Are you in it for the long haul?

Recently I spent time with a lovely writer friend of mine, who shared that her biggest challenge in the industry had to do with her "neediness". I probed a bit further, wondering what she meant by this. She explained that since she's currently looking for an agent, she knows that she comes across as needy when she asks people for referrals.

My response is to turn that neediness on its head - see whether there are ways you can give back (what Dallas Travers would call "adding value") to the people you are asking. She said, "well, these are not people who would want anything from me." And herein lies the crux of the issue. We are all unique individuals. We each have a unique set of gifts and often those gifts are also tied to our greatest challenges. But if we don't believe that we have something special to offer, why are we doing this at all? Sure, I get down sometimes and wonder whether I'll be able to "make it" in an industry full of beautiful, talented women. But if I didn't think I had something truly special and unique, I wouldn't stay here. You have to ask yourself whether you're in it for the long haul - do you have something to share with the world that absolutely MUST get out there? If the answer is yes (and I hope it is, if you're breathing the LA air) then see every interaction as the beginning of a long-term relationship. There are people you're going to meet this week who can't do anything for you yet, and you would just feel like a leech asking them for anything right now, but if you keep in touch with them, perhaps a few months or years from now, you'll end up working together.

Cannes Film Festival...or Whose First Phone Call Are *You*?

I recently returned from screening my film "All Dressed Up" at the Cannes Short Film Corner. It's an amazing opportunity that I recommend to anyone in the industry - making and screening a film on the festival circuit has opened my eyes, taught me a lot and clarified a lot of the confusion I had about how the industry works.

One of the most important lessons of Cannes for me was the international sales market. The majority of independent films are financed at least partially through "foreign pre-sales" which essentially means that distributors in Europe and elsewhere contribute to the budget of the film before it's actually made, and then once it's made, they'll get to screen it and make money off ticket sales. At this point, I know most actors out there have a glazed look in their eyes - sales, distribution, financing, blah, blah, blah... what does this have to do with me? I'm an actor, I just want to get hired on a film, do my thing and go home. And hopefully the film will make a splash and people will know my name and then I'll get to do it all again. True, that would be awesome. But how do you get hired on that film in the first place? Let's delve a little deeper into this world to see how it can help us.

What foreign sales agents want to tell potential distributors is that the "elements" of the film - the director, the actors, the script, locations, etc., are going to make a film that makes people want to buy tickets. Because if people don't buy tickets, the film can't make money, and then the distributor doesn't make back the investment.

So what kind of actor makes people buy a ticket to a movie? A name actor - someone they've heard of. Is that you? Well, probably not if you're reading this blog. It certainly isn't me. YET. So, it stands to reason that if you want to star (or be a major supporting role) in one of these films, you're going to need a name. How to get a name? Oh, the billion dollar question...

A while back I wrote a column called "Stop networking now." In it, I basically asked you what would happen if you could never meet another industry professional again in your life. What kind of career could you build just knowing the people you already know? A lot of people answered - not much of one. But now I want to push you further. I want to ask you - of the people you "know" in the industry, how many of them consider you their first phone call? When my 300 or so industry contacts need a funny young Caucasian actress, how many of them call me first? That number is pretty small. Maybe three of my contacts. So, I could:

(a) get a box of tissues and just start crying right now, because that's not very many, and my career is doomed. Or,

(b) I could cultivate relationships with those three people, collaborate on projects with them, while simultaneously strengthening the relationships I have with people for whom I'm *not* the first phone call, working toward being that first phone call and getting to the point where my name actually does mean something for foreign sales.

I think I'll choose option (b).

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Success in LA is a think-outside-the-box forum for actors, writers, producers or anyone who loves positive thinking and actual doing. If you enjoyed this column, please share it with someone!
-Rebecca Jupiter

Professional Concierge?

Actor. Writer. Producer. Concierge?

When you first got into this business, you probably didn't think two of the most important things about your career would be stapling headshots and driving all over town to auditions...but it couldn't be more true.

Coming in a close third to these necessary yet quotidian actions is becoming a professional concierge.

Recently, I was listening to iconic producer Jerry Weintraub's interview on NPR In it, he says that his job is "being a concierge" - for the first 30 or 40 minutes of his day, he responds to emails requesting favors. This ability to connect others is one of the key reasons Jerry Weintraub is so successful.

Stephen Meade, an amazing networker and founder of Big Bamboo, recommends finding out what others need and making an effort to help. This not only allows you to get to know someone better, it also connects you to them in a more meaningful way than just talking about yourself and your latest projects. Try "adding value" and let me know how it goes!

Here's to your success!

Facebook Etiquette for Actors

Facebook can be a wonderful tool for connecting with friends, fan and future contacts.

It can also be a place where you annoy the sh*t out of people and get a reputation for cyber-stalking. Here are some simple tips to make sure that doesn't happen.

1. Don't add someone as a friend if you haven't met them in person or corresponded in some other way. If you're trying to contact someone for the first time, send them a message explaining your interest. "I love your work" or "We have so-and-so as a mutual friend" are both great. Then, if they want to add you as a friend they probably will.

2. Don't post updates about what you ate, or other boring, self-indulgent topics.

3. Do post interesting links that others will find useful - articles of mutual interest, funny videos and weird factoids are all good.

4. Minimize the amount of complaining and negativity you project. The occasional incisive critique is fine, but if you're constantly whining, people are going to "hide" you from their feed or delete you as a friend.

5. Do create a fan page for yourself as an actor, and put the majority of your actor-related successes on there. That way strangers can become a fan of your work without you needing to share your personal information, and your friends don't need to hear weekly or daily updates of industry-related info. Yes, they love you, but they do have other things on their mind than what you star meter rating is.

6. The first five are pretty true for Twitter as well.

7. Don't post anyone's personal information on a wall. Use a direct message.

8. Under no circumstances should you "poke" a professional contact or invite them to help with your Lil' Green Patch.

Feel free to post more tips in the comments section!

Stop networking now.

Stop networking now? But isn't networking the key to success in this industry?

OK. Let me explain.

What if you could never meet another industry contact and had to base your entire career on the people you know right now? How would you behave? Would you have a career?

Take a look at your contacts. How long has it been since you communicated with them? What added value are you bringing to the relationship? Now, I'm not saying be all things to all people. (I've tried - see last week's post - there's not enough *you* to go around). What I'm suggesting is offering what you can. A director I know needed a specific voiceover actress type. I found him 4 options and he hired one of them. Another person I know needed a male actor. I found 3 options and one of them got the job. (Now that we have email, facebook and twitter, this usually doesn't even require a phone call.) When I heard about a film festival that sounded cool, I volunteered to work in their office. Yeah, for free.

Bottom line is that when someone needs a position filled, are you going to be the first person that pops into their head? Are you going to be the first person they call or recommend? Just going to networking events, collecting business cards, or even having that one ubiquitous coffee date, is not going to get you jobs. Cultivate relationships with the people you already know by getting to know what THEY need and then looking for ways to either help them yourself or connect them with the people who can.

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Success in LA - multihyphenate actress-writer-producer Rebecca Jupiter thinks outside the box - if you enjoyed this or any other post, please become a follower over on the right. It's free and takes only a few seconds. Thanks!

Are you trying to please everybody?

Bill Cosby said "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

The other day I sent an email update to my contact list with news of my film going to Cannes and my other latest doings. I've gotten hundreds of positive responses, which is so wonderful and uplifting.

I've also gotten a few unsubscribes, since I use a mailing list provider, and I even got one person who wrote a one-line criticism of the fact that I didn't read his screenplay (he refused to write a treatment because "there are things that occur in the
process of reading a script that can never be captured on a treatment.")

At one time in my life, I would have been heartbroken about these few negative responses, even with the overwhelming number of positive ones. But my wonderful coach Dallas Travers has taught me that there are two kinds of people in your career and your life: your collaborators and your NYPs. Not Your People. These people don't like you, don't respect you, don't understand you, or just plain don't care about you. And the more time you spend worrying about them, the less time and energy you have to celebrate your unique contributions.

Many people put forth the dating analogies in this industry - either you click with someone or you don't, and if you do, you'll probably work together. If not, you probably won't. But there's no sense in beating yourself up over the ones who are NYPs.

My advice is this: when someone compliments your work or takes an interest in your career, don't stop there. Get to know them - what are they in need of right now? Maybe there is something you can help them with, someone you can connect them with, or a job lead you can hook them up with. In the process of helping them, you're also reminding yourself that you are generous and abundant, and that positive glow is one of the most valuable assets you have in attracting the work you want.


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Success in LA - multihyphenate actress-writer-producer Rebecca Jupiter thinks outside the box - if you enjoyed this or any other post, please become a follower over on the right. It's free and takes only a few seconds. Thanks!

A slight adjustment

I've wanted to shoot a gun for quite a while now, and last night I *finally* got to do it. A friend and I arrived at the LA Gun Club and experimented with a .38 Special (revolver) and a 9mm.

Shooting the 9mm did not come easily for me - it kicked back so much that most of the time I completely missed my target. After getting so excited about shooting, that was pretty disappointing. Luckily, though, I found the revolver much easier to handle. Most of my shots were dead-on, and my hand didn't have to absorb all that force. Had I only tried the 9mm, I would have left the shooting gallery pretty discouraged about my marksmanship. Instead, I knew a bit more about handguns and could actually form an opinion about one of my favorites.

When I first arrived in LA, I borrowed a friend's car for a couple weeks while I got settled. Bless her heart, it was such a generous thing for her to lend it to me, but man, did that car drive me nuts. It was oddly shaped, noisy, and I just couldn't seem to park it correctly. One day on the freeway I thought to myself, "I can't live in LA. I hate all this driving and parking. I should have just stayed in New York." I went back to New York for a couple more months and had a realization - the problem wasn't LA and all the driving. It was the car. I resolved to go back to California and find a car that I LOVED driving. That slight adjustment made all the difference. On days when all I do is drive from one audition to the next, I can turn up the music, open the sun roof and bask in the glory of living in paradise.

Sometimes slight adjustments are more important than making drastic life changes. Every time we get a new piece of information, we can adjust our strategy and process to get closer to success. If we abandon everything we've learned because of challenging roadblocks, we lose all our momentum. Are you facing a challenge right now and considering a huge, drastic change? See whether a subtle adjustment can accomplish even more, allowing you to incorporate everything you learned about what didn't work from what you were already doing. One of the most important elements of success in this industry is the positive attitude we bring to each project, each meeting and each day. So it's important to have positive reinforcing experiences along the way, and those can't come from the despair of failing after the first try. Please feel free to share success stories (or challenges you're facing) in the comments section!

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Success in LA - multihyphenate actress-writer-producer Rebecca Jupiter thinks outside the box - if you enjoyed this or any other post, please become a follower over on the right. It's free and takes only a few seconds. Thanks!