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Amy Suto
Hello! 👋 I’m Amy Suto, a published author and freelance memoir ghostwriter. Subscribe to my newsletter & writing job board here!
A New Writer's Guide to Moving to Los Angeles & Surviving Hollywood
Hello! Welcome to Los Angeles. I am writing this from Pandemic Times, but one day soon it will not be The End of the World (I so dearly hope) and in that time the migration of new writers coming to this city to make it in Hollywood will resume.
How to Hire and Work with Freelancer Writers
When I'm not writing my scripted podcast, working in a TV writers' room, or on the road traveling for work and for play, I'm a freelance writer and memoir ghostwriter.
Remote Work Survival Guide: How to Work from Home and Not Lose Your Goddamn Mind
So, I heard you're working from home now! WELCOME to the league of pajama-wearing workers like myself. We've been doing this for awhile, come on in, the water's just fine. (So you can stop hoarding water bottles now, okay?)
Pandemic Diaries: How Writers Can 'Create Dangerously' in Times of Turmoil
Things are tough right now: how do we make the best of a crisis while taking care of ourselves and others? Part of the way I'm staying sane throughout this pandemic is by connecting frequently with friends and family over the phone and via FaceTime, reading good books, going on walks, and trying to focus on work even in a time of crisis.
10 Things To Do While Under Coronavirus Self-Quarantine for Writers and Creatives (Pandemic Survival Guide!)
In a matter of days, my writers' room began working from home, all my meetings and events got cancelled, and we had to put a pin in all of the in-person programming we had set up for Kingdom of Pavement. I started lining up freelance work for when my writers' room ends with the intention of just hanging out at home for a bit while this whole pandemic absorbs the entire city and also does the impossible: quell Los Angeles traffic. (Drag racing on Sunset Blvd, anyone?)
The 9 Things I Did Right in My Writing Career in 2019
Hello! It's time for my 2019 wrap-up post, and I thought I'd go over the 9 things I did right this year in my writing and in life.
Weekend Read: Ronan Farrow's Catch & Kill, Trevor Noah's Born a Crime, oh and also Cold War Kids Have a New Album
Hello! Happy November, world. I've been writing my millennial underground this story for #NaNoWriMo, and, in classic National Novel Writing Month form, I'm behind. But if you keep visiting amysuto.com/underground, you'll find new chapters added.
How to Ghostwrite a Memoir (Ghostwriting 101)
Anyways, it's October and I haven't blogged since I got back from Berlin. It's also sPoOkY sEaSoN which means I have to go to Halloween parties thrown by actors who somehow have ENDLESS costume/wig/special effects makeup to the point where 1 actor friend could outfit all the dayplayers on an episode of THE WALKING DEAD and STILL have leftover digs for the cast of FEAR THE WALKING DEAD.
A Year of Writing: What I've Learned from Traveling, Writing for TV, Freelancing, & Ghostwriting Memoirs for People All Over the World
I'm on a rooftop bar in Paris, talking to an American who works in "security" in third world countries (read: definitely CIA) and an allegedly famous actor from Istanbul. The sun is setting, the actor is buying all of us shots, and we're toasting to meeting new people and getting out of our comfort zones in the golden glow of the evening.
How to Plan a Research Trip for Your Script or Novel
Want to make the most out of your research trip for your script or novel? Look no further! Here are my top tips to have inspired adventures.
THE PRISONER (1967): Day 5 of 31 Days of Spy Films & Television
Welcome back, spy fans! This is day 5 of my non-consecutive blog series of the best spy shows and movies.
4 Lessons Writers Can Learn from Yoga and Meditation
As I've mentioned before on this blog, I'm in the middle of training for my yoga certification so I can teach yoga for writers. As someone who loves to experiment with ways to improve my writing and creative mind, yoga and meditation were always something I turned to in order to find space for my process. Now, I'm taking a deep dive, and it's been transformative.
How to Be an Introverted Writer in Hollywood and Other Truths about Introversion
As an introverted writer, I'm going to share some of the observations I've made about making my way through the world and what I wish everyone knew about working with introverts.
Writing Routines: A Holistic Approach to Crafting Your Weekly Writing Schedule
If you think I'm writing these blog posts in part so I can spend my mornings browsing aesthetically pleasing photos of coffee and desks and people writing in dramatic lighting, you'd be 100% right. Also, it's January, so I'm on that Self Development Kick that we all get when advertisers are hammering into our minds how we can be better, and our new years' resolutions haven't faded from our minds for the next 11 months.
The 4 Best Los Angeles Coffeeshops to Write Your Screenplay In
So the best new years' resolution I've ever achieved is 'become a regular in independently-owned coffeeshops I love.' And as a screenwriter living in Los Angeles, this basically makes me a god. Or just someone who drinks way too much coffee.
The Americans: Day 4 of 31 Days of Spy Films & Television
Because I work on a spy show, I knew I had to see the full series. I, like so many people I know, gave up around season 1 because I found it a bit dull. On the spectrum, I prefer a bit more elevated spy thrillers because I find that if you get too grounded you run the risk of something too muddled and pedantic rather than a slick and gut-wrenching show that hits in an emotional place while keeping the tension high.
A Writers' Life in 2018: Novel Writing, Freelancing, First Episode of Television
It's December! You know what that means: a lengthy reflection on the year that's passed, with all the ups and downs and status on my impending carpal tunnel!
The Bourne Trilogy (Spy Month, Day 3)
In this weird shadow universe where tyrannical television hosts now run nations, I refuse to let one more injustice tip the scales. So, we're not going to acknowledge any of the Bourne films beyond Ultimatum.
La Femme Nikita (1990) and the Nikita TV Series: Spy Month, Day 2
For those of you playing along at home, the answer is yes, I am posting three blog posts for this series today because I didn't post any yesterday and I'm already behind for spy month. Feel free to judge me, I also blog professionally so really I have no excuse other than "I'm busy playing pretend for a living and this blog truly exists just so I can craft my piecemeal dissertation about why I'm never going to watch The Wire."
The Third Man (1949): Spy Month, Day 1
Today's film is none other than the classic 1949 film, THE THIRD MAN. It's not squarely in the spy genre as it's set in post-war Vienna and pre-Cold War, but the noir style and general sense of intrigue place it in my definition of the "spy" genre.
31 Days of Spy Films and Television
In honor of starting in a new writers' room for a spy show, I'm writing 31 blog posts about some of my favorite movies and TV shows within the genre. That's 31 days filled with intrigue and conspiracy and white men angrily hanging up the phone as Jason Bourne gets away yet again.
Method Writing: Exercises to Experience the Stories You're Writing
I love collecting weird hobbies and experiences, and often joke that I'm a "method writer." It's only partially a joke: I've been known to seek out adventures in the same flavor of what I'm writing. (See: this deep cut from my archives where I shot guns and learned about them six years ago for a novel I was writing. Baby Amy was -- and still is -- a die hard method writer.)
How I Made My First $10k as a Freelance Writer on Upwork
I just passed my $10,000 milestone on Upwork, time to pop the champagne and share some tips for those of you also looking to jump into the freelance writing world! As I mentioned in my previous post (Day in the Life of a Freelance Writer) I do freelance writing full-time when I'm in-between writers' rooms.
Day in the Life of a Freelance Writer
Hello friends! I'm back from doing some travel (San Fran for work, Tahoe for play) and also just moved into a new apartment with my best friend who also happens to cook the best Italian food you've ever tasted.
Writers' Life: How Your Examined Life Informs The Stories You Tell
Just like you are what you eat, you write what you live. While I believe that write what you know is a narrow way to approach the vast expanse of stories you could be telling, I do believe that our own experiences create a prism through which we see the world and write about it.
What Nobody in Film School Tells You About Getting a Job After You Graduate
There are a lot of Things They Don't Tell You in film school about getting a job after you graduate -- and mostly that's because your professors and advisors don't know what the current conditions of the film and television job market are, and what jobs aspiring writers, directors, etc. should actually pursue.
The 3 Rules of Making it As a Writer in Los Angeles
Every artist should have a code, a set of rules, to keep them sane in a city with more traffic than trees and way overpriced lattes. I have three rules that I set for myself ever since I came out to LA, and they've governed every decision I've made out here.
Writing in Hollywood: Should Men Tell Women's Stories?
Back in the day, I wrote a guide for men on how to write female characters.In a nutshell: like human beings. Complex, flawed, whole. Strong -- but also weak. A spectrum, just like male characters have been written about for decades in film and television.
How to Write a Series Bible for Your TV Show
It's the top of the New Year and I hope you're as ready for this year as I am! Every year after Christmas I let my OCD tendencies take over and deep clean my apartment and get my projects in order by making a project calendar. I also get started on new scripts, so I thought I'd write this post about how to write a killer series bible for your TV show. Let's write stacks on stacks of final drafts this year guys, OK?
5 Best Writing Articles of 2017 from AmySuto.com
In 2017 I worked on two different TV shows, wrote lots of pages, and took far too many artsy photos of my cat. I also wrote some blog posts. If you missed them, here are some of my best articles about writing from 2017:
Hello! 👋 I’m Amy Suto. I’m a bestselling author, creator of the bestselling Substack Make Writing Your Job, and a 7-figure freelance memoir ghostwriter. Subscribe to my newsletter and writing job board to learn how to make writing your job!
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MY NEW BOOK: WRITE FOR MONEY & POWER
The anti-starving-artist's guide to becoming a seven-figure writer.
NEW SERIAL: LET ME BE YOUR GHOST
My serialized billionaire romance — a ghostwriter with secrets, a CEO with more. Read chapter one free →
MY ROMANTASY NOVEL: THE ASH TRIALS
The deadliest game is remembering who you are.
MY DETECTIVE NOVEL: THE NOMAD DETECTIVE
Crime crosses borders, but so does this detective.
MY HOW-TO BOOK: SIX-FIGURE FREELANCE WRITER
Work smarter, not harder — without the burnout.
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