What should be in my writing portfolio?

The short answer is: the best shit you’ve ever written. Seriously, people are getting staffed off of short stories, one-acts, and *especially* original pilots. The main reason being showrunners are tired of reading Grey’s Anatomy and The Office. A fresh *anything* immediately separates you from the pack. And this is where the “best shit” part comes in – you want this to be the sharpest and most amazing thing on your shelf. Rank them and offer them in that order. For a while, my best hour long spec was an episode of “Gossip Girl”. People rarely asked for it, but I always offered it first because I knew it was better than anything else I had at the time.

Obviously, I’m not saying there aren’t parameters to follow – if I was up for Big Bang Theory, Gossip Girl never would have been in play. That’s when my Californication suits up. And – for so many reasons – you can’t be up for a job on a show and send in your spec of that show. But beyond that, just make sure there’s diversity in your samples when looking for a rep. Once you have one, make sure they see everything and listen to their advice on what to polish.