Producer says no: dealing with rejection

It can be very easy - if you're working in, or trying to break into the comedy industry - to become pessimistic. Indeed, given the state of... well, everything, it can be easy to become pessimistic anyway.

The old joke is that the collective noun for writers is a "moan". Like most such jokes, there is a degree of truth in it - indeed, the comedy industry can throw up many reasons for moaning.

People who've worked in it a while, then, can become excessively cautious and pessimistic. Sometimes you will encounter producers or execs that seem to take a...