The prevailing wisdom says that “you must move to L.A.” if you want to make it as a TV or feature writer. This week we meet Tim Stubinski, a Canadian writer who has not only had several features optioned, but got an award winning television pilot produced and on the air… all while living in a small town five hours away from Toronto.
Are you frustrated, trying to work at a day job, while writing in your spare time? Tim Stubinski continues to work as a salesman in his small town, yet is constantly networking, pitching, and writing. He offers great tips on how to write the best query letters, how to pitch over the phone, and how social media tools like Facebook and Twitter are invaluable to anyone trying to break into writing, but especially the “remote writer.”
Hear how he and his writing partner Michael Markus managed to get several feature scripts optioned, and how they made the decision to turn one of their features into a TV pilot, called Wolf Canyon. This pilot got produced by Really Real Films out of Vancouver, starring Kevin Sorbo, Lorne Cardinal and comedienne Nikki Payne… it aired nationwide in Canada, and won five LEO awards!
As a salesman and successful writer, Tim offers much encouragement to other remote writers. He shares openly about the statistics he has observed in how many rejections he must get through before he finds someone who will read and respond to his script, and reminds us all that when selling a script, it’s the “yes” that matters!
Follow Tim on Twitter: @timstubinski
Buy Gray’s book for only $4.99! Look for it on Amazon – How To Break In To TV Writing: Insider Interviews.
Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,000 TV writers. Find our previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.com or on Gray’s YouTube channel.
First published March 13, 2011.