FROM A WRITER'S REJECTION TO INSPIRATION

By Joanna D'Angelo

I have something to share that starts out kind of frustrating but ends on an inspiring note. It's also an example of why I love movies. When you're feeling down - movies can really lift your spirits or inspire or just make you laugh. Julie and Julia did that for me this past weekend but more on that later.

For the past many weeks I was working on developing a documentary series about a woman - a very fascinating and unique woman who had gone from rags to riches back to rags and was making a comeback. She is very well known in many circles. I pitched my idea to a producer that I've worked with in Ottawa - one whom I trust and respect. My producer then approached this person and we set up a meeting which went better than I could have dreamed.

Several meetings later we all had bonded and we had a verbal agreement with this woman. My producer was working on getting this woman to sign a legal agreement so that she could go ahead and approach broadcasters. Meanwhile I was happily working on a proposal for the show.

I spoke with this woman several times by phone and I felt that we had really hit it off. I had a really good feeling about her. We all felt good about the project and we all felt good about what we were doing. We were very respectful of her and we wanted this project to tell her story. I finished the proposal and sent it off to my producer. And then two days later my producer called me to say that it was a no go.

My producer had received an e-mail from the woman, informing us that she would no longer be working with us because she had met with another producer and would be working with them instead. She wasn't mean in the e-mail - in fact she ended it with a "love..." Keep in mind that we approached her - she hadn't even thought about doing a show about this phase of her life. So my producer e-mailed and called her. She has yet to call back.

I had spent weeks on this proposal. I had a terrible writer's block that I managed to push through. I wrote, what I thought, was one of my best proposals ever. My producer even told me it was the best proposal she'd ever read. Well, at least I had that. But what to do now. I felt lousy.

I've been rejected many times from producers, broadcasters, film festivals, funding agencies, writing contests - you name it! But this time I felt that I had let myself down as well because I didn't read her better from the get-go. And I was frustrated because I had this great proposal with no subject - therefore no TV show!

TV is tough. So very tough. I think for anyone who has tried to pitch a show - it's a long process and what begins as your baby ends up belonging to a gazillion people - unless you're David Chase or David Kelly or Larry David (what is it about the Davids?). So when you have an idea about a show that you think is really, really good and you have everyone on board who matters and then the person who matters most - the subject - pulls out - well it's hard to deal with. So I was feeling a little sorry for myself. For a while. (I think we all have a right to do that after we get rejected).

Then this past weekend I went to see Julie and Julia starring Amy Adams (as Julie Powell) and Meryl Streep (as Julia Child). We're familiar with the story by now - Julie Powell is an aspiring writer feeling unfulfilled as she approaches 30. She decides to challenge herself and write a blog - documenting her experiences as she attempts all 524 recipes of Julia Child's cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" over the course of one year.

The movie beautifully parallels Powell's life with Child's and of course the similar struggles they both go through - about trying to find that creative fulfillment that inspires you to bounce out of bed every day.

After watching Julie and Julia I was inspired. I have more ideas and more projects I'm working on that I'm excited about. So it's time to move on and "get cooking"! I chalked up the proposal I wrote to another "learning" experience. I learned how to be a better writer. I learned how to be more careful when it comes to these types of projects in the future. I learned to not be so hard on myself for things I can't control. In short getting rejected can end up being a rather positive experience.

Has anyone experienced any rejections regarding a proposal or idea? How did you work through it?

Images Courtesy of http://www.julieandjulia.com/