Yahlin Chang: Be persistent and do your research

Acclaimed television writer and producer Yahlin Chang, known for her work on “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Shades of Blue,” and “Supergirl,” joined us on the One Question Podcast. Yahlin shared her personal journey of pivoting from journalism to television writing and highlighted the importance of persistence, doing the research and breaking down the steps so you understand what it’ll take to do what you love, and being ready to take advantage of a lucky break in building a meaningful career.Michael HornToday, we’re excited to welcome television writer and producer Yahlin Chang. Yahlin has written and produced film for acclaimed shows, most notably the Handmaid’s Tale, Shades of Blue, and Supergirl. Before working in television, she also built a career as a journalist, and we’re thrilled to have her on the podcast today.Julie LammersYahlin, as Michael mentioned, your career path shows how someone can successfully pivot from one field to another, moving from journalism into television writing and production. Some middle and high school students might worry that choosing one path might limit their future options. What lessons from your career change could help young people understand how to successfully shift directions while still building a meaningful career?Yahlin ChangWhat the keys were to making that change successfully, I can really only answer it by telling you specifically my specific story, which is very different. Everyone who works in TV writing has a different story about how they got in. The general thing was just dogged persistence and doing a ton of research, talking to everyone I knew about how to become a TV writer. When I was in college, I took a book out of the library that said How to Become a TV Writer. It was written by someone who had done like a single freelance episode for Dukes of Hazzard way back when. This is in 1992. And, you know, I read a book about it. But for me, I just always wanted to write for television.I didn’t really know how, but I loved that form of art. I used to watch Dallas and Dynasty and Falcon Crest with my family every Friday and Saturday night. And we’d sit there together and learn what America is by watching these crazy shows. And then as I got older, I watched better shows like LA Law and China Beach and ThirtySomething. And I just loved that specific form. So I knew that I wanted to be involved in some way. And then when I learned about the writers room, which is how episodic TV gets written, you’re working with a group of writers, you’re breaking stories together. I loved the collaborative nature of that.I was a nerd. So I loved classes, and I loved the idea that it was like a class. Now I’ve learned it’s nothing like a class at all. And if you treat it like a college seminar, you’re probably not doing the right thing, that’s a subject for something else, you have to pitch actual ideas. You can’t just sort of have fuzzy, abstract thoughts. But I was working as a journalist at Newsweek.I worked Tuesday through Saturday, so I had Mondays off. So I spent my Mondays writing spec scripts and then sending my resume and scripts out to every agency I could find. And I finally found an agent who agreed to represent me. And so I broke in in 2000. You know, many other people wanted to make the change from journalism to TV writing because journalism was dying. When I did it journalism wasn’t dying. It was the late 90s, journalism was still pretty lush.But I would say that the key is to decide what you love the most, what your passion is, and then you break down the steps. For me, it was writing spec scripts and then finding someone to read the scripts and then getting representation. Now, a lot of people break in by becoming an assistant. That’s one path. I bought scripts, I studied them, I studied the form. And ultimately also you really need to understand the role of luck, especially in Hollywood. You know, you have to be ready when the door opens.A lot of very talented people don’t ever have that door open. But I was lucky, and I did, you know, entertainment is incredibly subjective. Successful writing is specific and it’s very personal. So the other thing is, don’t count the role of luck. And because of that, don’t take anything too personally. Just know that, you know, someone might not like what you’re selling. It doesn’t mean that you’re a bad writer.A thousand people might not like it. And it doesn’t mean that you’re bad. You just need to find the thousand and first person to say yes. And thousands of people can be wrong. When it comes to writing. It’s good if it’s specific. If you’re honest and truthful, it’s from your heart, then someone will probably connect to it. So good luck, everybody.The Future of Education is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelbhorn.substack.com/subscribe