As I mentioned in my last post, I was on the cusp of making changes to my script of Dig Down based on the first set of notes I’d received from one of the screenplay competitions I’d entered. This didn’t take a backseat, but I decided to hit pause when I was informed I’d be getting my second set of notes from another of the three contests I’d entered.
To give a little backstory on this, the second set of notes would come from the Page Turner Screenplay Competition, which was actually the first of the contests to get back to me. This was the last of the three contests I had entered in January, and the one that I had to think about, because there were several different options for how to enter, including the one I selected, which was to get a live consultation with.
So I was a little surprised when they were the first to reach out to me (though I guess with the entry free associated with this service, I should have expected this). The contest was also really good about giving me updates, and the communication overall was really excellent.
On March 1st, I got an email from them letting me know that the reader was almost done and would have my notes soon. The date they proposed was the following Friday. March 10 would give me time to receive and digest the notes, and since this would be the second contest I’d received feedback from, I could compare the notes to see what specifically might need to be addressed.
I’d responded that the date worked for me, which it did. And here’s where things get a little haywire.
Our emails had stopped on Thursday, March 2nd, and resumed again on Monday, March 6th. Nothing out of the ordinary, definitely not an exorbitant amount of time had passed. The message I received included an apology that I hadn’t received the notes already, but that the reader wanted to look it over with a fresh set of eyes. I had initially noticed I hadn’t gotten the notes the previous week, but had otherwise put it out of my mind (this will be a trend), because I agreed to sit in on an interview panel for a couple days this week, including March 10.
When they asked if Friday, March 10, still worked for me, I immediately put the interview I was scheduled to be part of out of my mind (like I said, it was a trend), and told them the date still worked without checking my calendar. It wasn’t until the next day when I was about to submit a time off request for Friday that I noticed the conflict.
I couldn’t believe I’d done. I guess I should have though. Its always the one time I don’t check something that it comes back to bite me.
At first I thought this might not be so bad. Sure, the consultation and the interview were on the same day, but what were the odds they were at the exact same time. In my case, the odds were absolute. They always are when things are stacked against me.
Then I thought I’d found a reprieve. Both were scheduled at 2, but the contest was located in California. Maybe I was in luck, and 2 for them actually meant 5 for me. I sent an email to ask them, thinking I was stewing over nothing. Like I said, their communication was excellent and very responsive. They had taken into account I was on the east coast, so the 2 was my time. The reader was also in New York, so there’d be no issues there.
Great. Or as Rob would say, “Typical.”
This was like an episode out of one of those old sitcoms, where someone makes plans to date two girls at the same time, and tries to keep both, only to have it all blow up in his face. I was having that same sinking feeling.
Until I read the last line of the email:
“I’ve attached all the notes and Joe was excited by the script so should look forward to a great call on Friday at 2pm.”
I’ll continue this story…next time