In one of our interviews earlier this year, manager and producer Stan Spry said "The most important things for me are: 1) talent; 2) a tenacity to go out there and do some legwork on your own because it is a team effort." Tapping a trait important to representatives, Spry described client Pat Charles, as someone that did a lot of legwork. "He created some fans."

Charles is a staff writer on FX's new "Son's of Anarchy," a gritty, darkly comedic drama from Kurt Sutter, executive producer of FX's hit series "The Shield." Featuring Charlie Hunnam ("Children of Men"), Ron Perlman ("Hellboy") and Katey Sagal ("Married with Children"), the show focuses on an outlaw biker club that protects their fictional town of Charming, California from drug dealers, corporate developers and overzealous law officers.

Charles graduated with a degree in Radio/Television/Film from the University of Maryland. Shortly thereafter, he made his way to Los Angeles where he took UCLA extension courses and wrote feature and television spec scripts while working in film and video production. As he churned out scripts, he also worked on creating fans. To find out what that means and how he went about it, we contacted Charles.

Q: What is the key to creating fans?

A: I think it's about persistence, being diligent about staying in touch with people, doing good work, and constantly getting that work in front of them. For me, that's been the thing that's been the most helpful. Always try to stay on people's radar, so that when an opportunity does pop up, they think of you.

Most of the time, the opportunity is not going to be available when you meet any one person, but if you keep in touch with them and let them know what you are doing, when an opportunity does pop up, they'll think of you. You have to be politely persistent. You don't want to overdo it. You just have to network a lot.

I have people that seem to like my work who I try to call or e-mail every two or three months. I always try to stay on their radar.

Q: Going back to the earliest time when you were calling people, did you cold call?

A: I definitely cold called, but that almost never worked. Then I joined a couple organizations. Through those organizations, I met some people who were willing to look at my work. I would just try to network from there. I would let them know what I was doing and widen my circle of acquaintances and I started to meet people who, if you have the right samples, are willing to help you further your career.

Q: What organizations did you join?

A: I joined the Organization of Black Screenwriters (OBS) and also tried to participate in writing groups; to find like-minded people who were talented and who had goals similar to mine. I continued to network and to find out what opportunities were available from there.

Q: Can you cite an example of somebody that you met that referred you to others, that read your work again, that became a fan?

A: I met an executive producer (EP) on a large, successful show through a friend and I'd actually written a spec for his show. The EP read my spec and liked it. He said it was right on. He didn't have a job for me as a staff writer, but he offered me a position as a writer's assistant. Unfortunately, I couldn't take the job because it was across the country. But he also forwarded my work to a network and to his agent.

I've had a lot of cases where maybe it didn't pay off right away, but people got to know my work and they got to know me. That familiarity with your work and with who you are leads to opportunities.

Q: How did you get a staff writing position?

A: They read my work and interviewed me. I think my script got to FX through someone at Fox and through my manager. Once it got to FX, people at Fox were calling them to speak on my behalf. And a showrunner on another show also gave me a recommendation. All of that--those fans that I had--came into play. There were a couple people at Fox that liked my work, that have always been advocates and tried to get me work, and they definitely spoke on my behalf.

Q: How did you build your relationships with people at Fox?

A: Someone at Fox had read my work through two different sources: my previous agents and through OBS. He initially read my work through them. Then for several years, he'd read my work again.

Q: So, once your contact at Fox read your work the first time, you took the initiative to stay in touch with him?

A: Absolutely. I would be in touch from time to time, letting him know what I was doing. I sent him new samples. I had meetings with him once or twice a year.

Q: Did you send the samples yourself?

A: Sometimes. Sometimes I had my agent send them. But I always communicated with him [the Fox contact] directly.

Q: Over time, what writing samples did you send your contact at Fox?

A: I sent spec scripts for "Sopranos," "House" and "The Closer."

Q: What sample got you hired onto "Sons of Anarchy?"

A: An original spec pilot.

Q: An original spec?

A: Yeah. The showrunner wanted to read one. You always want to have an original spec pilot for TV. You need a variety of things in your arsenal because you never know what they're going to want to see.

Q: Had they seen the samples you sent to your Fox contact?

A: I don't really know. I'm not privy to that process. Recently, I was talking to an FX person and he said he read me. Lots of people read you before you get hired--the studio, network, showrunner and maybe a couple other people. There are multiple reads and they're not all reading same thing.

Q: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

A: I think the most important thing is to believe in yourself. Be persistent, work hard at it and treat it like a job before it is a job.

For more information about "Sons of Anarchy," check out this link: http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/soa/

Pat Charles is personal friends with the interviewer.

Would you like to have your question answered by pros working in the industry? If there's a topic you'd like to see addressed in this column, please send me an e-mail (CindyRinaldi@visionization.com) with "WBW" in the subject line.