| Subject: Re: contract |
| From: Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> |
| Date: 8/5/09, 23:16 |
| To: Patrick Stack <p_stack@yahoo.com> |
meant to send this
PUBLISHERS PROPOSAL
1. Names of other industry people with whom you might be able to arrange conversations for use in the book: BRIAN DENNEHY, NATHAN LANE, JASON LEE, KATHY BAKER, GREG GARCIA ( SHOW RUNNER),
2. One or two examples of specific sales principles that translate into strategies for actors:
- KNOWING YOUR CUSTOMER: Every successful sales person will do a lot of homework before making a sales call. I think this could be important for actors when they go in to meetings or auditions. You can find out a lot by asking who will be in the room. Then you can research on IMDB or other sources to define the body of work of the people involved in the decision making. It may come up in the room, or it may help you decide about choices to make based on the kinds of things they have been successful in.
-GAME PLAN: Getting the job means getting through a lot of gates and gate keepers. Knowing who the real decision makers are is imperitive. Knowing how to deal with the gate keepers but get to the decision makers is key. You cant dismiss the entry level people but your networking should not stop there. Knowing the hierarchy of a particular organization or for a particular job will give the actor a better understanding of the playing field.
3. A couple of anecdotes that illustrate these principles in action, both in sales and in acting:
-My brother Tim sold a show to FX because he knew how to get to Howard DStern. Years agao he had developed a relationship with Don Buchwald, an agent in NY. Tim had bartended for him at one of his Christmas Parties. Tim stayed in touch, let Don know what he was up to, and when Don landed Howard Stern as a client, Tim had a plan. He knew that Howard was looking for a tv concept to develop and produce and Tim had the right idea. He went to NY and sold the show in the romm. Thats because he had access to the real decision maker, Howard Stern, but also knew the gate keeper, the agent Don Buchwald.
-We were looking for a keynote speaker for our conference on Interactive Maketing. This conference was put on twice a year and catered to high end sales & marketing execs who were interested in the new world of the internet and interactive marketing. We were running out of time and had not secured a big deal speaker. I read in the WSJ that the number two guy at Procter & Gamble was getting interested in this new world. Rather than try and get through the chain of command at P&G, I wrote to him directly. What did I have to loose? I got a not back from him personally, declining our offer due to a scheduling conflict but would have been delighted otherwise. I made a note to myself that I would always start at the top and work down as opposed to the rest of the world.I worked as an actor for 18 years. I wanted to raise a family and I wasnt feeling that the world of entertainment would give me the security I needed. I started to interview for sales jobs in thats what people told me I would be good at. I had never used a fax before, I not graduated from college and was 39 years old. Not very good prospects. That said, I got some job interviews and was able to get a job with Advertising Age, the leading sales & marketing trade magazine. I was an account rep there for 4 years. I then went to work for Interactive Marketing, a VERY small outfit in Hermosa Beach A that specialized in interactive sales programs as well as interactive media programs. We also put on interactive sales & marketing conferences for senior executives looking to gain insight and information about this emerging new world. I was VP Sales. We then got in to the business of representing web sites who generated revenue from ad sales. We sold their ads, they handled the distribution. One of those clients was Yahoo. Others included Netscape, Map Quest, Info Seek, and Playboy. In 1996, Softbank came in and bought our company. I transferred to Chicago as VP-Midwest Sales and handled a lot of Fortune 500 clinets. I managed an office with 12 people. The company imploded when Yahoo went with their own sales force and I started a consulting company with 2 clients at the time-the PGA and Big Bang.com ( an entertainment-gaming site in SF). Yahoo contacted me to see if I would come back to Southern CA and work for them directing, managing the SW territoty. I did that in 1998. I was a director there for 2 years and managed a group of 20 sales and admin people in the LA office. I handled a few ccounts on my own but mostly was there to overse and help close new business. The world of IPOs was blazing and these new sites needed instant brands. Thats where Yahoo came in. With its breadth and market share, we were the place to market your site and we ended up with most of the IPO dollars earmarked for advertising. In 200, I left and took some time off. In 2002, I decided to go back in to the entertainment business and stated Out of Pocket Films.
4. A summary of your work experience (I've already got your acting info off imdb), particularly your stint with Yahoo:-I think this market is saturated and not really my expertise. I think the idea of a how to for people in the business ( not just actors) is the way to go.
I'm thinking that, in addition to this being a book targeted towards actors, it could also be marketed to sales people in general without actually changing the book. That would make it more attractive to agents and publishers.When I started looking for a real job after suffering through too many ups and downs as an actor, I was steered by firends towards sales. After all, I had a good personality and had suffered rejections ten fold as a working actor. I would fit in nicely I was told. In my first few interviews with magazines, I was always questioned as to why I should be hired with no sales experience? I always answered but I have been a sales person all my life and have been selling the toughest product of all..myself! This always got a favaorable response and a nod of the head. After all, an actor must sell sell sell everyday! And it is the hardest thing to do..sell yourself. Well, part of that statement is true. The part about selling yourself is indeed extremely hard. But the other part, about me being in sales and selling everyday, was absolutely false. At least, the part about me believing I was in sales.
Contents
A guide to the contents of your proposal, not your book. It should identify all of the other sections of the proposal (Summary, Author, etc) and the page on which each section starts.
Summary
Actors, like all creative types, dont want to think of themselves as salespeople. They may want appear in a production of Glenn Garry-Glen Ross or play Willie Lohman on stage, but thats the closest they want to come to actually selling. Sales people are shifty, low class, snake oil ner-do-wells. They wear flashy clothes, too much cologne and lie. Thats probably the knee jerk description most people would give when describing sales men & women. Most actors, along with writers, poets, painters, etc., couldnt possibly liken what they do to that group of riff raff. They create art and beauty its up to someone else to make sure its seen. And besides, they feel that they are entitled to this calling and they shouldnt have to prostitute themselves to get a job. The real reason most actors dont want to acknowledge that they are glorified sales people is that they are afraid. Acting is an ego driven business and those folks attracted to that world are often in need of reassurance. Yet, they have no problem going in to a profession that thrives on rejection. Its one of the very best paradoxical scenarios we have out there. So when you dont get a job, or you dont get invited to the right party or you are ignored by the right people, there really wasnt anything you could do about it chalk it up to fate. If a salesman for P&G or GQ or Dutch Boy Paint had as many rejections ( no sales) as the average actor or writer, do you think they would just shrug their shoulders and see what happened the next time? Doubt it. They would figure out how to succeed or they would be out of a job.
Actors become resigned to failure and thats because they think there is nothing they can do about it. And thats where they are wrong. By adopting the attitude that we are ALL in sales whether we are Doctors, Pilots, gardeners, teachers actors can begin to look at the way they approach show BUSINESS differently. Everyone needs to sell to be successful and actors are at the top of that heap.
This book will take the a look at sales principles and techniques that are taught in Fortune 1000 conference rooms and weekend seminars and apply them very specifically to the world of Entertainment. The same selling principles used to get meetings and to generate sales will be overlayed on to the day to day world of the working actor as well as the neophyte! Selling is selling and the sooner an artist starts to look at himself in that light, the easier it becomes to navigate the layers bueracracy in Hollywood and begin to pave the way to a successful career
Author
I decided I wanted to be a professional actor during my freshman year in college. My mother suggested I take an acting class in that I hated school and had no idea what I wanted to become when I grew up. I always thought I would end up in nY and be involved in advertising in some way. That is what my father a aspired to and he seemed to indicate that it would be a good choice for me. The fact that he always wanted to write and was a great dancer who turned down a chance to be in vaudville was not lost on me. Here was a guy who loved the world of entertainment but went in to business for himself because that was the responsible way to go. He couldnt understand why I chose to follow my heart rather than be responsible. Well, after 18 years of some good years and some bad years that included being in movies, on stage, on television shows and doing stand up comedy, I finally came around to his way of thinking. I wanted to have kids, raise a family, and I didnt want us all living in a Volvo if I hit more dry spells. But what could I possibly do? I had worked as an actor and a bartender since dropping out of college and had no discernable skills. I reached out to a mentor and asked him if I could pick his brain over lunch. He guided me towards sales telling me I had the goods and the rest would come naturally. He even recommended me to his boss and his bosss boss and I ended up getting a job at Advertising Age Magazine as an account executive in charge of a small territory in the SW United States. I started on January 2, 1990 and was on my way. I didnt realize that corporate life is far different than being an independent contractor living from check to check, hand to mouth. Its a world rife with politics, personalities, rules, procedures and great expectations. I was determined to make it work having kissed the world of show business good bye. In fact, it was part of my contract with Advertising Age that if hired, I would not pursue any acting jobs. But with hands on training and some good old flying by my expanding seat of my pants, I managed to pick it up pretty quickly and began to make my numbers. Pretty good feeling for a guy who had never used a fax machine before.
I was given the task to cover and develop an emerging area of marketing called interactive marketing and I saw that there was an immediate opportunity for me. In the world of publishing, you rise to the rank of Publisher and then wait to be overrun by someone younger. In this new world, there was no hierarchy to battle and like the Oklahoma Land Rush, smart people with years of experience were carving out niches for themselves. I had a one year old daughter and couldnt take my responsibility lightly but I jumped in with both feet and joined a very small group in Hermosa, Beach, CA. Interactive Marketing, Inc. specialized in building interactive sales programs for Fortune 500 companies as well as interactive media programs for sales departments.. We also produced an interactive sales & marketing conferences for senior executives looking to gain insight and information about this emerging new world. I was VP Sales. We then got in to the business of representing web sites who generated revenue from ad sales. We sold their ads, they handled the distribution. One of those clients was Yahoo. I personally sold the first ads on Yahoo in 1995. Others included Netscape, Map Quest, Info Seek, and Playboy. In 1996, Softbank came in and bought our company. I transferred to Chicago as VP-Midwest Sales and handled a lot of Fortune 500 clinets. I managed an office with 12 people. The company imploded when Yahoo went with their own sales force and I started a consulting company with 2 clients at the time-the PGA and Big Bang.com ( an entertainment-gaming site in SF). Yahoo contacted me to see if I would come back to Southern CA and work for them directing, managing the SW territoty. I did that in 1998. I was a director there for 2 years and managed a group of 20 sales and admin people in the LA office. I handled a few ccounts on my own but mostly was there to overse and help close new business. The world of IPOs was blazing and these new sites needed instant brands. Thats where Yahoo came in. With its breadth and market share, we were the place to market your site and we ended up with most of the IPO dollars earmarked for advertising. In 2000, I left and took some time off. In 2002, I decided to go back in to the entertainment business and started Out of Pocket Films. The world of an independent film producer is a like a swim across the Amazon filled with Pirahna. I really didnt know that at the time. I thought a producer was responsible for getting material I knew good screenplays and had written several myself getting good talent on board I still knew plenty of actors from the old days and if they were still in the business, that meant they were successful and find financing I had just left the world of the internet where I was dealing with big budgets and had access to a lot of young, rich dot comers! I co financed a short film in order to get some practical producing experience under my belt and went to work handing out cards and optioning the rights to screenplays. In 2004, though good luck and networking, I managed to get an office for myself over at Sony Studios. This is not the norm. Sony does not let little folks like me rent out space. But I needed credibility and being a producer on the lot made me someone special. And even though I had no real track record, or an over all development deal with Sony Pictures, I wasnt to be dismissed out right! After all, if I had an office here, I must know someone. Its been 5 years since I opened the office at Sony and now have produced and sold 2 feature films. I currently have 7 films in various stages of development and am actively pitching 4 television shows. The world of independent producing has shrunk dramatically and it has become increasingly more difficult to get a toe hold in the business let alone maintain a spot on the team. But I am here for the moment, looking forward to making more movies and willing to share my war stories with the world.
Audience
Any actor, writer, producer, director and anyone else who doesnt know they are in sales could benefit from this book. It really caters to the actor in that that is the world I come from. I think all artists have difficulty looking at themselves as being ultimately responsible for their careers and that most certainly involves selling yourself or your product to the people that are buying. Most actors will tell you that they have great difficulty in getting meetings, getting an agent, impressing casting directors, networking with the people that can impact their careers. This book intends to deal with those issues as well as insist that an attitude adjustment and different perception of the job is imperative for success. It will be a primer, a how too, and a guide that will also have plenty of anticdotal information that can be referred to time and again. I have a very unique background that touches on being a working actor, a successful sales man and a successful film producer. That means I have a lot to offer someone just getting in the business as well as a seasoned veteran wondering why the jobs are coming as fast.
Competition
Going to let you handle this one.Can you take a whack at this one as well?
Special Marketing and Promotional Opportunities
Manuscript Specifications
Would like to have some pictures, would like to have some charts, will be sections with others sharing stories. We can discuss whats best here.
Outline
Again, lets discussThese are my notes:
Start with a table of contents, just as you would see in any book. This gives the editor a snapshot of the organization of the entire book. Then start a new page for an annotated versionin effect an outlinethat shows how the book will unfold in more detail. The outline is not a final commitment; by the time you have completed the book, it may or may not follow the outline. But at this stage, it shows that you've got a plan for moving ahead. The outline should contain section and chapter headings; beneath each heading, present from one to three paragraphs explaining what the chapter contains and how the content moves the book forward.
Sample Chapter(s)
No matter how good your idea or how well organized your outline is, a publisher needs to know that you can translate that idea effectively in your writing. He or she needs a representative sample of your style and approach. That does not have to be the first chapter, though it can be. If different parts of your work are different in tone or approach, you can submit selections from different chapters. However, it is best to see at least one chapter carried through from beginning to end.
L.A.M.E
-looks, attitude, manners, experience
SALES PEOPLE
-blair, healy, Muldoon, sam,
-the sweater guys: a roll of dimes at a ralphs. The quote if you cant be on time be early!
Patrick StackSent: Wednesday, August 5, 2009 2:11:08 PM
Subject: Re: contract
Okay, are these proposed chapter titles?On Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 1:45 PM, Patrick Stack <p_stack@yahoo.com> wrote:
here you goPatrick Stack
To: p_stack@yahoo.com
Sent: Wednesday, August 5, 2009 8:13:30 AM
Subject: Re: contract
Pat-
Did you try to resend that e-mail yet? I haven't received anything yet. You might try just replying to this e-mail thread from now on, as that does seem to always work.
Also, my address is:
37 Park Street #2
Brooklyn, NY
11206
512-560-2302
Thanks,
Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302On Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 9:25 PM, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi, Pat-
How is it coming with the anecdotes and other things?
Thanks,
Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302On Wed, Jul 29, 2009 at 1:44 PM, <p_stack@yahoo.com> wrote:
One book which I bought is Self Management for Actors by bonnie gillespieSent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
From: Barrett Brown
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:17:08 -0400Subject: Re: contractHi, Pat-
Sounds good. We'll only need to mention a few competing books in the proposal. A couple that bear mentioning are Acting: The First Six Lessons, Breaking Into Acting for Dummies, and No Acting, Please. These tend to sell better than most others on Amazon. Aside from Dummies, they don't address the actual business of being an actor; there don't seem to be many books of that sort at all, which is good, and of course there aren't any out there that use sales principles applied to the entertainment industry, which is better. If you can find a couple other relevant books, let me know; that should be more than enough for me to flesh out that section of the proposal.
Thanks,
Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302On Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 3:46 PM, Patrick Stack <p_stack@yahoo.com> wrote:
this looks good. i will get started on it. in the interim, let's double team the compition item, meaning, let's both complie a list of books that might be competitive and then do a merge purge.
Patrick StackTo: Patrick Stack <p_stack@yahoo.com>; patrick stack <pjs@outofpocketfilms.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 7:50:42 AM
Subject: Re: contract
Hi, Pat-
A couple of things that we'll need to get the outline started:
1. Names of other industry people with whom you might be able to arrange conversations for use in the book
2. One or two examples of specific sales principles that translate into strategies for actors
3. A couple of anecdotes that illustrate these principles in action, both in sales and in acting
4. A summary of your work experience (I've already got your acting info off imdb), particularly your stint with Yahoo
I'm thinking that, in addition to this being a book targeted towards actors, it could also be marketed to sales people in general without actually changing the book. That would make it more attractive to agents and publishers.
I've pasted a guideline to proposals below; this comes from one of the big literary agencies.
Let me know what you think.Contents
A guide to the contents of your proposal, not your book. It should identify all of the other sections of the proposal (Summary, Author, etc) and the page on which each section starts.
Summary
Pretend this is the jacket flap copy that people will read once your book is on display at Barnes & Noble or your local bookseller. It should make somebody want to read your book. No more than one or two pages.
Author
Don't be shy in developing this biographical sketch. Your reader wants to know why you are uniquely qualified to write this bookby dint of training and/or experience. If you have published other books, let us know what they are and if any were critically and/or commercially successful. If you lecture or make frequent media appearances, let us know. Err on the side of tooting your own horn too loudly; we'll help you tone it down if necessary. No more than one or two pages.
Audience
Who are you writing for? And most important, why will they buy, keep, and talk about your book? What benefits will your book offerand which ones can't they get elsewhere? It's important to describe your audienceand their motivation to buyas specifically as possible. One to three pages.
Competition
Are there other books similar to yours? Have they been successful? Without knocking the competition, set your work apart. Be sure to identify the title, author, publisher, and year of publication for all competitive titles you cite. One to three pages.
Special Marketing and Promotional Opportunities
By virtue of your position or background, do you offer a publisher any advantages in promoting your work? Do you have a regular newspaper column, preside over or belong to an association or forum, or in any other way draw the attention of potential readers? Is your work likely to be adopted for use by colleges, schools, or membership organizationsand is it likely to be used year after year by these audiences? Are foreign sales likely? Be as specific as possible. One to three pages.
Manuscript Specifications
What is your proposed book length (multiply your estimated number of manuscript pages by 250 words per page)? How many photographs and illustrations will you have, if any? Are there special considerations about book size, format, or style that are important to the presentation of your ideas? Last, but not least, when will you be able to deliver a completed manuscript? If you can deliver on floppy disk, specify what format.
Outline
Start with a table of contents, just as you would see in any book. This gives the editor a snapshot of the organization of the entire book. Then start a new page for an annotated versionin effect an outlinethat shows how the book will unfold in more detail. The outline is not a final commitment; by the time you have completed the book, it may or may not follow the outline. But at this stage, it shows that you've got a plan for moving ahead. The outline should contain section and chapter headings; beneath each heading, present from one to three paragraphs explaining what the chapter contains and how the content moves the book forward.
Sample Chapter(s)
No matter how good your idea or how well organized your outline is, a publisher needs to know that you can translate that idea effectively in your writing. He or she needs a representative sample of your style and approach. That does not have to be the first chapter, though it can be. If different parts of your work are different in tone or approach, you can submit selections from different chapters. However, it is best to see at least one chapter carried through from beginning to end.
On Sat, Jul 25, 2009 at 4:47 PM, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi, Pat-
You can fax it to my attention at 214-373-4915. Talk to you on Monday.On Sat, Jul 25, 2009 at 1:35 AM, Patrick Stack <p_stack@yahoo.com> wrote:
looks good. what is your fax and i will send a signed copy for your records. let's talk monday about the proposal
Patrick StackOut of Pocket Films
3200 Alma Ave.
Manhattan Beach, Ca 90266
310.428.4407
PJS@outofpocketfilms.com
From: Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com>
To: Patrick Stack <p_stack@yahoo.com>
Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 9:42:53 AM
Subject: contract
Pat-
Here's a simple contract for the proposal. Feel free to edit it if you need to.
Thanks,
Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302