Today I’m cross-posting with my friend Jeane’s blog Writing & Wellness about generals. Jeane and I are co-chairs of the Women’s Committee at the WGA (yeah that basically means if you care about women in the arts you have to subscribe to my newsletter ok???). If you’ve never heard of generals, or you work in a different industry, imagine you always had to go on job interviews for jobs that don’t exist. It’s like networking on steroids! If you’re missing my other content, I’ll be bringing you more soon (if you want to know what’s taking so long read my last post about mold! I’m moving!) But for now, one of the first things you hear about as a writer is a general meeting. So let’s find out wtf that is!!
What is a general?
Jeane: A general is an informational meeting, to borrow a term from the corporate world, except people don’t show up in suits, like ever. In fact, writers usually dress very casually, think t-shirts, jeans sort of thing. But not too casual that they aren’t taken seriously, so no clubbing clothes. Whatever the goldilocks of casual dressing is. Some writers call generals a “water bottle tour.” Because back in the olden times when these meetings were in person, you used to get a water bottle or cup of water before each meeting. Now they’re on zoom.
Andra: I do miss the chemistry in person, but doing them over zoom is a lot more convenient, because generals are kind of like first dates with people who may or may not even be looking for someone. I’ve done a few in-person lately and they seem to go a lot longer than zoom- it’s way more fun to get lost in a conversation in person.
Where do you hear of general mtgs?
Jeane: Some I get on my own from networking, it could be colleagues, mentors, WGA platform (when I used to use it), or writer events. Networking is a whole other substack but yes I get a lot on my own. By the way, I was on a zoom with Starz recently and they said they still use the WGA portal so I encourage writers to use it. I also get a lot of generals from my manager and agent. Some reps think generals are useless. My old reps got me less than five a year. I switched reps and now I have like 30 something a year and it's first world problem as I’ve had to turn down opportunities that weren’t right. Granted, most were opportunities for free work (another substack). But personally for me, I find generals super useful because I think you can totally turn it into a possible staffing thing or development sale. I’ve done more the latter.
Andra: Wait, how do you do that?
Jeane: I stalk executives to make them buy my pitch. Just kidding. No for original ideas I want to pitch, I’ll usually send an email as a follow up. Here’s a template: “I wanted to check in. I remember when we met, you guys mentioned being open to me circling back with development. I'm following up because I have this idea. (Then I’ll give the logline). Let me know your thoughts. I can flesh it out more into a take.” Of course I personalize it a lot more but that’s the gist and we go from there back and forth, back and forth, get a one pager, then a take, then a pitch out, then it’s pitching and/or possible attachments for pitching. It’s a whole process.
Andra: I have a little bit of a crush on how you seem so comfortable doing that. I get so much anxiety about reach outs!! I have gotten generals from both friends and managers. Like, one time I really wanted to meet at CBS because they had a bunch of great comedies in development, so I asked a friend to ask another friend and he got me a meeting. It went so well, we really enjoyed each other, they were forwarding me on to some of the comedies in hopes they got picked up that season and then… CBS cancelled all of their comedies in development. But that’s the breaks sometimes!
Jeane: It’s tough out there, especially more so now.
What's the difference between a GENERAL general and a general geared towards a show or opening writing assignment (OWA)?
Andra: A general general is so vague. Like, you’re literally just doing a vibe check with another person. Sometimes it feels like they’re just filling up their quota of meetings to look busy, other times you get a really genuine connection, and every once and a while you’re right for something they know is being developed and they pass you on for another meeting with a different person. At those meetings, you should’ve done the research on who you’re meeting with and what kind of projects they’re into, but you’re also just trying to show them how rad you are. When you’re meeting for an actual job or open writing assignment, then it’s a little closer to a traditional job interview where you’re trying to show what makes you right for the job.
Jeane: Andra brings up a good point. A general that isn’t for a particular job shouldn’t feel like a lot of pressure, too. It’s a get to know you and making sure you aren’t too crazy. I mean we’re writers, we’re all a little off kilter in our unique way. Think of it like a first date. A general with a possible job on the line has a little more stakes, like someone is sussing out if they want to DTR.
Is there a difference between a feature general and a TV general?
Andra: I have actually never had a feature general, so I can’t say!
Jeane: I’ll add, they have always been the same for me. For feature generals, they can be a GENERAL general or with a job on the line, much like in TV. And sometimes it’s combined. I’ve met execs who cover both at smaller production companies. I’m never sure if I should push for more TV or feature things in this situation. What do you do, Andra?
Andra: I am working on a couple of features about topics I’m really passionate about, but mostly in my career I target TV work because I love the collaborative nature of TV. I love a room.
How do you prepare for a general?
Andra: I prepare so much and it hardly ever is necessary. I google, I look at imdbPro, I ask around to try and figure out what projects might be in the pipeline somewhere. But half the time the conversation just becomes about what art someone has on their wall or what weird thing I did last week. Sometimes I feel like it’s better to just have a human conversation. And online research hardly ever paints the full picture of what a company is up to, so you kind of have to figure out on the fly. I do, in the time of zoom, keep a google doc next to the zoom window of things the person or company has worked on and why I would have been good on that project, and a list of all of my samples and scripts and pitches that may be close to what they’re looking for to remind myself. I have ADHD so I’m much better at vibing in a meeting than I am at remembering whatever I prepared or rehearsed.
Jeane: I do a similar amount of research. My rule of thumb is to stop at the 3rd google page. If you’re on their Facebook photo from the trip in Barcelona four years ago, you went too far. I usually don’t take more than half an hour to research and I try to come up with 4-5 talking points, whether it’s Hollywood related or I saw in my research similar fandoms about something.
What should you expect going into and after a general?
Jeane: I still stand by the first date analogy. Be chill. Don’t be desperate. Even if you are.
Andra: Yeah this is the hardest part. Be genuine, treat them like you’d want to be treated if you were in their shoes. Give honest compliments if you like their work, try to talk about your work with confidence, and be specific about what you want and what you’re looking for. But Jeane’s right. As with everything in Hollywood, it’s about seeming hungry… but not thirsty. Y’know?
Jeane: I have no notes on what Andra said.
What is the worst general you've had?
Jeane: I once had an executive think I was a different Asian. They were mortified once they realized it. And another meeting geared towards a show I was dying to staff on, I was so nervous and there were so many people in the meeting, I came off super amped up. On top of that, I also really got some negative feedback (a first for me as far as I know), that was a little racial-sized when I asked a mentor about it. It was a bummer because I wanted to be on that show but I wound up getting an offer from a room around the same time so it worked out.
Andra: I have not had a truly horrifying experience yet.
How do you recover from a bad meeting, then?
Andra: But I have had a few generals where it felt like we couldn’t connect, or I was afraid I said something dumb. In that case… I talk to my husband, my friends, my therapist, my dog… anybody who I know likes me no matter what happens with my career. And I try to just move on.
Jeane: I do the exact same thing. Just kidding. No, but I usually call my reps. I’ll maybe phone-a-friend if I need to vent too. It’s important to have colleagues who can confirm and commiserate with you.
What is your go to question at the end of a general meeting?
Andra: I try to ask questions about the person rather than the company at the end. Because I always think of it as a relationship with that human being. The company may be temporary for them. So I ask stuff like, what are you most proud of in your career? What’s your dream project to work on? What kind of writers do you like to work with most? By the end of a meeting, I want to be sincere because nobody wants to be stuck in that last question with me trying to be funny when they really just want to go eat lunch or stop staring at a dumb screen. But I do sometimes ask offbeat questions in the beginning- about their dog, their art, where they went to school, anything I know from googling that we have in common. I once wound up spending an entire general talking to someone about being former choir kids and then at the end I was like, ok we have literally 2 minutes, give me 1 minute on your company mandate and 1 minute on your dreams.
Jeane: My questions are no where as impressive as Andra’s. Mine are so basic if it wasn’t already covered already. Like company mandates, what the company wants to produce etc and what they want to steer clear from. Spoiler: sometimes they don’t know. Also, sometimes I want to know the exec or producer’s personal tastes. That’s important for me. Because I’ll take notes and if I ever bring them material in the future I want to make sure it’s what they would like. Sometimes if I find out we have a common interest, I’ll ask about that too. Sometimes I don’t have questions and I’ll recap with how great it is to meet them, because it was and I love meeting people in this business.
Okay, that’s our general thoughts on generals. Is there anything else you’d like to see covered? Comment below.