I was having a drink with a friend the other night when the awkward topic of how to behave before you’ve, “really made it,” came up. Trust me, I feel as weird writing the words, “really made it,” as you feel reading them. What does it mean? When has it happened? What constitutes being a success? Nobody knows. I mean, Lena Dunham, Aaron Sorkin, the guys who created Modern Family know, but I’m talking ten rungs down from that in the land of baby writers who have yet to sell that project that makes all other project sales a possibility. My land.

These are super heady things that most people will tell you exist in your own heart and mind, at the end of the day. But at the beginning of the day, or mid-morning – which is where I like to think my own current career lies – they exist in a more concrete way. Simply put, in this industry it matters whether or not you behave like you’re “there” – a success, an important person, someone people should be paying attention to. This town rewards confidence. It takes note of pushers. It wants you to know you can do it, they’re the ones who get the privilege of letting you do it first.
 
But what matters just as much is properly walking that line you’re still straddling – faking it ’til you make it, correctly.  

Any person on the other side of this gray area will tell you that you have to be aggressive. You have to behave like you are about to make yourself and your representation a boat load of money any minute now. Call often. Check in. Push. Ask for things. Let them know that you know it’s just a matter of time before you’re on the tip top of their call sheet every day. With class, of course, but equal parts confidence.

But anyone on my side of that divide will tell you it’s easier said than done. We’re lucky to have representation so best not piss them off with pointless phone calls. Any exec can see through rookie truth inflation so best to be careful with that list of all the “things I’m about to set up.” Keep your head down, your Final Draft open, and your expectations realistic. In other words, play it safe? Steve Martin said, “be so good they can’t ignore you,” but he ended up Steve Martin. How many guys took that approach and ended up not Steve Martin?

There’s a healthy balance, I tell myself in the mirror before every general meeting with an exec who may or may not think I’m the next Tina Fey.

But how many success stories got there by playing it close to the hip? I’d love to know. Is extreme humility – or even mid-level humility – the fastest way to the middle? When is active confidence critical and not just an added plus?

I don’t know but I’m considering starting a support group for mid-morning level writers so we can try to hash it out. Then again, we should probably skip the vent sesh and just finish our damn scripts already. Because that’s the one and only fool-proof reason to call your representation.