Tallfellow Press Blog

Press Release: Noted TV Writer to Tour This Summer in Support of Her How-to-Pitch Book

For archival reasons, here's the press release for Chris's spring tour (as of 3/30/05).

Press Release: 10 Minutes to the Pitch

This release was put out a few weeks ago, but I'm just posting it on the site now.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Pocket-Sized Pitching Coach Hits America's Bookstores

Pedro Martinez. Roger Clemens. Randy Johnson. All have pitching coaches to steer them toward victory. So should every Hollywood writer. Pitching - selling one's story to producers and executives - is the only way to stay in the game.

For those who can't afford a live-in coach to prep them for studio meetings, there's now a portable alternative: Writer and producer Chris Abbott's new book, TEN MINUTES TO THE PITCH: Your Last-Minute Guide and Checklist for Selling Your Story (Tallfellow Press, ISBN #1-931290-56-3, Jan. 2005).

TEN MINUTES TO THE PITCH is the second in Tallfellow's new Ten Minutes to Success series. Written by a Hollywood veteran who has pitched and been pitched to, the book provides invaluable insider advice as
o Turn Off Everything But Your Mind
o Don't Start Pitching Until You're in the Room
o Be Memorable (lacking natural charisma? Turn to page 83)
plus anecdotes from industry pros explaining what to do... and what not to do!

Compact and comprehensive, TEN MINUTES TO THE PITCH comes with a last-minute checklist that prepares writers for that all important moment on the mound, as well as a resource guide to get you in the game. At $12.95 and 4 1/2” wide, it's designed to fit any budget or pocket.

Chris Abbott's career began as a story editor on Little House on the Prairie. She went on to write for, consult on, and produce such shows as Cagney and Lacey, Magnum P.I. and Diagnosis Murder. She lives in Utah with her husband and son and is working on a novel. Her royalties are being donated to the Writer's Guild Foundation's Literacy and Library Programs.

Ten Minutes to the Pitch
By Chris Abbott
ISBN: 1-931290-56-3
120 pages, 4 _” x 7”, $12.95
Softcover, January 2005

Press Release: Become a Star in Ten Minutes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Become a Star in Ten Minutes
(or at least get the part!)

Go to the restroom, turn off all electronics (except pacemakers!) and never apologize!

What do these have to do with acting? You'd be surprised!

From getting a good night's sleep to exiting gracefully, Ten Minutes to the Audition (Tallfellow Press, ISBN 1-931290-55-5, October, 2004), the first in the new Ten Minutes to Success series from Tallfellow, tells novices and seasoned professionals alike everything they need to know to land the role.

Award winning actor Jack Klugman says, “Janice Lynde is a brilliant actress who really knows her craft. Why shouldn't she write the definitive book on auditioning? She did!”

With a unique Last-Minute Checklist as well as an invaluable Resource and Reference Guide, this book equips every actor with the tools to get the job… and then become a star!

About the author: Janice Lynde is a two-time Obie winning, Emmy-nominated actress and acting coach who originated the “Directing the Actor” program at The American Film Institute (AFI) and teaches at Robert Redford's Sundance Institute. Her acting credits include Six Feet Under, Touched By An Angel, The Odd Couple and General Hospital. Broadway turns include Applause, Pippin and Nine. She lives in Los Angeles, California.

Ten Minutes to the Audition
By Janice Lynde
ISBN: 1-931290-55-5
96 pages, 4-1/2 x 7-1/2
Softcover
October

Contact:
Claudia Sloan
Tallfellow Press
1180 So. Beverly Drive Suite 320
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Tallfellow@pacbell.net
(310) 203-3837 fax (310) 203-3893
http://www.tallfellow.com

Press Release: Have You Ever Screwed Up?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Have You Ever Screwed Up?

You're not alone!

Did you know that cheese, pacemakers, Velcro®, Ivory Soap®, chocolate chip cookies, stainless steel and Silly Putty® were all invented by accident?

Did you know that Gone with the Wind was rejected 25 times before it was published or that Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was rejected over 100 times? Both of which went on to sell millions of copies.

Or that John Murray Anderson, of the Anderson School of Drama, said “Try any other profession” to Lucille Ball!?

Or that Albert Einstein said “There is not the slightest indication that [nuclear energy] will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will”?

Well, they were and they did!

From “Oops” to “I can't go on another day!,” Great Failures of the Extremely Successful - Mistakes, Adversity, Failure and Other Steppingstones to Success (Tallfellow Press, September 2004, Hardcover and Softcover), by Steve Young, offers historical quotes and facts as well as inspirational first-hand accounts from over 60 accomplished people.

o Basketball great (and severe stutterer) Bill Walton says “I'm a better and happier person today than I ever would have been had I never gotten hurt; had I never had this nightmarish speech problem” (p.132)
o Former Texas governor Ann Richards says “Alcoholism and my additional treatment ended up becoming the most wonderful, most instructive, most important experience I've ever had in my life.” (p.142)
o Saturday Night Live's Julia Sweeney, after having and audience yell “get off the stage!,” says "...sometimes you need to first discover what you can't do before you can discover what you can." (p.171) to
o Rocker Billy Idol says “I've discovered that everything in my life that seemed to crash was a part of what pushed me forward" (p. 236)

So, don't be afraid to fail…it could be the best thing that ever happens to you!

Steve Young, who flunked out of four different colleges, is now an award-winning television writer, author, BBC's Hollywood correspondent and published pundit in the New York Times, USA Today, L.A. Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, L.A. Daily News and the National Lampoon. His radio and television appearances include FOX News Channel, NBC's Today, ABC's Good Morning America, CNN and CNNfn. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

Great Failures of the Extremely Successful: Mistakes, Adversity, Failure and Other Stepping Stones to Success
Steve Young
Tallfellow Press, Los Angeles
September, 2004,
ISBN: 1-931290-17-2 hardcover; $24.95, ISBN: 1-931290-19-9 trade paperback; $15.95

Contact:
Claudia Sloan
Tallfellow Press
1180 So. Beverly Drive Suite 320
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Tallfellow@pacbell.net
(310) 203-3837 fax (310) 203-3893
http://www.tallfellow.com