Screenwriting & Content Career: Daily Dialogue which offers you a daily screenwriting resource tip that you may want to investigate further. www.creativecvg.com/connect.php

Our new Your Signature Story Quote of the Day from notable artists, authors and thought leaders designed to keep you inspired on your journey as a writer and content creator. www.creativecvg.com/connect.php

We're finally getting our new Your Signature Story membersite site up. It's still in Beta but you are officially welcome to come check it out at http://www.yoursignaturestory.com/ and set up your user profile so that you can connect with other writers and content creators in the community.

Plus, our friends at the San Francisco Writers Conference are hosting a teleseminar with our client and colleague Chris Soth of Million Dollar Screenwriting (see full bio below in Expo info) on Wednesday, November 19th at 5:30PM Pacific / 8:30PM Eastern. He'll be talking about what it takes to write compelling and cinematic stories. Feel free to share this with any of your screenwriter or fiction writer friends. You can register at http://www.sfwriters.org/ask4/index.php.

And -- if you're going to be at SCREENWRITING EXPO this weekend we'd love to connect with you in person.

I'll most likely be at the party of Thursday night, at the Expo on Friday for part of the day.

I'll be teaching:

Million Dollar Screenwriting Career: Picture the Deal on Saturday at 11AM

My colleague Brad Kushner will be on an Agents & Managers Panel on Saturday at 4PM.

Since I'm a huge fan of Heroes, I'll probably go check out the Heroes panel on Saturday at 6PM and I'll be at the party on Saturday night and back for a get together with Chris Soth, his mentees and my Million Dollar Screenwriting & Content Career alum on Sunday night.

I also suggest going to learn from some of our friends and colleagues including:
Pilar Alessandra: the director of the popular writing program 'On the Page' http://www.onthepage.tv/. Her screenwriting podcasts - with guests from within the industry - regularly appear in the film and TV top 100.

She'll be teaching:

Pitch in a Minute on Friday at 9AM

Beyond the Chick Flick -- Writing The Female Driven Screenplay on Friday at 11AM

Surviving Rewrite Hell on Friday at 2PM

Dynamic Dialogue on Friday at 4PM

Behind Their Eyes -- Creating Memorable Characters on Sunday at 9AM

Genre Tricks & Trends on Sunday at 11AM

You Had Me at Page One on Sunday at 2PM

Ellen Sandler: an Emmy nominated television writer/producer. She was Co-Executive Producer of the CBS hit Everybody Loves Raymond, and the popular ABC series Coach as well as 25 prime time sitcoms. Ellen has created pilots for ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox Family, Disney, Oxygen and the Australian Broadcasting Company. She is the author of The TV Writers Workbook: A Creative Approach to Television Scripts, published by Bantam/Dell.

She's teaching:

What Can I Say?- A Dialogue Workshop on Friday at 2PM.

Turning your Screenplay Into a TV pilot on Friday at 4PM.

Devorah Cutler-Rubenstein: a former studio exec who has produced films, plays, and television including the feature franchise The Substitute and most recently Tattoo U for FX Channel. Her writing credits include a variety of genres for indie and major companies, including ABC and Columbia Pictures. She also recently published What's the Big Idea: Writing Shorts.
Together Ellen and Devorah they will be running a pitch coaching salon. They're really terrific and worth getting to know.

Danny Manus: a Hollywood by Phone guest and most recently the CE at Clifford Werber Productions ("Cinderella Story," "Sydney White"), where he set up and will co-produce a larger budget family fantasy/adventure project at United Artists. Daniel is also attached to produce a teen comedy starring Emily Osment ("Hannah Montana") and is currently developing other scripts to be produced independently.

He'll be teaching:

The Other Side of the Table: A No B.S. Guide to Pitchfests for Writers on Thursday at 6PM

Exploring the differences between Indie Film and the Studio World on Friday at 4PM.

Chris Soth: sold his first screenplay, Firestorm, for $750,000, while still a graduate student in the USC screenwriting program. The movie was made, starring football star Howie Long, Scott Glenn, William Forsythe, Barry Pepper, and Suzie Amis, and was released in January of 1998. (“Firestorm rages with adventurous appeal.” - LA Times.) Chris was also paid $200,000 by Universal Studios to adapt the novel “A Fall of Moondust,” by Arthur C. Clarke of “2001” fame. In 2003 Chris sold his own original pitch, MEET JANE DOE to Signpost Pictures and Mosaic Media in a low-against-mid-six figure deal, with Hopscotch Pictures attached to produce. Chris guided the script through several stages of development and the film is expected to shoot in Australia this coming year. Chris's pitch THE CITIZEN was optioned by Escape Artists (Pursuit of Happyness) with Chris attached to produce. Chris also has written for independent investors, creating such screenplays as WASTELAND, HAUNTED HIGH and STAGE ONE, gathering knowledge used to craft DEAD MAN'S HAND as the perfect independent film project. His latest screenplay, OUTRAGE, starring Michael Madsen, Natasha Lyonne and Michael Berryman, was filmed in Georgia last spring and is in consideration for The Sundance Film Festival. In 2005, Chris founded the website MillionDollarScreenwriting.com to share his screenwriting expertise with aspiring screenwriters. His companion networking website, HollywoodByPhone.com, holds interviews with agents, studio executives, managers and filmmakers every week, and through ScreenplayByPhone.com, Chris mentors screenwriters around the world. He has taught at USC and UCLA and authored over 28 screenplays as well as the internet best-selling book "Million-Dollar Screenwriting: The Mini-Movie Method" and the best-selling pitch DVD: "SOLD! How I Set Up Three Pitches in Hollywood". Chris holds an MFA with distinction in screenwriting from the University of Southern California and a BA in Dramatic Literature from Vassar College, with highest honors.

He'll be teaching:

Million Dollar Screenwriting: Mini-Movie Method on Satuday at 9AM.

You may also want to learn more about:

Karl Iglesias: teaches at UCLA Extension's Writer's Program and Writers University. He is the best-selling author of The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters and Writing for Emotional Impact. He writes the regular column on the craft for Creative Screenwriting magazine. Passionate about great storytelling he specializes in the reader's emotional response to the written page. He can be reached through his website at http://www.karliglesias.com/. He's got several terrific sessions on emotional impact.

Steve Kaplan: the industry's most sought-after expert on comedy for almost 15 years. In addition to having taught at UCLA NYU Yale and other top universities Steve Kaplan created the HBO Workspace the HBO New Writers Program and was co-founder and Artistic Director of Manhattan's Punch Line Theatre. He's a MUST ATTEND if you're writing COMEDY!

Billy Mernit: author of Writing the Romantic Comedy (Harper/Collins) novelist (Imagine Me and You published by Shaye Areheart/Random House) and popular blogger (Living the Romantic Comedy) serves as both a private script consultant and a story analyst at Universal Studios while teaching at the UCLA Extension Writers' Program. He's a MUST ATTEND is you're writing ROM COM!

Blake Snyder: has sold or been hired to write dozens of scripts for film and TV in his 20-year career including co-writing Blank Check for Disney and Nuclear Family for Steven Spielberg—both million-dollar sales. Blake is the author of the popular Save the Cat! series. http://www.blakesnyder.com/. I was on a panel with him last year and he's just got terrific energy, experience and insights.

Heather Hale: has over 45 hours of produced television including The Courage to Love a $5.5 million dollar Lifetime Original Movie that starred Vanessa Williams and is now available on DVD and four series: The Evidence which won 'Best New Series Pilot ' Lifestyle Magazine that won two Tellys and two PBS edutainment series that both won Emmys. Heather's 'Navigating Hollywood' DVD is a best seller and her business bio book Nirvana in a Cup was published last year.

Have a great weekend, and a fantastic Expo if you're here in LA for the event.

To your success,

Philippa

Join me for Million Dollar Screenwriting & Content Career

Hello,

Just a quick reminder about this Monday evening's preview call for Million Dollar Screenwriting & Content Career. It's at 5:30PM Pacific (Live Worldwide).

Do you know what makes Hollywood producers, execs and representatives tick, and what ticks them off? Do you have a strategy for successfully navigating Hollywood?

If you're ready to take your screenwriting career to the next level -- you won't want to miss this course. It focuses on the fundamentals of marketing, team building, and career strategy for making it in today's studio system.

You are invited to join the first lecture of Million Dollar Screenwriting & Content Career...Why? because I want you to have this information. I don't want you to have representatives and producers ignore you until you figure it out, which is sadly a reality of the business. This course is an opportunity to get on the inside track, get a good overview of the industry, its decision making power, and get the answers you need to move ahead powerfully.

This first lecture is on the The Hollywood Career Diamond

* The Career Diamond a way to make your screenwriting career rock solid. Used as the base of a pyramid it is a foolproof way to reach your pinnacle of success. The process is half "art" and half "business". It is also part "philosophy" and part "action." The four sides of the Career Diamond give you the magic formula for creating SUCCESS. Learn this and never wonder what you need to being doing next to keep moving forward.

* See the importance of concept and execution, both in your scripts, and in your life! * Understand business models - the economics and politics you need to go through the proper channels and get PAID!

* How networking & marketing can be made easy for introverts.

* See the process unfold before your eyes with these simple and achievable FOUR BASIC STEPS! This alone will change your selling approach!

Monday, October 27th at 5:30PM Pacific (Live Worldwide)

You are invited to join me to get a sneak peek at the course.

This first call is free - outside of your cell phone or long distance minutes.

Dial In: 712-432-3900
Bridge: 4489499#

Be sure to sign up for the preview call at www.screenplaybyphone.com/career
if you'd like to get a copy of the handout and the Mp3. And if you are interested
in learning more about the upcoming Your Signature Story: From Content Creator to Media Brand check out www.yoursignaturestory.com/yss/ysscourse.php.

To your success,

Philippa

Hear, there and everywhere...

For those of you in a listening mood:

Pilar Allesandra of OnthePage interviews my colleague Brad Kushner here at Creative Convergence was about our work with clients as literary managers.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/OnThePage

Chris Soth of Million Dollar Screnwriting interviews me on Hollywood by Phone.
http://askhollywoodbyphone.com/HBPPhilippaBurgess10-23-08.wav

Andy Coon of Final Cut Producer and fellow Montclair High School alumni interviews me.
http://fcproducer.com/2008/10/conversation-with-philippa-burgess-of-creative-convergence/

Also you can sign up for my upcoming course preview calls for Your Signature Story: From Content Creator to Media Brand and Million Dollar Screenwriting & Content Career at
http://www.yoursignaturestory.com/ask/ysscourse.php

Monday, October 23rd at 5:30PM Pacific / Live Worldwide
Wednesday, November 5th at 5:30PM Pacific / Live Worldwide.

Plus...If you have any questions about PR, join Jill Lublin, PR guru and co-author of
Guerilla PR on a call that we're producing with the San Francisco Writers Conference
on Thursday, October 30th at 5:30PM Pacific / Live Worldwide.
Register for this free call at www.sfwriters.org/ask/ask.php

Field Trip to Pixar

I spent quite a bit of time up in Northern California in August and September.

On one of my trips to San Francisco I met up with some of our Million Dollar Screenwriting & Content Career Alumni for a tour of Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville.

The company's blockbuster credits including Wall-E, Ratatouille, Cars, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc., Toy Story 1 & 2 and A Bug's Life.

Disney's Robert Iger is the CEO, Steve Jobs is the Chairman, and James Lasseter is the Chief Creative Officer. Since Disney came into the mix - they've significantly ramped up the production schedule. They are currently in production with Up! and Toy Story 3.

In the picture on the right are Lanser Howard, Bryan Hsuan and Brice Parker and I are standing in the main lobby.

Below is a picture of me posing with Scully and Mike.

We visited the animator huts, the rendering farm, the screening rooms, and the facility's commons and ample recreation grounds. We also stopped by Story Department and saw how the ideas are brought from script to screen. Andrew Stanton, Director/Writer of Finding Nemo describes his inspiration for the movie in saying, "In 1998 after working on A Bug's Life I wanted to spend time with my son. We were on the way to the park when I thought to myself, finally, some father/son time". He spent the whole day telling his son, "No," "Don't do that," "Stop" and it really concerned him that he was being run by fear. He knew it wasn't the way he wanted to be with his son - and this idea of the overprotective dad ultimately went on to become Finding Nemo.

Finding Nemo's development process began in May 2000 when the first storyboard was delivered. By October the 10,000 storyboard had been delivered and in November of that year they had the first screening of the film in story form. By May 2001 the 20,000 storyboard was delivered and in September the first sequence went into Production. In February 2002 the 30,000 storyboard was delivered followed by the fourth screening in April and in July the 40,000 storyboard was delivered followed by the fifth screening. In October 2002 they were ready for their first audience preview with the final 43,536 storyboard delivered that same month. The finished film was released in theaters in May 2003.

It was really great to get an insider look at the feature film animation process and get a feel for the whole corporate culture of Pixar Animation Studios.

Many thanks to the guys for making it a fantastic adventure for all.

Notes on the Run

One of those epiphany moments came in running my first 5K (3.1 Miles) this last Saturday, May 25th in the Brentwood 5K/10K. I don't yet consider myself a runner in an athletic sense -- but anyone who knows me, knows that I've been running in a single direction for most of my life.

I definitely had an inspiring thought towards the end of the run. In that last stretch there were two street lights ahead of us before the finish line that kept changing between green and red. We had the right of way to run through the red light. Nothing was stopping us. I checked myself for any physical pain and there was none. The only thing between me and reaching the finish was a a certain amount of patience and necessary strides. However, the thing that was going to make all the difference was the conversation in my head that said although it'd be easier to stop, that I must keep going.

Of course, I was running with one of my personal heroes, long-time Hollywood publicist Julian Myers of Julian Myers Public Relations and fellow EPPS (Entertainment Professional Publicists Society) member. He's a marathon runner and earlier this year to celebrate his 90th birthday he ran a mile for every year. Over the course of a week he ran 30 miles in Los Angeles county, 30 in Orange county, and 30 in San Diego county. Wow, I was impressed!!!

So here I am running with Julian who is 90 years old. I'm thinking that if he can do this -- then there is no reason that I can't do this.

And that's my other thought on success -- we set our own goals. So yes, there was a specific course that was set up for the run, but my only goal was to jog the entire thing. I wasn't particularly interested in my time. I was only interested in holding a steady pace and never breaking stride. And that's true for you as a content creator. Keep setting small but achievable goals that challenge you where ever you are in your process. How you define success is clearly of your own making.

Another analogy that applies to writers, authors, experts and content creators is that this is a marathon, not a sprint -- and you certainly don't need to do it alone. Having Julian alongside made it fun, served as inspiration, and kept me going at a steady and consistent pace.

As I reached the finish line I had a moment of strong emotion well up as I thought, "I've won in life because I don't ever stop even when it's been really hard."

In other news,

Thanks again to everyone who joined me on tonight's call.
You can learn more about the upcoming Your Signature Story: From Content Creator to Media Brand Intensive course and special bonus offers and audio files at:
www.yoursignaturestory.com/bonus
It's an amazing offer - so definitely check it out while there is still time.

The Virtual Art of Conferences

Hi,

What kind of writer, author, expert or content creator are you?

If you have any questions about leveraging and accessing the power of Hollywood, publishing and publicity, let me know at:

www.yoursignaturestory.com/askphilippa

Mahesh Grossman from AuthorsTeam is hosting a preview call for the next Your Signature Story Intensive tomorrow, Thursday, May 29th at 5PM Pacific, 7PM Central, 8PM Pacific.

My next question for you is -- Are you planning on checking out BEA (Book Expo America) this weekend?

Even if you're not in Los Angeles or it's just not a priority for your right now...

This weekend lots of movers and shakers in Hollywood and publishing are decending on the Convention Center in Downtown LA for the annual Book Expo America. We'll be there so I'll be sure to write up some thoughts to share with you next week as a post-event follow-up.
If you are a content creator you owe it to yourself to check it out!!!

It's true -- there are lots of ways to access information and people from whereever you are on the planet, regardless of your current mindset, relationships or circumstances.

For example check out:

http://bookexpo08.conferencepath.com/program/?action=viewall&group=day

You'll not only learn about hot topics in Hollywood, publishing and publicity you'll learn about the key industry players, producers, and reps just by reading the program.

And you can do this for the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, Willamette Writers Conference, San Franscisco Writers Conference, Maui Writers Conference, Southern California Writers Conference, San Diego Writers Conference, LATV Fest, Screenwriting Expo, Screenwriting Conference at Santa Fe, and many others.

Look for the names and companies and then spend some time doing your homework online. Google them, go to their websites, read interviews, learn about their projects, clients, or companies.

As a content creator, I promise you this is time well spent.

Soon enough you'll know who you are most passionate about connecting with and I've got lots of tips and tricks for getting to them at the right time in the right way.

Hope you find it helpful.

Please let me know what you find...

And I hope you'll join me for tomorrow's call with Mahesh Grossman from Authorsteam.com.

To your success,

Philippa

It's True Love for the Romantic Comedy Writer

HERE'S A NOTE FROM Chris Soth of MillionDollarScreenwriting.com and HollywoodbyPhone.com

Re: Billy Mernit was OFF THE HOOK!

Hey Gang,

I hope you enjoyed our Hollywood By Phonecall with Billy Mernit, King of the RomanticComedy! Thanks for all the great questions and attendance on the call, you really made it great!

And yes, there are still spots availablein Billy's class, THE course on Writing The Romantic Comedy, previously only available here in Los Angeles!

You can take a look at the course syllabus here:

http://www.screenplaybyphone.com/billy/

AND all the bonuses:

Philippa Burgess's Million-Dollar Career Course

And:

3 months of Hollywood By Phone, WITH:

The HollywoodByPhone.com Archive...

...every call on MP3!

http://www.screenplaybyphone.com/billy/

That's every call we've ever done!Managers, Agents, Producers and MORE!
And, all the great, Romantic Comedy infofrom THE SOURCE, Billy Mernit!

That link again:

http://www.screenplaybyphone.com/billy/

All classes delivered LIVE via conference call, FULLY interactive!

Thanks "A Million",

Chris Soth
MillionDollarScreenwriting.comHollywoodByPhone.com (It's OFF THE HOOK!)

--

King of the ROM COM, Billy Mernit

Hey,

As a strong believer in embracing the learning curve, I am also a big fan of a number of screenwriting gurus who not only know their stuff but are committed to sharing it with others.

Among these are:

Screenwriter Chris Soth from MillionDollarScreenwriting.com and HollywoodbyPhone.com

and

Billy Mernit, who literally wrote the book WRITING THE ROMANTIC COMEDY

And tomorrow, Wednesday, May 28th -- Chris will be interviewing Billy at
5:30PM Pacific / 7:30PM Central / 8:30 PM Eastern.

You can ask Billy Mernit your questions --

-- about writing,
-- the romantic comedy genre,
-- movies today,
-- state of the industry
-- or anything else that may be on your mind...

To register for the call go to: www.screenplaybyphone.com/askbilly

If you are interested in romantic comedy you won't want to miss this!!!

To your success,

Philippa

AuthorsTeam & BEA

Hello,

Just an FYI that Mahesh Grossman from Authorsteam.com will be hosting a call with me this
Thursday, May 28th at 5PM.

I'll be answering questions on "Selling Your Story to Hollywood"

This call is for writers, authors, experts and content creators. If you want to learn how to effectively access and leverage the power of Hollywood to get your stories told, read and sold - you won't want to miss this.

We'll be discussing:

* The Three Reasons Hollywood Buyers Buy - What are they looking for? From whom? And what motivates them to commit to your project?

* The five recent trends in movies, television, and publishing - that present you with more opportunitiesthan ever before.

* Why Hollywood is looking for authors of published books, ordinary people, and experts in their fields-- (Surprise! You may be a sought after commodity.)

* The secret to why J.K. Rowling is worth over a billion dollars and what she really shares in common with Harry Potter?

* Why telling "your signature story" is essential to your success and how to communicate it powerfully and effectively through entertainment and media channels.

And much, much more.

To register for the call please visit www.yoursignaturestory.com/askphilippa

And then it's off to BEA this weekend. Book Expo America is in Los Angeles this year. I will be there most of the weekend. If you'll be down at the event please let me know so we can connect.

To your success,

Philippa

---

Rhythm and Buzz

Expert advice proved proverbial music to publicists’ ears on May 15 as EPPS members gathered at the International Cinematographers Guild in Los Angeles to hear ways to heighten awareness for both up-and-coming and established recording artists. The evening panel – moderated by Karen DeMarco, Zazzle’s VP, Corporate Communications, and sponsored by Business Wire and the IGC -- featured four leading authorities in today’s technology-driven music media market.

Todd Martens, entertainment producer at the Los Angeles Times who also writes for the Envelope’s Extended Play blog, sounded a common theme when he said, “It doesn’t matter to me if it’s a CD, streaming or a MySpace link.” He explained, “If we like the music, we’ll circle back to get more information.” Martens’ daily duties are split between devising new website content and creating ways to present the newspaper’s material online.

Dan Kimpel, a noted expert on popular music and songwriters, agreed that it’s still “all about the music” even as technologies advance. Kimpel, whose outlets range from “Song Biz” columns and Music Connection magazine to Delta Air Online and books, looks especially for “something atmospheric, something that has energy.”

MK of Popbytes.com explained, “I need a picture, I need a stream or an MP3 I can legally post” for his gossip blog covering music, film, television and people and said to have 500,000 unique visitors monthly. Credibility is key to pitches, MK noted, adding that he wants to give stories “my own personal spin, my own personal touch.”

“People think we’re run by robots, not real people,” mused Kurt Patat, senior communications manager and PR lead for AOL Entertainment, which includes AOL Music, Moviephone, AOL Television, AOL Radio, SHOUTcast, Winamp, Asylum, Urlesque and AOL Video, said to attract 23 million visitors each month. Patat looks for news first and foremost and to drill deeper to serve different audiences on different platforms.

Check Out Podcast and People

Hi!

Thanks again to everyone who joined me last night for our YSS Alumni Reunion Call -- "Optioning Rights a View From Both Sides of the Table." If you are interested in listening to the audio you can find it at www.creativecvg.com/yoursignaturestory.php. Lots of great questions and always fun to get the gang together again along with bringing new people into the fold.

Also wanted to share the recent success of YSS Alumni, Libba Phillips who runs Outpost for Hope - a non-profit for kids off the grid. She had her first story in Reader's Digest this past Christmas -- and now she just got another great write up about her work in People Magazine.

Here's what she writes:

"Hi...Just a quick note to share a success! If you have an opportunity to check out the current People Magazine issue (Mariah Carey and Nic Cannon on the cover)...inside you'll find a story about the search for my sister Ashley and the inspiration behind the mission of Outpost for Hope (www.outpostforhope.org). There have been a few other media inquiries including some national tv possibilities - I am thinking carefully about the points/short soundbytes I'd like to make and my goals for the future. It's a little busier than I'd like at the moment but I suppose these are good problems to have. :)

I hope that everyone is doing well and moving steps closer to the life of your dreams.
Many blessings,
Libba

Around Town

Hello,

One of the things I love about working in entertainment and media is that it is very much about working within a community of people who know each other. One side of it is very much in the trenches doing the work -- and the other side of it is very social. It can be hard work sometimes keeping up but it can also be very satisfying and a lot of fun.

I just wanted to highlight a number of events that I've attended recently -- all of which were rich in great information as well as providing a great opportunity to connect at all levels of the industry.

-- Mark Burnett of Mark Burnett Productions speaking at an iHollywood event sponsored by NXTcomm at the Luxe Hotel in Bel Air.

-- Diversity Press Editors and Producers speaking at the Entertainment Professional Publicists Society (EPPS) monthly breakfast panel at the ICG in Hollywood.

Five editors and producers on an EPPS panel April 17 suggested ways to score placement at print, broadcast and internet outlets serving African-American, Latino and other ethnic audiences. Marlene Merzas, director of media relations, BMI, moderated the compelling breakfast session, sponsored by Business Wire and held at the International Cinematographers Guild in Los Angeles,

“We’re interested in music, television and film – in that order, and it’s very celebrity driven,” explained Antonio Mejias Rentas, entertainment editor at La Opinion, the largest Spanish newspaper in the U.S. His department also covers lifestyle, food, fashion, and health. Whether pitching in English or Spanish, Rentas cautioned publicists to be both grammatically correct and culturally aware.

“We’re looking for events that matter to our audience,” said Lee Bailey, publisher of the web portal EURweb.com and the Electronic Urban Report. He also produces Radio Scope, now in 40 US markets and 70 countries, serving an audience that is urban/black 25-45, and split 40/60 between men and women.

“We always want multicultural,” said Cleveland O'Neal III, founder of Connection III. “Made in Hollywood,” the company’s flagship television show thatlooks at how and why movies are made. Connection III also produces “Made in Hollywood: Teen Edition.”

A. Scott Galloway, music editor at Urban Network, seeks stories that are socially relevant or about exceptional musical quality.” His industry magazine recently expanded to a consumer audience.

Marsella Isaza, entertainment producer at Associated Press TV News noted, “When we put out a story, you can assume half the planet will see it.” Her department covers all aspects of entertainment.

“We want to cover artists whom people are searching for online,” said Billy Johnson, Jr. senior program director-Urban and video programming lead at Yahoo! Music. Its feature, “Who’s Next,” focuses on new artists. Johnson suggested a two-week lead time, and noted that added that AP and Yahoo! blogs are Yahoo! Music’s primary sources of news.

“Come to us with everything,” advised Jorge Usatorres, morning show producer at Latino 96.3 KXOL. The station broadcasts primarily in English with a healthy mix of Spanglish and Spanish and builds out from an 18 to 34-year-old female demographic. He urged publicists to pitch him anything anytime affirming, “It’s the job of our talent and executive producers to take a regular story or a national celebrity and turn it into gold.”

-- Senior-level Studio PR Professionals at the Meet the Mentor at EPPS sponsored by Scoop Seminars.

EPPS Members had the opportunity to have individual questions answered one-on-one with PR experts at a Meet-the-Mentor session, sponsored by SCOOP Seminars, prior to the panel. Joe Schlosser, senior vice president, Publicity at NBC-Universal Television Studios, and Thomas Tyrer, senior vice president, Communications & Cross-Platform Operations, at Fox Studios generously offered their time and advice.

-- An evening at Darren Star's house (Creator of "Sex and the City") in the Hollywood Hills sponsored by The Hollywood Hill.

Darren Star opened his home to members and friends of The Hollywood Hill as well as his own friends and family for a fantastic party sponsored by Tequila Reserva de Don Julio, Yahoo! and Wired Magazine. It definitely was confirmation that a hit TV show can buy a spectacular property and tons of great artwork -- and he certainly has amazing taste. One of the many bars at the party was set up in the library which was treasure trove of great books with a stunning view of the city lights of Century City and the greater LA basin. Darren was extremely gracious as he met with guests. When a tyro scribe asked about the value of relationships for breaking into Hollywood, he confirmed, "Contacts will only take you so far."

This was the kick-off for an all day Conference on "The New Hi-Tech Robin Hoods." Saturday's event featured speakers from DonorsChoose.org, Kiva.org, Microplace.org and Grameen Foundation.

Julie Lacourture, the Deputy Director of DonorsChoose.org talked about how their non-profit was created by a former teacher in the Bronx to help public school teachers to fund projects and get materials. Many of these projects provide outreach to the poorest schools in America with most students living under the poverty line. Teachers are able to put together a proposal asking for what they need. Once it is approved it is mounted on their site for funding. Once a project is funded the organization procures the materials for the teachers who are then able to fulfill on implementing their target. The needs can be for more books, tables, computers, art supplies, or sporting equipment or retrofitting. Donorschoose.org also provides those who send money with a funding audit report so they know how the money was spent. To date they've brought over $22 million in private funding to the American public school system. They've also brought smiles and both basic and innovative educational opportunities to children and teachers. Those who contribute get to share in the pride of accomplishment with pictures and thank you notes from each classroom project they help to fund.

Matt and Jessica Flannery co-Founded Kiva.org which is one of the newest players in the micro-finance space to really make a splash. They have the simple goal of connecting entrepreneurs in some of the world's poorest countries with lenders who can help them fund their initiatives. Their website is a portal to connect individuals around the world. Combining his interest in business and technology and her passion for third world issues and economic development they founded Kiva.org. The word "kiva" in Swahili means "agreement" or "unity" and in Native American it means "a gathering place." There is no interest paid to the lender on the loan, but it changes the model from being one of charity to one of investment. On average about 97% of all of the loans made are repaid by the borrower based on the profits from the establishment and growth of their business. Their tag line is "loans that change lives".The investment sought is used for endeavors in agriculture, crafts, and transportation, among others. Since they began in 2006, they've raised over $11 million to empower individuals around the world to raise themselves out of poverty.

More about Microplace.org and Grameen Foundation soon...

-- Wrap party for "The Office" at the Santa Monica Pier.

-- Speaking at Sherwood Oaks Experimental College on a panel with Literary Agent, David Warden of The Warden Group in Beverly Hills.

-- "Freakin' Sweet" was an evening of comedy and musical revue performed by Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein that featured Family Guy orchestra. It was also an apt name to describe the $100 million +++ deal that Family Guy and American Dad creator Seth MacFarlane just struck with Fox that was announced last week. The event held at the Ahmanson Theatre was a fundraiser for The Center Theatre Group to support new playwrights. Special guest Janeane Garafalo opened the evening and set the tone for the raucous, laugh-out-loud, sexually-imbued show that brought the house down. Mad props for Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein's comedic brilliance and musical talents. It made for a great Saturday night!

Come What May

Hello,

Your Signature Story is all about how to access and leverage the power of Hollywood, publishing and publicity. You are invited to join me for a teleseminar chat on Tuesday, May 13th on "Optioning Rights: A View From Both Sides of the Table" at 6PM Pacific. Register for the call at www.creativecvg.com/ysscall.php.

Thanks again to everyone who just joined me for the Your Signature Story: From Content Creator to Media Brand 8-Session Intensive(www.creativecvg.com/yoursignaturestory.php). It was a fantastic group and I'm really inspired by what everyone is up to as writers, authors, experts and content creators. It was obvious from all my conversations with participants that everyone got tools and insights that will certainly take them to the next level.

Our next YSS Intensive is coming up in June and I hope you'll consider joining us. As we go, I'm also looking to expand the resources the I offer - including blog postings, an expanded newsletter and more live teleseminar chats.

So what's happening here in Hollywood? I'm very happy to see that the mood around town has brightened post-Strike and things seem to be picking up again in terms of deals - both options and sales. Production is still a bit touch and go since no one knows how the SAG negotiations are going to play out and their contract comes up at the end of June. We've had some casting director friends say they've seen several projects halted because its uncertain where negotiations may go. In any case, the development side of the buinsess seems to be clipping along with lots of renewed energy on all fronts. It's a great time to be getting yourself out there.

I've been out at several events over the past couple of weeks and just wanted to share some of the highlights.

-- Patti Felker of Felker Tzocek Gellman Suddleson LLP was honored as Entertainment Lawyer of the Year for 2008 by the Beverly Hills Bar Association at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

It was fun to see a room full of entertainment industry professionals, many wearing track suits, in such a formal setting as the Crystal Ballroom.

Jeremy Piven ("Entourage"), the master of ceremonies at the event said, "Thank Patti for the dress code." She's known not only for being one of the best lawyers in entertainment, but also the best dressed, (i.e. most comfortable, ever...). She wears sweats to work because -- well, she can!!! Nike custom made her attire for the event -- an incredible faux diamond trimmed black track suit. Brendan Fraiser, Orlando Bloom, Chad Michael Murray, among others all gave homage to her sense of style, her class, and above-all her top notch ability to passionately represent her clients.

Phil Rosenthal ("Everybody Loves Raymond") gave a keynote along with his wife Monica who attested, "We have the best lawyer with the best deal that anyone has gotten anywhere." Phil Rosenthal reportedly had gotten over $50 million +++ deal as the show went into its eighth season (hello, T. Harv Eker looking for "passive income" from Hollywood). Phil told the story of how he met Patti in high school in Rockland County, NY, recounting, "I was captain of the football team and she was head cheerleader." He mused about how he went on to play for the Dallas Cowboys, then they lost touch, and at some point childhood dreams die hard and she had gone on to law school. A career ending injury brought him to LA to be an actor-writer-whatever. They met again walking on the street (a very rare thing indeed for two people to be walking on the street in LA), and now she was a powerful entertainment attorney. She invited him to stay with her and he lived on her couch for a year with the understanding that he give her 5% of everything he makes until he dies (this last part of the story seemed accurate).

The event provided a great opportunity for everyone to express their gratitude and respect for the work Patti Felker does in this industry. She's known for being fierce and fiercely loyal. Director Dean Parisot ("Galaxy Quest") said, "She has a passion and commitment to her clients and likes finding them before the spotlight does." She also has a great sense of humor (best appreciated by those who are not on the other side of the table in any negotiation). As Greg Berlanti ("Everwood") put it, "She brings a shotgun to kill a fly." When Orlando Bloom wants something, he too, knows he's got his secret weapon in saying, "Bring out the Felker!" It was an incredible event to honor one of the most outstanding entertainment attorneys in our field.

And thanks Patti, for all your support and guidance from your friends at Creative Convergence.


Other events that I'll share more about soon include...

-- Mark Burnett of Mark Burnett Productions speaking at an iHollywood event sponsored by NXTcomm at the Luxe Hotel in Bel Air.

-- Diversity Press Editors and Producers speaking at the Entertainment Professional Publicists Society (EPPS) monthly breakfast panel at the ICG in Hollywood.

-- Senior-level Studio PR Professionals at the Meet the Mentor at EPPS sponsored by Scoop Seminars.

-- An evening at Darren Star's house (Creator of "Sex and the City") in the Hollywood Hills sponsored by The Hollywood Hill. This was the kick-off for an all day Conference on "The New Hi-Tech Robin Hoods." The event featured speakers from DonorsChoose.org, Kiva.org, Microplace.org and Grameen Foundation.

-- Wrap party for "The Office" at the Santa Monica Pier.

-- Speaking at Sherwood Oaks Experimental College on a panel with Literary Agent, David Warden of The Warden Group in Beverly Hills.

-- Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein performed "Freakin' Sweet" as an evening of music and comedy that featured The Family Guy orchestra. The event held at the Ahmanson Theater was a fundraiser for The Center Theater Group.

What is Your Signature Story?

What is Your Signature Story?

The one story you have to tell.

Only one?

Yes. Just one.

The reason that I invited you here, is that I want to change your thinking...

and can I be bold enough to say, change your feelings, your actions, and ultimately your results.

I have so much that I want to share with you...but we are going to start with just five new concepts.

Yes, the changes that technology and consumer trends have brought are giving content creators more power than ever before to shine. With a little effort are no more boundaries to gaining access. That said, as a writer, expert or content you are require to be far more prepared and are held to a much higher standard.

Working as an entertainment professional across film, television, new media, and publishing I have a unique perspective and experience that I can bring to our dialogue. I am excited to engage with you to help you create the creative, personal and financial success you desire as a writer, expert or content creator.

But in this format I am going to dole it out in small bit-sizeable chunks.

This is the beginning of a very important conversation that I hope will transform your relationship with yourself, you stories, your audience, and with the entertainment and media industries at large.

The fact is that you have to do a lot more of the heavy lifting before you can take advantage of the many opportunities in this area.

Here are seven basic concepts I want to explore deeper with you in the coming Your Signature Story newsletters.

First. Think in terms of you and your story as a Message. Great stories have a certain authenticity about them. Your Message should be the perfect expression of "Who are You?" "What is Your Mission?" and "Who is Your Audience?". That's your signature story. It's where you find your emotional core that grabs and holds your audience. (I have a great examples including John Grisham, Matt Groening, and JK Rowling to discuss).

Second. We're going to talk about the economics of content. All content is either purchased directly by the audience (book, DVD, theater ticket) or underwritten by the advertiser looking to get to your audience (television, radio, internet). We'll want to keep this in mind as you develop your brand, content, and platform.

Third. How many mediums can that message cross...book, feature film, television series, magazine article, lecture, website, ebook, newsletter, blogspot, teleseminar, foreign book rights, interviews, talk show guest spots, comic book, graphic novel, radio program, CD, short film, webisode, mobisode, merchandising and licensing. And each of these has its on process and requirements which we'll go through in depth.

Fourth. Break those Messages into four general categories so rather than thinking in terms of film, book, tv, and media -- think in terms of 1) Real World Fiction 2) Fantasy or Animated Fiction 3) Narrative Non-Fiction 4) General or Perscriptive Non-Fiction. Then work to build out a story and a platform based on the respective rules, relationships, and natural process of those respective worlds. This alone will streamline your efforts.

Fifth. There are many cottage industries across the entire spectrum of entertainment and media that don't necessarily have a working knowledge of each other. They also aren't typically designed to nurture emerging talent or be on board for the long haul. It's your job as a writer and content creator to learn how to navigate the system; create your content to a professional standard; develop your platform so that you can find and rally your audience; team build in all areas over time; and be strategic and savvy in the dealmaking process. This is all very doable, but you need to prepared and actively in process.

Sixth. Build your creative and professional community. Know that working in entertainment and media is to be working within a community and that within each cottage industry most professionals know each other. They also have a certain language and etiquitte that you'll want to learn. This includes the basic principles of investing in your yourself and your career; understand that things take time; accept that there is a certain amount of trial and error; seek professional counsel and also find independent opinions; and lastly, there is no doubt that you'll get back what you put in. There is a lot that I can share with you about embracing and thriving in the entertainment and media culture.

Seventh. Learn about what it takes to build an ongoing relationship with your audience. What does it mean to create and maintain a viable brand in today's competitive marketplace. How does PR, marketing, advertising, viral, online marketing, virtual communities, public appearances, reviews, awards, word-of-mouth and ongoing consumer outreach and audience appreciation further your brand identify and materials and the emotional connection your audience has with them.

So we begin...

I trust as writers, experts, and content creators you knew there was a lot of ground to cover. I also know you all bring tons of your own experience and knowledge to the table by what you've already done. That's what's really special is that Your Signature Story is building a community of writers, experts and content creators. Not only is this an opportunity to learn, it also an opportunity to share your passion, and find ways to express your signature story across all sorts of media platforms.

To Your Success,
Philippa

San Franscisco Writers Conference

Feb. 18th -- This is my second year as a speaker at the San Franscisco Writers conference (www.sfwriters.org). This event takes place every year in February at the St. Mark's Hotel on Nob Hill. It's a great place for writers to meet each other as well as book agents, editors, published authors, and other industry professionals. The conference is organized by Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen from the San Francisco based Larsen Pomada Agency (www.larsen-pomada.com). Along with the Santa Barbara Writers Conference in June (www.sbwritersconference.com), it is one of my favorites.

This year I presented with author Marta Acosta (www.martaacosta.com) and independent editor Lisa Rector-Maass on "What Happens After Your Publishing Deal". We spoke a lot about platform development and marketing, and the talk itself inspired me to start my blog. I am looking for share my experience as an entertainment professional to help content creators succeed navigating film, television, publishing, and media. I'd also really also like to have my own book done by this time next year. That said, I am going to be posting some of the working copy here on the blog, and I invite your feedback.