i wrote a book called the back office bandit.
i spent the last decade compiling stories and experiences working in the film business and putting them together. i started writing this less than two years into my freelance career because i’d spent so long worrying and not understanding how people made a living in it, carrying this fear that i’d aimed for some delusional dream that i would fail at. yet somehow i managed to scrape a living doing just that, shocked and moved every time i was contacted by somebody i’d never heard from before, offering me a day-playing gig as a production assistant or willing to take a chance letting me coordinate or manage or produce a shoot.
i felt compelled to make a record of all the things that i didn’t know, all the things i was afraid of, and compile it, even haphazardly, into a place where the next ones in line could read it and maybe walk away understanding something that i had to struggle to find or learn the hard way.
the word serendipity comes to mind often — the fact that my career seemed to materialize out of dozens of disconnected efforts that never felt like they would add up to something as wonderful as it has. only in retrospect was i able to look through the past and put the pieces together and arrive at a profoundly deep appreciation for all the people that got me here.
all the things that had to go right.
all the sheer luck that came my way.
this book is a map of that movement. i didn’t do it alone, i didn’t do it perfectly, but it’s been more than i ever thought it would be.
the back office bandit can be purchased via the link in my bio.
