Feel stuck/lack of progress? Unrealistic expectations?

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I've invested hundreds, perhaps thousands in hiring professionals to edit my script.
If you keep paying for advice you'll go broke.

All I need is one break. Lucky people make their own breaks, as the saying goes.

I have a lot of trouble myself in settling for less than the best I've ever had, in all things. Perfectionism is a common ASD trait of course. It seems you're more extreme than I am with that. But you still play piano in the library despite the obvious drawbacks. So maybe there's hope. And maybe one day you'll get access to an excellent real piano, even if you don't get to own it. Meanwhile. I hope you don't let the annoyance stop you from playing.

In my own case there have been times when I've had to take a step down from what I'd grown used to - mostly with recording equipment, where my 4-track recording machine broke and I had to use 2 cassette recorders to multi-track. I couldn't afford to get the 4-track fixed or replaced. It was certainly annoying, but it was either that or give up, and it's rare that I give up, especially with music. There was also a great electric guitar that got stolen. There was something about how it responded that I've never been able to get back. But replacing it now would be prohibitively expensive. So it's bad, but I don't see any way out of it.

I want to share a review of my tv pilot script:
I also reached out to Alex Plank (one of the co-founders of Wrong Planet)
over a week ago and haven't heard back. He apparently works in tv/film.
viewtopic.php?t=424532

“Gregory” has a wide cast of characters. Protagonist is a mysterious personality that keeps us engaged until the end, and then leaves us wondering, “What’s next?” We can root for him through his journey. His traits resonate well with his actions. Greg/Andrew has a strong character arc that carries this episode well, and the stakes are high throughout. In addition, Chris is a strong supporting character. The reader felt that the way Greg's relationship plays out with Kristina is unpredictable, and it's NOT easy to see what's going to happen.

The setting is intriguing and well created. There are some spectacular locations and events. The writer spends much of the script with the characters. This is helpful in establishing them as people. We know when the acts begin and end, so this aspect does not need much tweaking. The pacing and rhythm are good in this script too. Some parts of this script were beautiful to read and you have a natural voice for narrative writing.

The concept is bright, it just needs help through the characters, however, they have distinct individual personalities. Try to develop them a little more, and this will help the concept embolden. There are ripe character roles for diverse, high value talent and this has potential on VOD or streaming platforms with star attachments.

The overall script has a lot of great qualities that add to the world to the script. The audience would have an easy time resonating with this script, because of the external narratives each of the characters present. There is a large audience for a story like this with dramatic, action and adventure elements to broaden the script's appeal.

None the less your tone of writing and the diction you choose create a visually beautiful story. With some revisions, this script will make an excellent series.

Also from Xkalybr Films - Danny Arroyo

Break a leg, Greg. There will be many production companies out there who will love to option your work.

^

That's cool and all, but it doesn't carry the weight you seem to think it does.

At any rate, I find myself confused as to why people explicitly ask if their expectations are unreasonable - but then defend the reasonableness of their expectations when told they may not be reasonable.

I started a thread because I have felt doubt at times, uncertainty, not having my expectations met.
That's normal.

The comments about my tv script carry a lot of weight and are meaningful to me.

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

-George Bernard Shaw

Succeed first. Then toss quotes like that.

Doing otherwise is just aspirational noise.

I'm already a success in music as far as I'm concerned. Reached a professional level.
Have compositions. Happy with what I've accomplished as a musician.

As for my tv script, need to make a sale. It can be tedious contacting agents and trying to get taken seriously
when you already know you have a good product. I have to stay focused and the results I desire should follow.

Mm-hmm.

Whelp, good luck then...

OP, have you written anything else since writing the script 10 years ago? Have you attended any writing workshops?

I haven't written any other scripts or works of fiction. I've had dozens of opinion piece letters published in local newspapers,
though I'm not compensated for these. I've also written many troll like posts for fun on a different message board (in the form of a short story) to entertain myself.

I have not attended writing workshops.

I still firmly believe I can sell my script. What you are asking is a common question. People - including members of my own familiy - have said 'well, you haven't written anything else'.

Well.. true but the idea is to be compensated for what I have written already. I haven't been inspired to write a different script. It would have happened already if it was meant to be.

I know my script may not appear perfect to some people. I know it may have some flaws. Yet it gets the job done IMO.
It's solid enough and I don't see why I shouldn't be compensated for it. I believe in the vision of not only the pilot episode but a series lasting a number of seasons.

Feel free though to list any thoughts you may have if you've read the script. (link provided in original post)

You seem to have some peculiar ideas as to how the world works.

I’m going to be frank. After reading your script, I think that your piano playing is much stronger than your writing. Even with brilliant writing, it’s hard to break into the business. Solid is not enough. Many people write scripts (or books for that matter) hoping to make a hefty sum, but given how much competition there is, success is pretty unlikely. If you enjoy writing, it might be something to continue exploring and improving upon. I’d look into writing workshops, classes, or even just books with exercises. It would still be difficult to make it as a writer, but writing is a great hobby.

Writers write. They grow and work on their craft in a similar way that people work on their piano playing. Even famous, accomplished pianists continue to grow and improve. They learn new pieces, they modify some aspect of their playing in pieces that have been in their repertoire for years, they continue fine-tuning details and the emotional aspect of playing even when they are brilliant technicians, and they try new genres/composers/etc.

I don’t think you will find a buyer for your script. I’m saying that because focusing on selling it rather than on music or other goals and hobbies may not be the best use of your time. You don’t want to look back and say that you wish you would’ve devoted more time to honing some skill or activity you enjoy instead of putting your life on hold for something that probably won’t happen.

You seem to want to tell me why things won't work out.
I focus on why they can.

Thanks for adding your perspective and reading the script. It's a clever story, endearing and mysterious in a way. Music is not a challenge for me. Breaking into tv/film is. I feel good focusing on the tv script and will continue to focus on what brings the greatest potential reward. It's not impossible for it to happen. You're not the first to tell me what you're saying.
It's ok to have that opinion. Ultimately I am the driver of my project and I determine it's success.

I even wrote a theme song for the show
[youtube] https://youtu.be/CRozFiJpRYg[/youtube]

Another thing is that some people don't want to see others be successful. It threatens their sense of self. I'm not saying that's happening on this thread, but I do know it is absolutely true when you are ambitious. You'll have a long lineup of people telling you it's impossible. Because for them, it doesn't make sense.

If you've spent that much time on one script and it hasn't gained any traction, it's unlikely to ever. I'm not going to tell you that you won't get a script or show idea sold, but it's well past the time where admitting that this is probably not the one is in order and come up with something else.

This is a tough business to break into, and if you've only got one thing to pitch, it had better be the next John Livingston Seagull, because anything much short of that is probably not going to cut it unless it somehow gets into the hands of somebody that can do something.

There are any number of reasons why scripts don't go anywhere, from things like failure to adhere to the conventions of how they're formatted, to a script being too niche, the wrong niche or just more appropriately told in a different format. Sometimes it's just a matter of the script not getting into the right hands, or getting into the right hands the same day that a bunch of other really strong options do as well.

Just plugging away with the same thing for this long and not getting results is kind of sad, because you probably would have made more progress setting it aside and working on some other ones. Even if you did ultimately revisit it, you'd revisit it with fresh eyes and perhaps a new sense of what you can do with it. It may sound weird, but if you look at something that you've created after a while, you do get a better sense of what other people are seeing than while you're actively working on it. People who sell their first script are extremely rare, and usually they're selling on the basis of who they are and some timely tie in to something that's going on with the zeitgeist at that time.

I don't mean to communicate that you can't be successful. You'll likely have a lot more luck coming up with a new idea every day and pitching it to anybody that will listen. When you've got some that people are responding to, that's when it's probably worth spending the time to flesh them out and see what piques your fancy. And, one of those will probably be something that somebody is willing to buy. Especially, if you find that it's ticking boxes with the 4 major segments or can be filmed on the cheap.

Good luck.