Here is part 2, the conclusion of our interview with professional screenwriter Ben Epstein, with whom Greasy Pig Studios collaborated on the lookbook for his screenplay and directorial debut, Who Are You People. In this half Ben talks about the craft and business of being a screenwriter.

If you’re just joining us now, why not catch up with Part 1 of our Interview with Ben Epstein?

GPS: What are your tips for someone in your field, just starting out? What’s something you feel everyone makes too MUCH of a big deal about telling you when you were new at this, and what’s something you wish they’d emphasized more?

Ben Epstein: Well, different advice applies to all different aspects of the business. I only have experience breaking in as a TV and film writer, and I’m trying to sneak into a directing career based mostly on having written the script. So, for aspiring writers, the biggest piece of advice I have to is to not be precious about your work; tell people what it’s about at parties in a logline. Don’t act like everything is a magnum opus. Writing is a job, and you shoul think of it that way. If someone reads your script and doesn’t like it, don’t take it personally. Developing a thick skin is essential.

Another big thing is to try to balance your personal taste with what’s popular in the market place. You’ll get into trouble if you try to just emulate what’s hot right now, because the time you finish your script that movie type will already be out of vogue again. It’s a tricky balance; my approach has been to try to develop a unique voice and come up with ideas I’d like to see, and hope that they remain accessible despite changing trends. I often don’t succeed.

Be very mindful of who your script is for. Who is the audience? Who’s watching? And once you know who it’s for, see everything that could influence that piece of work.

As a writer on a TV show, are you working in a room with people, or are you by yourself on your laptop? Are you the kind of person that needs peace and quiet, or are you in a Starbucks down the street?

A writer’s room for a TV show is quite different than solo screenwriting. I sit in a room with eight other people, breaking stories, starting with the arc of the season, then the individual episodes, then the acts in those episodes, then the scenes themselves. By the time individual writers are sent off to work, a pretty detailed outline is already in place. Once a draft is completed, most show-runners take an uncredited pass on the script. More drafts go back and forth, and it’s a very communal effort.

Everyone has their writing rituals; when alone, I like to write at home. Starbucks is usually filled with a dozen dudes my age with Final Draft open on their laptop, and I start to feel like a cliché (I am a cliché). But if you have a screenplay open on your computer in Starbucks or the Coffee Bean, chances are you can make friends easy with other aspiring writers who will try to see if you can help their career. Quick! List your resume.

You’ve got representation helping you get your name and works out there, and now you’ve got what seems to be a steady gig on an acclaimed TV show. With that, to what extent do you (still) actively market and network, and any tips on that?

I do my best to not be a douchebag when networking. LA is surrounded by people who work in this business, and networking is part of the territory. That said, it’s a relief not to have to tell people “I’m really good,” because I finally have other people to do that for me. But before I was in that position, I did my best to be friendly and authentic, to not look at people all as potential “business contacts” but as individuals with their own goals and aspirations. If you have a not-great conversation at a party, don’t ask to send them your script. If you have a nice time talking to them about their girlfriend or where they went to college, you can end a conversation with saying “I’d love to hear your thoughts on this screenplay, if you have time.” Always give them an out. And if they say no, don’t take it personally. Be mindful of this as well:

Village Voice: I Will Not Read Your F****** Script, Josh Olson

So finally is there anything you’ve been up to recently that you’d like the readers to know about?

Watch “10 Things I Hate About You,” Monday nights at 8 PM on ABC Family. Critics love it. It has a strong feminist message, and it’s funny and sharp. I can say from personal experience that everyone on that show works incredibly hard to make engaging, universal stories that deserve to be told.

And with that, I really want to thank Ben both for doing what I can honestly say is the best of the interviews we’ve run yet, and also for remembering to actually doing the interview 6 months after I solicited people to do them