Raquelle David’s May 2026 post describes the worst stretch of her career and offers specific advice, with a commercial interest readers should note

Trade reports tell you how many jobs are gone. A manager can tell you what is still selling. On May 4, 2026, Raquelle David, a Los Angeles literary manager and producer, published an assessment of the state of Hollywood on her Substack. It is a candid piece, available at New Story Entertainment’s newsletter, and it comes with a caveat the author supplies herself: the post also promotes paid subscriptions and one-hour consultations, so the advice comes from someone with a commercial interest in working with writers. With that said, the details are useful for anyone trying to sell a script.

The Backdrop She Describes

David describes the past six years as the most brutal stretch of her career, with colleagues leaving the business and representation itself contracting. She cites figures: Los Angeles County’s motion picture industry lost about 42,000 jobs since the 2023 strikes, falling from roughly 142,000 to about 100,000 workers; overall entertainment employment is about 25 percent below its 2022 peak; shooting days were down 42 percent in 2024 compared with 2022; working screenwriters declined 15 percent and earnings fell 6 percent compared with 2022. The post also says that television writing jobs fell 42 percent in the 2023-24 season, but it states the figures the wrong way round, from 1,819 to 1,319. The Writers Guild’s report puts the 2023-24 total at 1,819, which was 1,319 fewer than the season before, as the AV Club reported. Readers should rely on the Guild’s version.

What She Says Is Selling

David lists several categories. The first is procedurals with a soapy, repeatable element that buyers can see running for multiple seasons. The second is genre work, including horror, thriller and elevated genre, which she says always finds a buyer. The third is independent features under $5 million, which she says are moving more than in recent years. The fourth is international co-productions, which she says are gaining momentum. The fifth is micro-dramas, short serialised stories made for phones, a market she says earns about $8 billion globally. These are her observations, and they are not independently verified in the post.

The Common Thread

The pattern in her list is cost and repeatability. Buyers are cautious and want projects that can be made affordably, sold to an identifiable audience and extended if they work. A script for a $5 million thriller is a smaller risk than a $100 million drama. A procedural with a repeatable format promises seasons of content. That does not mean writers must give up personal projects, but it does mean that a writer who can explain how a project fits into this logic has an advantage.

Where the Buyers Are

Traditional studios and streamers are hiring fewer writers, she says, and most open television room slots go to writers with established credits and relationships. Brand-funded production is growing, with one company restructuring toward what it calls a next-generation branded entertainment studio, and she questions whose story gets told when brands are involved. Social and vertical platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Instagram are a growing outlet, and she cites a partnership between a prominent creator’s company and TikTok on micro-series. She also mentions a coordinated push for 50 independent films in 2026.

Her Advice for Writers

David tells writers to create constantly, because waiting for calls is described as a career-ending strategy. She advises building an audience on social platforms as an extension of a writing career, using independent work as proof of concept and then taking it to traditional buyers from a stronger position, and developing a distinctive voice. On AI, she argues that it is raising the baseline for competent writing, so specificity matters more. She also advises knowing your leverage, pointing to Ryan Coogler’s deal for Sinners, which she says included final cut, first-dollar gross participation and rights reverting to him after 25 years.

Some of this advice is sensible. Making things yourself has never been cheaper, and a produced short or a series with an audience is more persuasive than a script alone. Some of it carries risk. Building an audience takes time and skill that not every writer wants to spend, and proof of concept costs money. It is also true that fewer diversity-focused initiatives remain, as the post observes, and that the system may no longer actively champion underrepresented creators. Writers should weigh the advice against their own circumstances.

How to Use Advice Like This

Check the source, note the commercial interest, compare the claims with independent data and test them against your own experience. Where the manager’s account matches the Guild’s data, such as the fall in screenwriting work, it is reliable. Where it describes market trends, such as the micro-drama figure, treat it as a lead for further reading. And remember that managers are paid when writers earn money, which aligns their interests with yours in some ways and not others.

A script that fits a market can still be a script with a point of view. The aim is to show a buyer that the writer is both original and practical. Our London pages have long surveyed the route from page to screen, in coverage of London’s film schools, the city’s long career on screen and the literary agents who reject manuscripts. For wider context, see our guide to British pop culture and television, and for American coverage Bohiney Magazine.

For some lighter reading, the Daily Squib is open all hours.

SOURCE: bohiney.com