It’s amazing the attitude that many creative people have towards making money.  I often come across people who have a sense of entitlement, figuring that they’re owed a living because of the clever stuff they think up.  And, well, that’s simply not the case.  A whole bunch of stuff has to happen between you coming up with a concept and being paid for it, and many supposedly creative people absent themselves from that process, believing it’s someone else’s job to get involved with the likes of marketing and networking and whatever else is involved in thinking entrepreneurially.

Bottom line is, a sense of entitlement in your twenties is the surest way to failure in your thirties.  Or whenever: it’s less about specific ages than it is about attitude.  Think about it: if you really do believe you’re some kind of creative wonder, wouldn’t it naturally follow that you apply some of that creativity to the way you approach your career?  Or is it just me who has weird ideas like that?

Back when I started looking for freelance copywriting work (some years previously I’d been a full time copywriter) I knew I had to promote myself to find some clients.  It was a necessity: I’d invested what money I’d made doing a load of speech and video writing for a charity in a three week trip to San Francisco and the deposit and first month’s rent for a new flat.  I created some flyers offering myself on half-day free trial to some local ad agencies, on the basis that a fun promotional campaign might be a good way to communicate with people who traffic in such concepts every day.  And it worked, well enough: I got some takers for my services who hired me for years to come.  Sure, there were a couple who took the piss and tried to get more work out of me for nothing, dangling a non-existent carrot, but even that was useful: it’s just as important to know who not to work for as find clients you do want to hook up with.

So, promoting yourself in such a way that you stand out is one consideration.  Another is networking effectively.  Now, I pretty much detest formal networking situations: a friend invited me along to a breakfast networking event she was part of, and I soon discovered that attempting to bond with strangers in a Travelodge while clutching a bacon cob is not my thing.

Besides, the whole thing was screwed up.  The way it worked was that the group could only have one member from each of the professions it represented, and you were supposed to pimp those people to new contacts.  Issue being, I would never recommend someone without having worked with them and been impressed: how can I be expected to vouch for someone without knowing them or the style of their work?  And there was some seriously messy stuff going on there.  We went round the table and introduced ourselves, and one woman barely made herself heard above the clink of teacups.  Naturally, she was an assertiveness coach.  And as for the chiropracter…well, if I’m going to be meeting people at seven in the morning when they’re eating sausage and beans, then make sure those people are prone to back injury: how about going to the local greasy spoon and getting to know the builders there?

In fact, I’m a very good networker, but I certainly don’t do so by abiding by the rules of protectionist networking groups. The thing is, get your attitude straight.  Don’t think of what you can get out of someone.  Think instead what you can do for them, and cultivate a whole network of people who can support one another.  I frequently put people in touch with one another, since the health of the overall group is what matters.  Besides, it makes people more likely to recommend you to their contacts in turn.  And that’s not just theory: I’m having the best year in terms of earnings, interesting work and opportunities that I’ve ever had, and this while we’re apparently experiencing a credit crunch.  And if you’ve been reading this wondering what it has to do with screenwriting, then read it again…