You may feel the temptation to tell people your show is doing better than it is.
You will meet people at festivals and conferences – creative types like yourself as well as Executives from Production Companies and Broadcasters and you may be tempted to exaggerate just how well your show is doing, or, exaggerate on how much work you have done.
Don’t do it !!!
First, if you tell someone that ABC Productions is interested and they aren’t, you are creating two problems.
1. If the person you are talking to talks with ABC, or maybe already knows them, and they talk about this you are busted. Which will ruin your chances with both those companies, and possibly anyone who they know (because they may tell their peers to watch out for you).
2. If you tell them ABC Productions is really interested and is probably going to option it you are only limiting yourself. How can you keep pitching your show when someone else is going to option it? Once it is optioned it is out of your hands.
Many of you might say after reading that first paragraph “I would NEVER do that.” Yeah well I’ve seen it more times than you would think. I’ve had people tell me their show was optioned when it wasn’t. And how did I know it wasn’t? Because they were still pitching it!
Second, if you tell people you have more done than you actually have, what are you going to do if someone is so impressed and interested that they ask to see the work?
The process of creating a show is a long process and the Executives understand that. If you meet someone at a conference and they like your show idea but it isn’t quite ready to show that is ok. Just tell them that. Use that meeting to establish a relationship. Ask them if you can contact them when the show is ready. Trust me, if it’s the right show for their company they will say yes.
The industry is a lot smaller than it seems. If you start lying about your show and it’s success, word will spread like wildfire and all that will do is make an already difficult task even harder, if not impossible.
These Executives are not only looking to see if they like your show, they are also looking to see if they want to work with you for the duration of your show, which, if things go well, could be years.
Just be straight with others and yourself about your progress and keep pushing toward the goal line.