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As an aspiring screenwriter, I really appreciate the "think like a producer" mentality, that Saxon advocates. It's something that I realize now, I have always done. Living in North Carolina, I never really felt I would have a chance breaking into Hollywood unless I wrote, produced, and directed, and financed my own picture -- one the would have to be great, or else all would be lost.

Now I can have a less hopeless, and less naive outlook. If you are willing to put in the hard work, and the long hours, you can slowly rise, and eventually get a chance to prove yourself. The first step is to humble yourself about how much you don't know about how Hollywood works. These videos are helping me do just that.

These videos are not just about "How Hollywood Works," they are also intimately connected to the work and process of screenplay development. Questions, though, still remain. Like, as an untested, and unproven writer, I see lots of potential benefit in working with a Creative Producer like Ed Saxon, but know in reality that one does not just call Ed Saxon up and say, "I want to become a screenwriter, I have a good idea, I think I have talent, and I want you to actualize my abilities as a screenwriter."

That said, when is a good time to stop working on a script and seek "professional development"? Surely, one needs to learn the concept and craft (form) of story -- thank you Robert McKee and Storylogue  -- then you need to develop you script until you know it works, that the writer can honestly send the script to someone, imposing upon them for them to read it, and know that it will not be a waste of their time.

I guess I now, only after writing all that, know my real question: When does the "breaking-in" writer seek an agent, or a producer? After they have a solid first draft and are in want of seasoned advice on how to improve it? Or, only after they have several, progressively better, drafts under their belt, and an almost-producable screenplay in hand?

My sense is that it is the latter, but, as a recovering perfectionist, I worry about knowing when to stop perfecting, and start pursuing.