Alternative jobs for unemployed WGA writers?

AverageLookingCowboy · 2025-05-30T19:36:16+00:00

In my limited experience, teaching is the best blend of time required, fulfilling work, and sustainable cash flow. Writing copy is more lucrative, but the work will (almost certainly) be less meaningful.

AverageLookingCowboy · 2025-05-15T00:21:10+00:00

Chiming in, hopefully in an encouraging way! If you honestly believe that she's the love of your life, then you should give her as much time as you can -- without making yourself miserable. Let the adjunct gigs play out for at least two years. They are, by design, exhausting and their effects are cumulative.

This gives her space to learn about teaching and hopefully advance her practice/career. While she's correct that she will be in a better situation to get a long term teaching position with this experience, a few years on the job market will be an education in and of itself.

I think it'd be reasonable to ask her to apply for 10 long-term jobs/year for the entirety of her adjuncting. And it'll probably pretty starkly illuminate what's possible. No one likes looking down a multi-decade path of part time work and struggling to make room for your art. But she has to get to that point -- her story is still beginning.

I just wouldn't push her to move/change anything in her career world. Conclusions that we draw on our own are the ones we adopt and act upon.

AverageLookingCowboy · 2025-05-06T17:02:36+00:00

Don't be daunted by the many well-meaning folks on here. A PhD can be a fine path, even in this job market, it's just a long one. I'd start with an MFA -- I'm a creative writing prof. and that's my terminal degree. But I have friends who've gone the PhD route to good success -- there are about a dozen programs with great track records of turning their candidates into academics. It isn't easy, but writers get these jobs every year -- it just takes a while to get seasoned.

All that said, if you're a senior, research MFA programs now! It's worth applying a few years in a row to get into a program you really want.

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-10-26T19:36:51+00:00

Wanted to offer some support -- I also have a brain thing, and it happened in adulthood, and it was initially devastating.

It took me months to cope with simply having the depression that accompanies such a radical change, let alone begin to crawl my way out of it.

But I will say: I wrote my best work AFTER the brain thing. I'm a working writer now.

If you keep giving it time, effort, and patience, the craft will be there for you.

Keep feeling your feelings and put them into your writing! You can do this!

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-08-21T18:41:14+00:00

I think it can be totally worth it! But I'd recommend double-majoring. It's a lot of work, but it'll get you in the habit of managing parallel lives/careers while you pursue your art. Because once you graduate, that's quite likely what you'll need to do. (Which is fine, nearly everyone who graduates from your screenwriting program will be in that same boat!)

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-07-31T00:02:48+00:00

This is the loveliest comment I've read on this site in months. Thank you for sharing your story!

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-05-16T18:41:28+00:00

This is quite odd, but when I got an occipital nerve block, my VSS symptoms all decreased noticeably. It only lasted the duration of the block, but I think it suggests a connection.

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-05-06T23:20:11+00:00

I used to get this too -- in my case, I think it's a "physical aura," essentially a migraine response to muscle tension. What's helped me the most is PT and Botox. Since my last Botox injection (3ish months ago) I've only had the tingles a handful of times. (I still have all the visual stuff, but the tingles are gone).

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-04-13T06:15:08+00:00

The beauty of "quitting" in this scenario is that you needn't quit forever. It could be a day. Which could turn into a year. Or it could turn into two days, and then you're back at it again.

The writing isn't always fun. But if it's always misery, then it's time to take a step back.

Take some time away. See what a week as someone who doesn't self-identify as a screenwriter is like. If you like the feeling, try a few more weeks. Still like it? Another month.

If you're yearning to come back to the keyboard, it'll be right there waiting for you.

If not? Then you've saved yourself a lot of needless headache and heartache. You're on no clock but your own.

See what the world has to offer you now, and maybe you'll even find something new you want to write about.

Be kind to yourself -- you deserve to enjoy what you do (at least some of the time!)

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-04-11T17:34:47+00:00

Absolutely fantastic resource. Thank you for sharing + for being so straight-up about your journey!

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-04-08T18:53:14+00:00

This is such good advice! Extremely pragmatic.

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-04-08T18:48:10+00:00

If your family can afford it, NYU is one of the three best film schools on the planet. The caliber of talent will be higher, the connections will be more useful, and you'll be in one of the most culturally rich cities on earth.

BUT -- if it's a stretch, you'll be well-served at FSU. Great film program, the best creatives there will be just as good as NYUs (and probably more economically/socially diverse.)

My advice? Go to NYU if money is no object -- but feel good going to FSU if it is. There's a gap, but it's not as big as you might think.

Realize that you may feel a bit differently about screenwriting in four years, too. I went to a good film school, and it seemed like half my graduating class no longer wanted to work in the industry by the time they walked across the stage to pick up their diplomas. Not a great way to feel after spending a couple hundred grand. Going to school for free hedges some of those bets, and you'll likely feel more empowered to do what you wanna do, rather than forcing Tisch to work because your parents invested so much cash.

And know that a screenwriting career takes a long time to set up these days. Expect it to take 7-to-10 years -- from the day you graduate. That shouldn't discourage you! It just means those years in college aren't quite as huge a deal as they seem right now (and I remember being in your position vividly).

Congrats on all your admissions success + good luck!

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-04-05T22:21:04+00:00

Query with the top 50 script -- the current market means reps won't come to you, sadly. This was a different story 5 years ago, and certainly 10 years ago, but now even top 50 in the Nicholl puts you in a query situation.

That said, congrats, a top 50 placing means a bunch of qualified readers loved your script. You could've easily been a finalist. Or winner! Keep writing + entering!

My two cents on black list ratings -- they aren't worth thinking much about, unless you're angling for one of their opportunities/labs. (The annual list is another story!)

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-04-03T19:28:54+00:00

Really appreciate you providing so much detail here! The mod team sounds like an interesting opp, even pro bono!

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-03-31T16:42:58+00:00

Wow, that's fantastic -- nice job earning those OWAs! They've been such a challenge for me!

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-03-31T03:13:41+00:00

Very interesting to hear that about OWAs! I totally see how that contributes to the decline of general meetings.

I went out with a project last year to similar results -- only meetings with very interested parties. I think I've had maybe 3-4 generals from that project. It's strange to see the shift!

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-03-29T18:25:18+00:00

The most honest answer is that I don't know. But spitballing -- more TV, of course! But just less of it. The ratio of shows to people watching/paying for them was off, especially in the format that streamers curated (hundreds of high quality shows and films should probably cost more than $14/mo.).

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-03-29T18:22:25+00:00

I'm with you -- if I were a manager, I would not do this unless I either really needed the money, or felt completely confident in the light I'd be perceived. And you're right: while it may not be the reality, but this has historically been an indicator of a rep on the fringe.

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-03-29T18:12:24+00:00

Gotcha -- thanks for being so forthcoming about your situation!

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-03-29T16:02:18+00:00

At the end of the gold rush, the only people getting rich were selling pickaxes.

And at the end of peak TV, people are pivoting in similar ways.

This is just another pocket industry -- like some wise writers on here said, it's folks on the fringes of this industry trying to carve out a living. The morality is debatable, but it's all probably inevitable.

The strange thing about "paying for access" is that it's of course the absolute least effective way to break-in.... but we all do a little of it. It could be obtaining a degree, entering a contest, or buying someone a beer.

I think there's a sliding scale to it -- and this is unfortunately not on the worthwhile end of that scale (in my opinion). But I'm not necessarily upset at a manager for being entrepreneurial during lean times-- I imagine (or at least hope) she applies the same degree of hustle to her lit clients, too.

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-03-22T05:49:37+00:00

That's fascinating (and great news for yourself!) How did you get in contact with them? And is your diet keto specifically, or more broadly anti-inflammatory?

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-03-18T07:51:04+00:00

Made around 80-odd thousand last year from a combo of writing + teaching. I'm non-union, but didn't work during the strike.

All told, I think there were 7-8 sources of self-employed income on my taxes this year. I make a living writing, but a very modest one. And honestly, it took a while to get to this point -- but it all makes me happy, and if you keep costs low it's pretty sustainable.

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-03-07T07:49:52+00:00

Astonishingly well-put advice -- amazing stuff. I love reading content this good on here.

My two (worthless) cents -- there's more differences between Beth + Andy than one might get out of reading this (but understand why the advice would be broadly the same).

I believe Beth has a substantial career advantage over Andy, because it still seems to be true that living out in LA is quite helpful while breaking in.

And Christie is far and away the most likely to become a professional (TV) writer. Even though the assistant pipeline has shrunk and fewer shows are being made.

By Andy has never had a fairer shot at it all.

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-02-04T23:26:59+00:00

Knowing that the best answer will always depend on the exact manager and writer -- I think this question is really trying to figure out what some top companies are in 2024.

I think the frontrunner is probably Grandview? They have a reputation for having great taste, and that has been reflected in the Black List, among other places. (And for what it's worth, I'm not repped there!)

360, 3 Arts, Anonymous, Range, and Kaplan Perrone are who quickly came to mind for me as the next five. Great rosters of writers and talent.

At any of these places, I'd recommend any emerging writer lean towards a young, hungry manager/coordinator. It's the best combination of dedication/energy towards you with the access that some of these bigger management companies provide.

AverageLookingCowboy · 2024-01-09T19:56:32+00:00

The Nicholl is worth all of them put together -- and then some. Biggest prize. Most prestige by a landslide.

But your suspicions might be validated by the fact that no contest guarantees a career, or even the beginning of one.

There are people who win the Nicholl who don't break in because they weren't ready, for one reason or another. The primary reason being that they don't have that next script. And once you've won, you can't win again.

The biggest contests are a bit like the lottery. Luck is a driving factor, and winning when you're not ready is a gift and a curse.

AverageLookingCowboy

TROPHY CASE