We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shannan E. Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Shannan E., thanks for joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

In the entertainment industry, there are companies that offer what we call script coverage for screenwriters. Script coverage is an evaluation of the marketability of a screenplay. Script coverage is most beneficial to buyers – executives at networks and studios, producers, managers, and agents. However, script coverage companies advertise to screenwriters as their target audience for several reasons: 1. If those companies are supported by networks and studios, then screenwriters want access to those networks. 2. All screenwriters are looking for acknowledgement and approval, and this can be a route to one or both. 3. Even screenwriters who are not at a level to receive positive feedback will purchase script coverage, so it’s a great stream of income for these companies. With that said, script coverage is unhelpful to screenwriters because receiving positive or negative marks doesn’t set them up with a plan to address the problem areas in their screenplays and grow as a writer.

The Professional Pen (TPP), however, is a script consultancy where we develop creatives and their narrative content from idea to pitch to build more confident storytellers. We believe if you develop the writer, the content will come. For this reason, TPP does not offer script coverage. We do not focus on marketability because the market is ever-changing, and we may not be the target audience of the screenplay, so who are we to tell a screenwriter that their script won’t sell. Instead, we offer Development Notes. Development Notes are what screenwriters receive from executives at networks and studios when they are in professional deals with their screenplays. TPP has taken this detailed page-note method and added objective, constructive feedback that acknowledges the problem areas, informs the writer why it is causing an issue in the script, and offers suggestions on how to fix it without writing the story for them or changing the story into something that it isn’t, which happens often in this industry. It is our job to present the problem. It is the writer’s job to fix it. We don’t fish for them. We teach them to fish.

One of the most beneficial parts of working with TPP is our submission process. At script coverage companies, a screenwriter’s script may be read by a different reader each time it is submitted therefore receiving subjective and possibly contradicting feedback from those who did not read the original submission. How can they possibly know if the writer is progressing or regressing if they don’t read each draft? To remedy this industry-wide issue, TPP partners each client with a Story Expert who will track their progress throughout their writing journey. Because their assigned Story Expert reads each draft of their screenplay, the client can receive notes on their ability to take notes, be informed when they have a consistent area of need, and receive encouragement when they address a note that makes their screenplay stronger.

Shannan E., love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Shannan E. Johnson, a former creative executive at The Syfy Channel turned storytelling expert who develops creatives and their ideas for the screen. I honed my skills in all stages of the development process taking showrunners from pitch to production on Alphas, Being Human, Haven, Sanctuary, Warehouse 13, and more Syfy dramedies.

I call Hollywood the largest gated community in the world. You cannot get the passcode unless you know someone. Nepotism at its finest. I left the industry for 8 years to travel the globe as a performing artist in dance companies and Broadway National Tours. During that time, my love for storytelling didn’t wane, so I began The Professional Pen (TPP) in 2014 as the ultimate side hustle. But when I returned to LA and realized I, too, was on the outside of the gate, I turned my side hustle into a full-time career becoming the CEO of the first black-owned script consultancy in the entertainment industry.

At TPP we access our clients’ vulnerabilities and make them put themselves on the page in order to create impactful stories. We offer services from idea to pitch including our bestseller Development Notes, proofreading + formatting, workshops, workbooks, courses and more for emerging to experienced screenwriters. For more information: www.awriterforyourwriter.com.

I am a script consultant = teacher + therapist. I use life to teach storytelling techniques and screenplay structure, and I use storytelling elements to teach life in The #RealityChaser Speaker Series for undergraduate students with big dreams. This series helps student retention by teaching them to become active participants in their education, to create goals for a successful career path, and most importantly, to not be afraid of failure because it prevents us from taking the leap and having an awesome story to tell. For more information: www.realitychaser.com.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I once had a budding consultant ask me this question and my response shocked her. I built my audience by telling them I was good at what I do. Period. I had the experience, sure. But I had to prove my expertise by confidently proclaiming what I could do to the world even before I had clients. And it worked.

I grew up during a time where keeping business and personal separate was ingrained in me. I had to learn, however, that social media was the merging of the two. If you can get your audience to like you as a person, they then trust you. If they trust you, they’ll patronize your business. So after being on social media for three years, I finally put up a picture of myself talking a bit about my journey and the ride has been a thrill ever since.

On my social media platform (IG: @theprofessionalpen), I am completely myself. I have branded TPP in my voice where I am comfortable. It helps my clients know what they’re going to get. I am transparent and consistent. I prove my expertise by being confident in what I’m saying and then backing it up by providing stellar service. Social media presence can’t stand alone and neither can expertise. But when a business owner is confident in what they know, don’t know, and what they are offering, I’ve found that clients are more willing to take the risk and try their service.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I live a life of pivoting. I call myself a quitter. But not in a negative way. I believe that each day we wake up with breath in our bodies is another opportunity to do something different. I don’t take that opportunity for granted.

I walked straight off the graduation stage and into my career as an Academic Scholarship Advisor and Recruiter at my alma mater. It didn’t take long before I realized I was helping my students pursue their dreams – even starting a non-profit for teen girls – while stifling my own. So, I quit. I packed my life into my Chevrolet Cavalier and headed to Hollywood.

Post film school, I became a TV Executive taking stories from pitch to production at The Syfy Channel. Then, I quit… because YOLO. I explored the world touring 20 countries and 48 states in dance companies and Broadway National Tours. I inhaled culture, perspective and experience that honed my craft and catapulted my confidence. So, when I returned to LA to live my purpose as a development executive but doors continued to slam in my face, I took the leap and bet on myself. I stopped pursuing my dreams and started chasing my reality. I became the protagonist of my own story.

So, I’m proud to say that I’m a former University Academic Advisor, former Nonprofit Executive Director, former Development Executive, and former International Performing Artist because it led me to being the CEO of the first black-owned script consultancy, The Professional Pen. I took all the things that I enjoyed from each of my life experiences and turned my side hustle into my full-time job where I now develop creatives and their content for the screen.

Because of my pivoting, I’m the most successful that I’ve ever been and I now have a story to tell to teach others to not be afraid to take the leap. This is how I created The #RealityChaser Speaker Series. I realize so many people are afraid to pivot, thinking their first choice must last a lifetime. When in reality, we have the ability to spark change and create the lives we want to live. Every pivot deepens our experience in this life. So, if I ever have to pivot again, I’m ready.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.awriterforyourwriter.com
• Instagram: @theprofessionalpen
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheProfessionalPen
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannanejohnson/
• Twitter: @shannanejohnson
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/shannanejohnson

Image Credits
Photographers: Jeff Hanes (green photos) Markell Blake (Stage/Talkback photos) Film: TRUFFLE SAUCE (set, movie poster photos)