Hi All, Here is a link to a blog i wrote about the industry shenanigans of 2024 and how we can better navigate 2025. "Chaos ruled the film and TV industry in 2024, but here’s how you can pivot, pitch smarter, and claim your place in the new entertainment landscape." Ejoy, leave a comment or just say hi!
Hi, Alex LeMay. I’m a Stage 32 Lounge Moderator. I wanted to let you know I moved your post from the Distribution Lounge to the Your Stage Lounge because it’s promotion. Promotion can go in the Your Stage Lounge and on Your Wall.
You can put promotion in one of the main Lounges (Distribution Lounge, Producing Lounge, Filmmaking/Directing Lounge, etc.) if your post starts a conversation that’s helpful or educational to the community. You hint at things in your post that are helpful/educational to the community. If you give more detail in your post about what's in the blog and why you feel that information can be helpful to others in the community, you can put it in the Distribution Lounge.
You can also put promotion in one of the main Lounges if you're asking for feedback.
Let me know if you have any questions.
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Hi Maurice, thank you for the heads-up and clarification—I truly appreciate it. I want to make sure I’m adhering to the Lounge’s protocol, as I value being a part of this community and the standards you maintain.
To clarify, my posts and articles aren’t about selling anything—they’re meant to provide actionable insights and tools to help filmmakers and storytellers navigate the seismic shifts happening in the industry. I genuinely believe that within this chaos lies incredible opportunity, and my goal is to equip creators with strategies and tactics that I see working today. I've had a fairly good career and made a lot of mistakes and I'm trying to give away what I've learned to save other filmmakers from stepping into some of the unnecessary potholes I stepped in.
If it’s okay with you, I’d love to share these posts as actionable resources for the community. I’m not interested in building a mailing list or anything of that sort—just in offering value and fostering meaningful conversations. Please let me know if there’s a better way to approach this or if there’s anything else I should adjust. Thanks again for your guidance!
You're welcome, Alex LeMay. Even though your posts and articles aren’t about selling anything, your blog is still being promoted when you post about it. If you take the steps I posted in my comment ("give more detail in your post about what's in the blog and why you feel that information can be helpful to others in the community"), it'll be fine to post about your blog in one of the main Lounges. That way, the focus is on the educational aspect of your post.
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Maurice Vaughan Thanks so much. Big help and thanks for clarifying. I'll be sure to contextualize these post and frame them for education purposes. btw - amazed how welcoming and generous this community has been since i joined. So great to see such a positive culture on the internet these day!
You're welcome, Alex LeMay. Yeah, this community is really welcoming, generous, and positive.
Excellent advice and insight in your blog! I’ve been writing scripts, getting pitch material ready, polishing scripts, learning more about screenwriting and other areas of the industry, and networking this year, getting ready for 2025.
“Track Your Progress: Keep a spreadsheet or journal of your pitches, rejections, and learnings. Look for patterns in what’s working and what’s not.” I’ve been thinking about making a spreadsheet. I’ve been keeping track of my pitches, rejections, and learnings in my head, but it’s too much.
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Hi Maurice, I wanted to take this out of the comment thread to dive a bit deeper.
I’m so glad you found value in my blog post—tracking really does make a huge difference! My company actually created a tracking spreadsheet for a studio client that might be useful for you and the broader community. It’s a powerful tool for organizing pitches, tracking responses, and identifying patterns (the pattern recognition is the most powerful part of this).
If it’s helpful, I’d be happy to create a short walk-through video to show members how to use it and make the spreadsheet available for download. What do you think would be the best way to share this while staying aligned with the community posting guidelines?
A tracking spreadsheet sounds great, Alex LeMay! So does a walk-through video! You could post the video on Your Wall, in the Your Stage Lounge, and/or the Video section of your profile.
Here's the link to post videos to your profile (www.stage32.com/videos). You can also get to that page by hovering over the "Browse" button near the top of Stage 32 and clicking "Videos" in the drop-down menu.
If you wanted to post your video in the Screenwriting Lounge, you could do that if you talk about what's in the video within the post and explain why you feel that info can help members in the community. Or you could post your video in the Screenwriting Lounge and ask writers questions about their tracking process as a way to start a discussion.