AudioIron: Helping Writers, Screenwriters, and Filmmakers Earn More From Their Work

Remember you can always find videos, workbooks, and live interactive events designed to help you earn a good living doing what you love at NancyFultonMeetups.com. In this podcast I provide four strategies I think every creative pro needs to know in order to fund projects both large and small. They include raising money from investors using Regulation D or Regulation CF, presales, donation-based crowdfunding through sites like IndieGoGo and Kickstarter, and swiftly selling your creative work directly to customers through services with few if any start up costs.

Over time most of us working in the entertainment industry develop close personal, professional, and creative relationships with people who seem to share our vision for the kinds of projects we want to produce. Some of us are even fortunate enough to have family members in the industry who want to work beside us to bring common dreams to fruition. And, indeed, one can point to some very long term production partnerships like the Coen Brothers, the Wachowskis, Michael Bay, Brad Fuller & Andrew Form, that have turned out to be incredibly profitable and creatively powerful over many decades. Having said that, one of the most dangerous things you can do from a financial, personal, and a creative perspective is to commit to producing a project with a friend or a family member without carefully weighing the risks and taking significant steps to limit them. It would be a shame if deciding to produce a film with someone you love and love to work with resulted in the termination of an important relationship and an expensive financial disaster. It’s also true that even people love you can make expensive mistakes that cause you significant personal, professional, and financial harm.

In this episode filmmakers learn what executive producers look for when funding films. Note this is a posting of an interview which is a couple of years old. I'm making it available now because it helps those seeking executive producers and/or co-producers understand what stage a deal should be in before they approach those they want to work with.

Jim Jermanok (jimjermanok.com) is an award-winning writer, director, stage and film producer based in New York who started his career as a beloved agent at ICM representing leading lights like Alan Arkin, E.L. Doctorow, Helen Hayes, Ben Kingsley, Shirley MacLaine, Arthur Miller, Dudley Moore, Andy Rooney and Henry Winkler, among many others. He is also an entrepreneurship expert and speaker who actively works with creative pros to help them earn more from their work. His recent bestseller, BEYOND THE CRAFT: What You Need to Know to Make A Living Creatively! (http://amzn.to/2hmx6YQ), and the workshops he delivers worldwide help entertainment industry creatives master the skills they need to achieve their personal, professional, and financial objectives.

In this podcast we are going to talk about how to become profitably famous when you are a writer, actor, producer, or other entertainment industry pro. The mechanics of creating your own fame, and earning a great living while you do it, are something anyone can learn quickly. In fact, by the end of this podcast you will realize you already understand how fame is profitably manufactured. What this podcast will do is help you see how to apply this insight to your own work. This is an important podcast for you if you feel like people only ever get famous or wealthy by accident, or if it seems that nothing you do really moves your career toward the kind of success you would like to achieve.

In this episode you learn what financially successful standup comics do differently to ensures they earn a lot more from their work than their competitors do. Talented standup comics who master their craft are in the unique position of being able to learn quite a lot of money specifically because they can perform anywhere, and their content can easily be packaged and sold in many formats. But being talented and prolific isn't enough. In this podcast they learn 4 specific things they need to do to actually be financially successful. The same tips will prove useful to those who wish to earn a living as professional speakers, lecturers, etc. Remember to find events to attend live online or face to face, visit nancyfultonmeetups.com. A quick shout out to Burt Teplitzky who asked me to address this topic before one of his shows. Burt runs one of the best clean open mic's in Hollywood at the Kibitz Room in Canter's Deli which has been a Hollywood Hotspot for almost a hundred years. If you are looking for a place to try out your work, and you want to go where the pros go, this is a great open mic to sign up for.

In this in-depth video interview, Scott Hadley Morgan reviews his decades writing, co-writing, ghostwriting, and pitching screenplays here in Hollywood while working with Fox, Paramount, Warner Bros, Universal, and Chinese Studios/Production Companies etc. He also addresses how indie producers can find the content they want, and why sometimes screenwriters need help to tell the stories they most want to tell. Questions: If you have questions about this interview, please email me at nancy@nancyfultonmeetups.com. Visit NancyFultonMeetups.com to find more resources, online events, and face to face workshops designed to help build your career as a media professional.

Justin Sterling, founder of The Sterling Firm, a full-service civil litigation and transactional law firm devoted to Business Law, Entertainment Law, and Personal Injury cases, addresses 3 Myths People Believe About Litigation 5 Mistakes People Make that Often Lead to Litigation What to Do Business Deals Start to Fall Apart Things to Say (and Avoid Saying) When Someone Offers to Sue You Preparing to Win the Court Battles You Hope You Never Have What to Do When Litigation is Inevitable

Nancy Fulton, founder of NancyFultonMeetups, interviews Actor-Writer-Producer Bridget Fitzgerald. Bridget a member of National Lampoon's sketch comedy team, making a sketch comedy podcast heard by half a million monthly listeners. Her web series SmileyBridgeTV has had 1/4 million views, and she attributes some of that success to two audiobooks: "How I Exiled My Inner B*tch” and "iHumpty".

You need a business network within the entertainment industry that will actively help you find the people who actually want to buy what you sell. You learn how to find networking events that lend themselves to making real connections, how to meet people at events, how to introduce yourself to a group, and one-on-one, so people remember you kindly, how to reach out to people after an event comfortably, how to give people leads, and how to accept leads from others graciously and without obligation.

Nancy Fulton, founder of NancyFultonMeetups, interviews professional producers rep Ben Yennie. As Founder and CEO of Guerrilla Rep Media, Ben Yennie helps producers sell the rights to their films before, during, and after production. He's represented projects directed Sacred Blood by Christopher Coppola, Black Gold starring Marvel's Luke Cage, etc. He is author of The Guerrilla Rep: American Film Market Distribution Success on No Budget, currently used as a text in film schools.

Writer/Producer Nancy Fulton brings you an audio recording of her interview with Organized Crime Expert Christian Cipollini. Learn about the Mafia, the Mob, the Drug Cartels, the Russian Oligarchs, and how organized crime differs from the ordinary kind. Award-Winning author Christian Cipollini is a journalist, book author organized crime historian and collector. He is a frequent guest lecturer at universities and a consultant to movie and television producers Learn more at www.GangLandLegends.com.

Have you worked with a toxic person or business that has made you really rethink your work as a writer, screenwriter, filmmaker, or other creative pro? If so, you'll find this interview with Dr. Rhoberta Shaler important to hear. As a relationship consultant, mediator, and speaker, Rhoberta Shaler, PhD (ForRelationshipHelp.com) helps the partners, employees, exes, and adult children of the relentlessly difficult people she calls "Hijackals®." Visit NancyFultonMeetups.com for more resources.

Bridget Fitzgerald (smileybridge.com) is an actress, comedienne, and model. In this interview with Nancy Fulton she discusses her investment in producing audio content and a SAG New Media web series and how it has helped her get more and better acting roles and writing gigs. It’s also allowed her to establish herself as a producer, co-producer, and director. She’s been asked to work as a judge in writing contests and consults with those producing web series, podcasts, and audiobooks.

Larry Jordan has amassed more than 45 professional credits, working on successful films such as Fallen, Assassins, Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo and television series including CSI: Miami and NYPD Blue.  . Larry has worked with many of the top creatives at the world’s largest entertainment companies, including Time Warner, Sony, Fox, MGM, HBO, Netflix and Disney. Larry recently Master the Workflow (www.MasterTheWorkflow.com) to help new film editors get into the industry.

Producer Patti Pelton has worked with CBS, Paramount, Walt Disney Studios among many others to arrange deals which make projects easier to produce and more profitable. You can learn about Patti's background and work here: www.PattiPelton.com Reach out to Patti, or anyone else you want to work with to do product placement before funding and production if you want to maximize the value of your production. Minor tweaks to the script may have a huge impact on who you can work with and what you can earn.

Dinah Perez graduated from Loyola Law School and has been in the practice of entertainment law since 1996. As a full service entertainment attorney she supports screenwriters, producers, talent management companies, production companies, publishers, recording artists, and creators of new media content. Some topics addressed: Submitting Work to Agents, Managers & Producers Submission Releases How Entertainment Lawyers Work with Writers Mistakes Most Writers Make When They Negotiate Their Own Deals

Dr. Rebecca Roy has built a successful practice helping entertainment industry professionals reach their goals. Topics addressed in this event include: Frequent Causes of Writers Block and other forms of Severe Creative Inhibition, Specific Challenges for Creative People including Drugs, Alcohol, Untreated Organic Mental Illness, Unexpected Benefits of Working Through Creative Blocks, Carl Jung, CBT, and Other Therapeutic Lenses through which Creative Blocks can be understood and treated. 

In this podcast by writer/producer Nancy Fulton, founder of NancyFultonMeetups, you learn how to get lots of good Amazon reviews legally and for free for your books. You also earn how to promote your books through Amazon author pages and contests, and how to promote your books on Facebook so it drives sales on Amazon. This podcast also discusses publication on iBook, Nook, Scribd and other bookstores that offer better royalties than Amazon.

Marilyn's How to Live Like a Millionaire When You're a Million Short is a funny, savvy, empowering book derived from her many years as a working writer and producer in the entertainment industry.  She frequently consults with producers to help them reduce costs and solve problems as they develop their projects and works with writers to improve their screenplays. Nancy Fulton runs online and face to face events for more than 25,000 entertainment industry pros.

Megan Close Zavala is a literary agent at Keller Media. Her passion lies not only in getting great books published, but in working closely with the authors who write them. Nothing is more exciting than a great new idea or story! You will learn how writers should approach literary agents, what fiction and non-fiction writers should have in hand before they reach out, and why writers should start building one before they approach agents.

It is impossible to run a profitable business or build a successful career if you don't know how to deal with difficult people.  You'll encounter them as partners, customers, co-workers, and employees.  Failure to correctly identify them early, and resolve the issues they present correctly, can derail your career or business completely, or even land you in legal hot water.  This guide helps you approach problematic people in a way that protects you and your work going forward. 

If you are struggling to find work in Hollywood, this resource will help. There is a culture you have to understand in order to thrive  You will learn: How to find paying work, how to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you are great at what you do so you can float to the top of your profession, how to persuasively ask for a job and get it. how to avoid getting burned by users, abusers, and incompetent people. You can find an 8 page workbook that supports this lecture at NancyFultonVideos.com.

Dr. Sean Young, is a UCLA Medical School professor, and executive director or the UCLA Center for Digital Behavior, and the University of California Institute for Prediction Technology will discuss how to stick with the changes that will help you achieve your personal and professional objectives. His research has received more than $10M in funding from organizations like The National Institutes of Health, Facebook, and Intel, and well as leading hospitals. 

As an agent at William Morris and CAA, Marc Pariser represented leading writers, directors, producers, production companies, comedians, actors, executives, and two past WGA Presidents while enjoying is his own extremely successful 25+ year career. In this interview he discusses what it takes to get a good agent or manager to represent you.  You'll learn what they need to see, how to approach them, and what not to say and do. 

It's completely possible to spend many years and many thousands of dollars working to produce a film that never gets made. You can also struggle to get a film made only to discover you've just purchased an expensive legal and financial nightmare for your family.  Christina Jo'Leigh is a working producer and active line producer who has helped many projects go from script to screen.  In this interview she helps new filmmakers understand how to build a project from the ground up.