AWN has a good INTERVIEW with NY indie Pat Smith. One thing Pat says in there really stood out to me:

The pitching system is a bad system though it works for a lot of people. My friend Tom Warburton pitched and pitched and he finally got a really successful show. But I see many talented artists working very hard pitching shows all the time. If they funneled that kind of energy toward making a film, they might have a little something more to show for it.

I can’t say how much I agree with that sentiment. There are so many artists nowadays who whittle away their careers trying to appease the arbitrary whims of development and network execs who don’t understand the medium. The end result is cartoons which don’t have a personal point of view and that nobody wants to watch. Then there’s people like Pat who are able to find a successful balance between independent and commercial work, and who actually have something to show for their hard work. If and when he decides to go mainstream, not only will he be able to do it on his own terms, but he’ll also have the benefit of a fully developed artistic voice, free of third-party interference, which will result in a much stronger final product.