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Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Speaking of, we're thankful to be sharing another interview from another one of our Success Stories! We interviewed Jeremy Hsing, who signed Affirmative Entertainment after winning our Roadmap Writers Diversity Fellowship.
Firstly, tell us about yourself! Who are you as a writer & who did you end up signing with?
I'm Jeremy Hsing, a writer/director born and raised in Chino Hills California (home to the Ball Brothers, a $528 million lottery winner, and a lot of cows). I was born on Leap Day because my Taiwanese immigrant mom couldn't hold in my big head (my mom thought I would be mad at her for being born on a day that only exists once every 4 years). I use my big head and B.A. in Psychology from UCLA to write genre-bending thrillers where haunted truth-seekers fight against seemingly insurmountable odds to reclaim their stolen agency and wrench catharsis from chaos. I recently signed with Nicholas Bogner at Affirmative Entertainment, who I know is a big fan/collaborator of Roadmap Writers!
How did you meet your now rep? What was that first interaction like and how did it lead to your professional relationship now?
I was connected with Nicholas through my mentor Radha Mehta, who passed along my script after learning that I won the Roadmap Writers Diversity Fellowship. Nicholas hopped on a call with Joey, who advocated for me as a writer and human being (humans first always!) Because of that double referral, Nicholas read my feature. He loved it and requested a second sample to make sure I wasn't a one hit-wonder. I sent him the pilot that I've been working on through the Roadmap Writers' Career Writer Program, and he loved the script as well, so we had an in-person brunch together and immediately hit it off as we shared similar creative sensibilities. He signed me there on the spot and has been incredibly helpful with providing feedback on my scripts ever since!
How did (if at all) Roadmap Writers assist in getting you to this point? Do you think you could've made this step in your screenwriting career without Roadmap?
Winning the Roadmap Writers Diversity Fellowship and getting Joey's co-sign was a big help in convincing Nicholas that I was a writer worth taking seriously. I will proudly include winning the fellowship in my creative bio for the rest of my life!
What types of stories do you write? What's your "writer brand" and how do you think that helped you attract a good match for representation?
My stories crackle with psychic tension and mythic fury guided by one unshakable belief: there is no such thing as a villain, only a broken human being desperate to feel seen. I pride myself in being able to combine the engaging hook of genre stories with the beating heart of character dramas. Because when facts and statistics fail to change minds, stories have the capability to change hearts if done with grace, empathy, and nuanced storytelling.
Nicholas fell in love with how singular my voice is and how thematically rich my stories are, especially pertaining to social commentary.
Are you ready to take the next step in your career?
We get it. Getting signed, or whatever your next step may be, can be hard. That’s why we’re here. Our programs are designed to help you find success, whatever that means to you. Here are some great ways to get started:
THE CAREER WRITER PROGRAM
This is the most extensive program we offer. The Career Writer Program doesn’t just get you and your material in front of industry executives. We make sure you’re ready for that moment, which is why most of our success stories come from writers who complete the Career Writer Program.
ACCESS PROGRAMS
Our Access Programs, 10-Minute Reads and Open Pitch Sessions, are named as such because that’s exactly what they are—accessible. These programs are one of the easiest ways we offer for you to get your material in front of industry executives. Plus you’ll get valuable feedback on what’s working, and what could be improved.
CONSULTATIONS
If you want to work one-on-one with industry executives, consultations might just be the program for you. We offer a wide variety of consultation types, so you can have a meeting for whatever you want to focus on. This program is a great way to dive in and get personalized notes from industry professionals.
Be sure to check our website often and sign up for our mailing list at the bottom of any page of the site, as we are always bringing new executives and offerings to you.
If you want to hang with other writers and get a feel of our amazing community, join us at our monthly Writing Hours!