WHILE WE ARE SPEAKING OF THIS, allow me to offer you a tiny bit of gentle advice: Q&As like this or on zoom or in person are fab places to ask about how things are done. They’re not a good place to ask someone if they’ll read your stuff or write a thing based on your idea. https://twitter.com/serathegamble/status/1264960238748184576

I know it can be challenging to find great people to give you feedback. I know you want someone like Steven Canals to read your sample (who the fuck wouldnt!). I know you want an audition for your fave show. Said w love; asking on twitter/ insta just isn’t the best way.

About auditions, the way to get those is through casting directors and agents. How do you get them to see you? Well, you’re here on the internet so you have the tools to find every single chat or interview every single casting director ever gave on this topic!

About getting folks to read your stuff, and again, I say this with so much love because I want you to succeed: giving notes is delicate and reading critically takes a lot of energy. It is best done for you by someone with whom you have an existing relationship....

That means a friend, a teacher in a class you take, a fellow writer in a writing group you form or join. (In an upcoming q&a, a wildly successful writer told me about her ongoing, 20 year writing circle!). As for getting actual showrunners to read you, those elusive creatures...

I know this is the brass ring because it can lead directly to employment. So imagine how frequently people ask them for this. The support staff on their shows; actual staff; friends; former coworkers; actors; crew; reps; everyone, basically. Imagine their crazy PILE....

BTW. I LOVE the pile. The pile is gold. It’s full of hard work and great ideas and the next amazing person I want to collaborate with. But also, I’m gonna be super honest with you (and the folks waiting for me to read, annoyed) and tell you; I am like a YEAR behind on that pile.

So, just giving you the real: it’s unlikely a showrunner will say “sure sure!” to someone they don’t even know whilst they are trying to do right by all the folks they already do. You can get through barrier, of course, you talented, charming thing—

—by meeting people at events, by reaching out respectfully and without making a huge ask right away... over time, you might become someone this former stranger knows and roots for and would like to help. It’s basic human nature shit, you know? And showrunners are basic humans.

But I’ll also add, no one stranger holds the keys to your future in their hands. Becoming a professional just doesn’t come down to one cool script read by one boss person and then bam, giant house and you’re partying with Jonah Hill. It’s like... a daily discipline. Foreverish.

So with that in mind, I’d humbly suggest giving your fabulous desire to hustle a slight adjustment, so you focus less on petitioning powerful strangers, more on building mutually beneficial relationships with people you meet along the path, be they ahead, behind or in lockstep.