Ray Bard of Bard Press, America's most successful publisher of business books.
Do you recall what the wizard wrote
in today's MMMemo about The Full Plate Diet?
“Ray Bard is relentlessly pestered by would-be authors who use Ray’s friends to get to him. But I was one of the few 'safe' people in Ray’s life. I was spending valuable currency just to ask Ray for this favor.”
Like Ray Bard, screenwriter Josh Olsen recently got trapped by someone who wanted to ask him “a quick question,” someone who just wanted to “bounce something off him.”
After explaining what happened, how it happened and how he usually avoids this problem, Josh summarizes by saying, “This needs to be clear–when you ask a professional for their take on your material, you're not just asking them to take an hour or two out of their life, you're asking them to give you–gratis–the acquired knowledge, insight, and skill of years of work. It is no different than asking your friend the house painter to paint your living room during his off hours.”
You really should read the whole story. But be warned: in his frustration and unabashed anger, Josh drops what children call “the F-bomb” repeatedly in his opening paragraph. The effect is intended and highly effective. Josh makes you feel the inner rage of successful people who are thrust into the horribly awkward position of commenting on the work of aspiring amateurs. But if the language of the street causes you distress, don't click that link. Believe me when I tell you the wizard's staff doesn't want to read your note of polite complaint.
Trust me on this.