Table of Contents:

Screenwriters.

The Agents & Studios Script Reader.

Writing.

Polishing your Script.

Protection.

Approaching Agencies.

Approaching correctly.

Pitching to a Studios.

Marketing.

Using the Internet to advance your writing Career.

Screenwriting.

Important traits that will take you there.

Tips.

Getting Paid.

WGA Membership.

Incorporating.

Evolving form unpaid writer to paid writer.

The Top Tier.

This ebook is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution non commercial no derivative works
3.0 Unported Licence.
Screenwriters/
There is a Zen phrase regarding Archers:

"You can’t hit a target by aiming at it"

Highly successful screenwriters are among the most disciplined

people in the world. They make the time to write, face the blank
page, produce a consistent amount of pages per day and deliver
high quality scripts on deadline. Former Billionaire Nelson Bunker
Hunt once said: "Success is simple. First you specifically decide
what you want, second you decide you're willing to pay that
price to make it happen, and then you pay that price" Are you
willing to pay the price? Do you actually know what it takes to be
a successful screenwriter or do you think you know? You are
reading this eBook so your at least in the right direction. The
first and easiest mistake is to focus only on how to write a script
without learning what it takes to be a screenwriter. Its easy to
focus on that potentially life-changing sale. You have the right
software, have attended the right seminars, read a couple books
and its only a matter of time before a six-figure development
deal comes your way. It's a little more complicated. The realities
of screenwriting success become apparent by focusing on what
successful screenwriters do on a daily basis:

Most successful writers have been writing for years, they did not
get to where they are today without having a driving and
passionate desire to write. All writers have a variety of reasons
why they write. Whether it's their primary way of expressing
themselves, an outlet of fantasy or a desire to entertain people.
They love writing for its own sake. Even if most writers say they
to do it because they love it, there are just as many successful
writers who hate writing, but are still driven to do good work.
Whether any writer admits it or not, egotism is a strong
motivating factor in writing. And we shouldn't be ashamed to
admit it. We all want recognition. There are so many reasons to
write money, fame, glory, revenge, or to prove to someone or
yourself that you can do it, as long as you're passionately driven
by it. You have to have that obsession to write. All successful
writers have a passion for life, for their work and for excellence,
regardless of their motives but above all else they are
disciplined, a writer’s willingness to push himself can sometimes
prove more significant than raw talent.
Put simply, successful screenwriters are successful because they
"do" the job better than anyone else. They can discriminate
between good and bad writing. They were realistic from the
beginning in knowing what it took to succeed. When starting out,
they took the necessary time to develop their craft. Now they
have become ruthless in their desire to do their best and
ruthless in judging their own work. They have to be. Their
livelihood and reputation depend on it. As a beginner, you need
to know what this standard is and raise your work above it.
Ernest Hemingway once said, "The most essential gift for a good
writer is a built-in, shock-proof shit detector". So what's the
difference between good and bad writing? The consensus among
professionals is that if the writing moves them in any way, if
there's identification with a character, involvement in the story,
surprises and emotional satisfaction, it's good writing, if it's
unoriginal, clichéd and boring, it is what it is.

Successful writers don't let the marketplace rule their

imagination. They choose to write what excites them and never
second-guess their instincts. The most often-heard advice is to
"write what you know", but what you know may be boring as hell
to you and a mass audience. The reality is its better to write
what makes you "feel", what "excites" you, "intrigues" you and
"fascinates" you, because, ultimately, the only thing you really
know are your emotions. You shouldn't worry about trends, or
write about what you just saw in the theaters because you're
already two years behind. Second-guessing yourself will only
compromise your unique voice. All you can do is be true to what
you want to do, and hope other people will respond. The base of
every human truth is universally understood. It is your
responsibility to invoke meaning, if your going to say something
make sure its damn well what you are feeling.

Aspiring writers are generally sheltered from the Industry. Their

perception of the entertainment Industry is represented as
"glamorous" through media and sound bites about projects sold,
dollar amounts and players involved. It's only after finally selling
their first script and being thrown into the system that they
discover the realities they must adapt to.

And until this point aspiring writers need to realize that until they
sell their first script, or at the very least, win a major contest or
are represented by a legitimate agency, they don't exist. If
executives think your script will advance their career, they'll like
you and lift you form the shadows of obscurity. If they don't,
they'll ignore you. If you can't handle these inconsistencies
psychologically, your setting yourself up for major frustrations.
Professional screenwriters adapt to the realities of the system
and generally accept its flaws. They understand it's still a
somewhat flawed medium driven by stars and directors, that
their work will get rewritten, that they'll get fired without
knowing it, and so on. They ultimately know the only control
they have is the quality and output of their pages.

It's difficult to believe that the single most important element in

any story, the most compelling reason why people go to the
movies, read novels, watch television and see plays, is often the
one element missing from most beginners scripts. And that is
the experience of emotions. The power of any screenplay lies in
its ability to connect emotionally with the reader, and ultimately,
with a movie audience. But the overwhelming evidence from
aspiring writers leads to the conclusion that they "Think too
much" and "Feel too little" when it comes to writing their scripts.

Take a look at newspaper ads for today's movies, which are

nothing more than a promise for what an audience will feel by
watching the movie. Some examples: "pulse-pounding, nail-
biting, tension and excitement, electrifying, highly-affecting,
mesmerizing, powerfully seductive, provocative and intense,
superbly gripping, fascinating, intriguing, spellbinding, stunning,
packs an emotional wallop, hugely satisfying, grabs you and
won't let go." Can your script match these promises to a reader?

Every time you sit down to write, you should be afraid of losing
the reader at any moment. The worst sin in this Industry is for
the reader of a script or the audience of a film to say, "So what?"
No reader recommends a boring script, and no audience pays
$8.50 to be bored for two hours. Successful screenwriters
rewrite their script until it not only moves them personally, but
also any reader holding it in their hands.

So who ultimately passes first judgement on your work?

The Agents/Script reader/
Being a Major studio's Script reader on a Sunday night is
exhausting. You don't sleep very much, but you have gotten
used to that by now. Everything in your life runs permanently
late. In front of your strained eyes lies a new kind of hell, a
mountain of scripts forwarded by your Studios. Consisting mainly
of work by aspiring writers and a few by professionals. It is your
soul purpose in life to provide a 2-4 page coverage document on
each script, write a synopsis of the script, a couple pages of
comments, and a grade of either 'pass', 'consider', or
'recommend' for your boss, the Producer, Agent or Studio
executive. How sympathetic are you? Overworked and
underpaid. How open are you to overlook those scripts mistakes,
flaws and sloppiness? How patient are you generally in life? How
much empathy resides in you? Are you willing to endure amateur
and unschooled efforts or are you looking for a reason to say
"No" as soon as possible? The standard Reader's coverage report
also includes a summary of the screenplay’s weaknesses and
strengths.

Coverage is in essence a very structured summary. The first

report page contains basic information on the manuscript, book
or script - name, writer, producer [if any], other elements [talent
already attached, like a director or actors]. Below that is a one
line premise, or logline, followed by one short paragraph
evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the script. Below
that is what is called a "boxed rating" - a grid that includes
categories like story, premise, character development, dialogue,
structure, and visual appeal, and that rates from poor to
excellent. Then their is a small box for "Budget approximation"
high, medium and low. The second page is generally a synopsis
of the project, this can be short, or quite detailed, depending on
the company. Their will be a "mechanics" section dealing with
action lines whether they are clearly and concisely manifesting
visual action and literal context. This is rated from Excellent to
re-think. The final page is the evaluation, which expands upon
the strengths and weaknesses of the script. The first paragraph
of the evaluation page is often the same as the evaluation
paragraph on the first page. Then the words "pass",
"recommend" or "consider" appear on both pages.
If your script receives a "consider" or "recommend" then your
screenplay moves up the ladder to a Producer, Agent, Director,
or Development executive for further consideration. The truth is
less than 1% of spec scripts receive a "recommend". This is the
beginning of what you are up against. This "firewall" army of
strained studio readers, freelancers locked in a perpetual state of
"pass". You will be judged and compared to the best never forget
this. Most likely the reader is also a struggling writer themselves,
and they're not going to give your script [1 out of 444.4 scripts
which arrive daily in Studios offices] a break - unless you earn it.

Your mistakes will never be overlooked, poor formatting, weak

premise, or one-dimensional characters will never be fixed later
in development. You are presenting a spec script that means in
your eyes you are presenting a work nothing short of a potential
masterpiece. Your best. Your goal is to make the reader lose
track of time, to feel compelled to turn the next page, to be
completely absorbed by your story. Each Studios has its own
specific filtration process compromising of "flags" which helps to
cut down and reduce the arduous process of "coverage
reporting" vast amounts of submitted material. Professional
errors and "flags" will result in your submitted script being put
down after five to ten pages.

Our eBook:
"The Studio Reader, Agent & Development
Producers 18 Red-Flags"

Specifically explains each of these filters and the logic behind

them. Ultimately this is your 14 months of work's destination.
Essentially Agents have become the "reliable" vendors in this
market for a few reasons: They have already done the screening
for high-quality works without having a personal stake in the
contents. An Agent will only answer a Producer's call for scripts if
they have what the Producer wants in the first place. They've
learned over time that anything else is a waste of just that. More
often than not, a serious Producer will already has stipulations
on what he/she needs in a script, whether it's due to funding
already in place for a film in New York or their client only wants
to finance Sci-Fi. If a Producer puts out a call for scripts:
"Looking for a sci-fi based in New York," don't waste their time
or yours responding with "My Cute Little Pig - a drama based in
Seattle."
All Producers think writing a script is the easiest part of film
production and all Producers think they can write a screenplay.
Sadly for the writers the Producers are the ones with the money.
But how many times can you recall when you saw a film with a
Writer/Producer credit? Somewhere along the line, Producers are
looking to writers to bring their dreams to life.

Knowing these truths is the first step to becoming a successful

writer. The relationship between the Writer and Producer can be
viewed as similar to a marriage. It takes work and keeping in
mind that you're both working for the same goals to make the
team succeed. As Writers, Directors, Producers as well as any
position in the entertainment Industry, we have to remind
ourselves that we chose this profession because it is our calling,
our destiny and our passion, and if it isn't enjoyable, then we
should probably go and do something else because most of the
time we can make more money ditch digging. The greatest truth
about Producers is that at the end of the day, we all just want
everything to work out in the end, to tell a great story, make
people happy and get paid enough to pay everyone else. Behind
their stiff, intimidating, uncompromising and often times
despicable façade, producers are people too.
Writing/
We have a collaborative relationship with our unconscious, in
creative terms our conscious mind acts as a filter, a brake,
blocking off the constant stream of pure imagery and emotion
from our subconscious. A filtration process maintained by
transitional impulses, redundant comparisons & previous
experiences. To create new internal creative experiences you
must distract/bypass your conscious ordered mind and let your
subconscious have more power.

Writing is a form of dreaming/envisioning. To evolve as a Writer

you need to access a state of mind, where you actively perceive
unconscious information devoid of your personal critical,
conditioned & careful “head space”. Whether its daydreaming or
meditation. After all that is essentially how much of Film
communicates, through a form of unconscious communication.
Inspiration is rarely something new, essentially it is a form of
experiencing something we already know, something familiar.
Creativity is best not put in a rigid ordered context. All forms of
truths are sums of their extremes. The enemy of creativity is
nostalgia/repetition/cliché, different names with the same face.
Remember that your unconscious is smarter than your
conscious, just pay attention to how it leads you in dreams and
in greater moments of personal truth and realisation. All success
& talent relies on something residing within, an unconscious
innate ability. Everybody has an untempered, uncompromising
voice laying just below the surface at odds with the world. You
must embrace this.

Science progresses through periods of stability punctuated by a

revolution, so does art and so too film. Film passes through
genre, periodic fashions and technological advancement. It is a
Universal language active in engaging us on a multitude of
complex levels emotionally, intellectually, beyond language &
time. Accepting who you are within, going deep and launching
into the void will lead you to profound truths. Storytelling began
in cave drawing progressing through oral traditions passed down
through generation. The emergence of myth, fable and legend,
evolving into literature poetry and theatre. We are at the end of
a very long process. Every story has been told in some form or
another, but no two stories have been told the same way.
You need to expose yourself to understanding the way you
create, form your ideas & become more self-aware. Learn to
shelter yourself from the canopy of repetition / cliché / nostalgia
and write with depth and without fear.

Polishing your Script/

Script Doctors & Consultants:

What is often frustrating and somewhat shocking to many new

Writers, who believe their work is ready for a studio submission
is simply that it is not, and possibly far from it. While impatience
is certainly understandable, I also know what Executives, Agents
and Readers are looking for, and also how equally important it is
to make a good first impression.

What to expect:

Ultimately a script consultant analyzes, dissects and evaluates

your screenplay, they identify core story problems. Its their job
to provide suggestions in re-structuring and help you develop
more compelling characters. As most screenplays get a pass,
getting good script coverage before you send your script out is
essential. This will help you determine whether your script is
actually ready for and can fit into the market, and if not, what
areas still need work. On receipt of a script for evaluation the
Consultant will take a look at story structure, story line,
character development, dialogue, theme, and of course, the
premise. They will try to get a feel for the overall "shape" of the
script, and what they think the writer is going for with the broad
strokes of the overall story, and what each act individually,
should achieve. They will then give the Writer detailed notes,
both on the above issues as well as on specific pages and
scenes, with suggestions for the rewrite.

This process, of notes, rewriting, and review, can continue for as

long as it takes to get what would be considered a "decent"
submission draft. It's their job as a script consultant to take your
raw talent to the next level. A good seasoned script consultant
can mean the difference between placing in a contest and
winning the contest, between rejection and sale. But using a
script consultant is still no guarantee. It's the Writers job to
come up with your brilliant, dark, profound, disturbing, hilarious,
terrifying premise, and use the consultant to help you develop
that premise. You must remember that script coverage is a
marketing tool. It is not development or analysis. A Writer
maybe has a 1%-5% chance of getting a "consider" or
"recommend" from a script coverage service. If the writer gets a
"recommend" or "consider" the writer now has a 2-3% chance of
that script coverage service being able to help the writer sell/
option their script, make a deal or get representation. A Writer
will benefit more from script analysis or development than from
coverage because, with script analysis, one can learn how to
better one's scripts on the whole. If you are going to get script
coverage or analysis, always do a due diligence.

The following is a list of good Consultant pointers on the

aesthetics of your script:

1) Emotional Pull, The one thing your script must have.

2) Subtext, needs to be everywhere, not just in the dialogue.
3) What makes for a powerful compelling Character.
4) Irony, A pre-requisite for an outstanding Screenplay.
5) Interesting narrative structure.
6) Visual grammar, Making meaning with visuals.
7) Sensual, You need to touch, smell, feel, and see the script.
8) Coping with the nightmare of exposition.
9) Dialogue, However much or how little the story needs.
10)The power of silence.
11)Inhabiting your character just as the actor will.
12)Inhabiting the mind, body, heart and soul of your audience.

Their are plenty script consultants online but look for

recommendations through the major publications and festivals.
Rely on your instinct and common sense.

But before you get Professional feedback you need to be

protected.
Protection/
Exploitation:

Companies and organizations first priority is self preservation.

Organizations prey and take advantage of others needs. You
have a better chance of getting your spec script optioned or
bought by Independent Production companies than companies
with deals with Major Studios. When dealing with Independent
organizations Writers have to protect themselves against being
exploited. A large proportion of Independents are not signatories
of the Writers Guild of America. A signatory is any company that
signs a contract agreeing to abide by the WGA's Minimum Basic
Agreement [MBA] -terms which substantially protect the writers
rights and reduces their chances of being exploited. Getting a
deal with a production company that has signatory status makes
you eligible to join the WGA. A "Free Option" is whereby an
Independent Producer interested in your script asks for
exclusivity and first option for a period of time usually anywhere
between 6 months and a year. This has to be seriously thought
about and only enacted if that Producer has a real ability to get
it on screen. The Producer can ask you for further free re-writes.
The Writer at this point must contact an Entertainment lawyer to
draw up an option agreement.

Register and/or copyright your scripts. Without doing so, you

have no legal leverage when offering your script for sale.
Protection gives you bargaining power when your script is being
optioned or under consideration for being bought. You can also
register with the Library of Congress Copyright. You can
download the forms you need. It's free to download and you can
fill it out on-line. Then you print it out and enclose it and a copy
of your work with a check to the Library of Congress in
Washington, D.C. Also you can of course register your script with
the WGA [Los Angeles], WGA [New York]. This costs about $20
dollars and may be submitted on-line, in person, or by mail.
Alternatively "The Studio Reader, Agent & Development
Producers 18 Red-Flags" lists similar accredited organizations
in its copyright section which reigister your scripts for free.
The old story of gaining "poor man's copyright" by mailing an
envelope of your manuscript to yourself will not stand up in a
court. Opening envelopes and replacing the contents is too easy
today.
Approaching Agencies/
The Hollywood Creative Directory [HCD] formerly the "The
Hollywood representation directory", published in February and
August of each year is the mainstay for New York and Los
Angeles Producers, Studios, Network executives, Agents and
Managers, and top talent seeking new representation. There is
no other publication available that gives such access to the film
and television community of New York and Hollywood. The
Hardcover book is currently priced at $79.95. They offer an
online yearly membership for $199.95 or monthly membership
for $19.95. This complete directory is essential for Agency
listings and contact details.

If this seems steep, we have included a similar updated Agency

list in "The Studio Reader, Agent & Development Producers
18 Red-Flags", The "top 101 literary agencies to submit to in
2011". Including full contact details.

So once you have your contact details, how do you

professionally approach an Agency?

Where from here? The Query Letter:

The key is to keep it simple, clear and concise. Be up-front with

your product. A query letter contains these things:

1) Your full contact info, including email address.

2) An introduction.
3) Your logline and/or synopsis. Category/Genre - Is your script
a feature length film, or the pilot for a new sitcom? Is it a
comedy, love story, war epic, etc?
4) Why you’re writing - You’re writing because you’ve just
finished your most recent script [not your first]
and are now looking for representation.

Development professionals want a story they can produce as

their "shopping" has limitations and restrictions. They do not
want a full page of introduction and for the most part, they do
not care where a Writer learned to write or that the person is a
working actor, turned writer. They just want to know what the
story is about. Useful information for someone in development
would be whether or not the Writer is represented, has optioned
or sold scripts or has had something produced or previously
published. A query letter could in theory be a simple as this: "I
have a script I think you might be interested in and it is based
on a true story. Following is the pitch for it.." The pitch/logline is
a short paragraph and below it there is another paragraph
stating "I also have other scripts which you might be interested
in. Attached is a one-page synopsis for…... Feel free to contact
me if you are interested". If the script is award winning or
received good coverage, you can write that in another sentence
in the first paragraph. A month or so later, if you haven't gotten
any kind of response, write another query letter, with an
additional sentence: "I wrote to you about a month ago and
have another script that I think you might be interested in". If
you have a dozen scripts, you can include a couple of pitches per
query letter. If you have a total of three scripts and include all
three in the first query letter, you have just overexposed
yourself and now need to come up with a very clever and
justified reason to write another letter the following month.
Perhaps you can pitch an idea for a script but ideas cannot be
copyrighted, but since you have written the script and I have
written this book, your in the right stage. Whether you cold call
or query, you, the vendor, must be realistic about your product's
specifics as well as their search criteria. Show them what you
have, but do so honestly.
Approaching Correctly/
Each state requires Agencies to be bonded and licensed with that
state. According to the California Labor commission, this license
must be posted in a conspicuous place in the Agency. Always
check out an Agency before making contact. Find out if the
Agency is also a WGA signatory. In accordance with the Labor
Commission, no talent agency is allowed to collect a registration
fee from a client. If an Agency ask for one walk away and report
it to the Labor Commission. The Major and most trusted
agencies are listed in "The Studio Reader, Agent &
Development Producers 18 Red-Flags" 101 Agents section.

Here are three ways to find Agents to pitch:

1. The Hollywood representation directory lists agents and

managers. You can research agents who represent writers in
your genre.
2. Read trade publications [such as The Hollywood Reporter,
Variety, Script Magazine, and Done Deal Pro] to learn about
screenplay sales and the agents representing the projects and
writers.
3. Attend industry conferences, film events, and pitch festivals
where agents are speaking for the chance to connect with agents
in-person.
Pitching to a Studios/
Preparing to Pitch Your Script to a Studio:

Successfully pitching a script is an art form, and although it can

be stressful, it's something all writers have to perfect before
approaching executives or agents. So what is pitching exactly? A
pitch is an animated summation of a screenplay with specific
emphasis on the main characters, the conflict, and the genre.
When pitching a script, this summation is your "tool" in
persuading industry professionals to "option" the work [purchase
it for consideration].

Pitches come in two forms: the two-minute pitch, also known as

the "teaser", and the "story" pitch, which is traditionally between
10 to 20 minutes in length, though preferably the shorter the
better. You absolutely must have both types of pitches prepared
before you contact industry personnel. You never know when
you'll be called upon to sell your story or how you'll be asked to
sell it.

1. The "teaser" pitch:

The teaser pitch is a short pitch. Traditionally, you get three
sentences to hook listeners into the premise, the genre, and the
scope of your film. When crafting this pitch, pay particular
attention to what you think they might be listening for.
Producers will always want to know the following information:

• How the film might be cast?

• How much it will cost to make?
• How they'll market it?
• What films it resembles?

By following these requests, your first sentence introduces the

characters, the next sentence illustrates their conflict, and the
final sentence leaves listeners wanting to know more. The
conflict generally suggests the film's genre, but if not, consider
alluding to that in the final sentence as well.

Here are some examples:

• Europe, 1912. Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater enjoy a

secret and passionate romance after they meet on a ship
chartered toward New York. That ships is the Titanic.
 • Jessica Stein has met and refused virtually every man in New
York City. Maybe it's time she looked for a woman. [Kissing
Jessica Stein]

• Northern England, 1984. Young Billy Elliot, the son of a poor

local miner, decides to start training for a career. In ballet. [Billy
Elliot]

These examples suggest the skeleton of a short pitch. You might

use them at the onset of a meeting to rope listeners into a more
detailed explanation, or perhaps insert more details in between
these sentences. In any case, practice your pitch at home with a
stopwatch. Never exceed two minutes — try to do it in one, if
you can. If you maintain the three to five page limitation, timing
shouldn't be a problem, you'll finish in well under two minutes. If
executives want to know more, they will ask. Be animated,
enthusiastic, and concise. Stay focused on a confident,
authoritative delivery and be prepared and anticipate to answer
all or any questions relating to the story. Movie trailers are good
examples of this kind of pitch, so are the blurbs on the back of
video and DVD boxes.

Some Writers craft a teaser pitch for stories that they haven't
written yet, and projects even get optioned if that teaser pitch is
that good. In case you are asked what other material you are
working on. It never hurts to have two or three teasers on hand.

2. The "story" pitch:

The story pitch is much longer than the teaser pitch, but try to
keep it under ten minutes, if possible. People in the industry
keep long and frantic hours, which naturally affects their
attention spans. If you ramble on or get off-track, they're likely
to start planning their next meeting before you're done. Some
Writers use note cards to help them through this pitch. That's
perfectly acceptable, but don't rely on them. Reference the notes
occasionally, but keep your focus up and on your listeners. If
you practice pitching your story several times before the session,
you should have it pretty well burned into your memory, so
keeping your eyes on your listeners and off your notes won't be
hard.
The story pitch starts with your hook or your logline, and then
you run down the rest of the story. Be sure to illustrate those
Universal elements — the heroes, their goals, the conflict, what's
at risk and why they're fighting to save it, any pivotal events or
emotional turning points, and the conclusion. Really set the
stage. Describe the character as if you’re all watching him for
the first time. If you can project authority, charisma, and clarity
with any power you will be so far ahead of better writers who
can’t communicate the fact they are better writers.

Because you're giving a longer pitch, you have more chances to

go astray. Here are a few things to avoid right away:

• Don't compare your film to others too much. It used to be

common practice to depict a script through a combination of
two existing films. [It's When Harry Met Sally in Saving Private
Ryan, or it's Goonies meets Lord of the Rings.] Know what
your film shares with others, but keep the comparisons brief.

• Don't ever compare your script to box-office disasters. No one

wants to make another Ishtar.

• Avoid listing action in chronological order, tell them a story

instead.

• Avoid depicting too many subplots or details. Concentrate on

two or three characters and pivotal events, or the pitch will
quickly become convoluted.

• Don't keep pitching if they express disinterest, and [on the

bright side] don't keep pitching after they agree to consider it.

• Don't mention actors that you have in mind. Describe the

characters, so that your listeners will envision them.

• Never lie about the story or its hype. Producers discover false
information quickly.

One method that is very useful is to write out the pitch just like
a speech in your own words then polish it from there. As with
any sale, personality is paramount. If you're enthusiastic, they
will be, too. If you're charming and witty, they'll remember you
even if they can't accept the script and this counts more than
you imagine. I am always reminded of Maya Angelou’s quote
about people forgetting what you say and do, but remembering
how you make them feel. Never express desperation. There's
always some other way to generate interest. Pitching scares
some Writers to death. If you're one of those frightened few, do
something about it. Acting classes are a great way to build
confidence in your presentation, as are courses in public
speaking. Or, if you'd rather, practice in front of friends and
family. See whether they'd want to purchase the script based on
your description.

After you've typed up both pitches and are comfortable

delivering them, you're ready to search for an Agent and/or a
Producer but really find out who you are pitching to and their
previous projects [imdb] not just for the obvious reasons such as
genre suitability, If this is script that reinforces their past work
and efforts or speaks to a deeply felt belief or goal, and your
query sheds light on that fact they will want to read the script.
That is why it becomes important to know who you are pitching
to and why.
Marketing/
All writers have two jobs: writing a good script and marketing it.
The essence of marketing is making a service or product known
to the people who want it. There are several basic steps to
marketing:

1) Knowing your market.

2) Coming up with an effective plan to reach that market.
3) Implementing that plan.

In terms of writing a Script there are several markets, which can

be broken down to many sub-markets: Independent films, studio
films, TV, cable, direct to video, etc. To know which is which,
read the trade papers and watch the Movies coming out of these
markets. With all personal aspirations aside, try to figure out
where your script can most easily be sold. Selling a script is hard
enough without trying to sell it to a market that isn't interested.
To market a script, first find out how much work is involved or
how much effort you will need to exert. You may come up with a
perfect strategy but if you don't do enough of it, you won't
succeed. Look at what other un-produced writers are doing to
get their scripts sold. From this, you should learn one thing: if
you do the exact same amount of marketing and use the same
marketing plan, your odds of getting a script sold will be the
same as theirs. As a general rule, a writer who expects to be
successful should do 5 -10 times or more marketing, on a
weekly basis, as the average un-produced Writer. Almost any
decent sales book will tell you that a salesperson should have
and consistently work 5 different sources for getting prospects.
The Internet currently counts as one source. If you are
represented, that counts as another source. You need 3-4 more
sources. These other sources come from networking groups,
sending out query letters from directories to Producers and reps,
attending pitch sessions, script analysis, contests and festivals,
film schools, writing seminars, etc. [10-25% of the people
attending writing seminars are people who work in the Industry].
If you are going to go the contest route, submit to more than
one contest. To successfully market your works without an
Agent, one would be wise to think like an agent. Try a "What do
you need?" approach as opposed to "This is what I have and I
need you to buy it." If you call and pitch a script and they say,
"not what I'm looking for," try asking, "What are you looking
for?" Tell them
perhaps you don't have it, but maybe you have a colleague who
may have something to fit their criteria. Remind them that
you're offering them a service instead of vise-versa.
Using the Internet to
advance your writing
Career/
Posting your work online is another way to get your script out
there. Inktip.com is a known service within the Industry which
matches up Writers with Producers, Agents, and Managers. A
writer may upload his script for a cost of $60 for 6 months.
Hundreds of executives are also part of the website, paying for
the convenience of searching for the types of scripts they want.
Writer's post the genre, logline, and synopsis of their
screenplays for execs to read.

Another good resource is moviebytes.com. This site has sections

called Who's Buying What and Writer's Wanted, for info on
Agents and Production companies. You can then follow up by
contacting them yourself if you determine you have something
they're interested in. You can list your logline on Scriptologist
and you can start a blog for free through the blog hosting
network.

A video presented by the WGAW Publicity and Marketing

Committee was created offering Writers Guild members tools to
help them get online, promote their careers, raise their Industry
profiles, build their brands and distribute and monetize their
work.

Submitting Your Screenplay Via Email:

E-mail queries are gradually becoming more accepted. When

approaching an Agent, Studios or Producer online via an e-mail
query, what should the subject line be? Should it say "Query" or
the script title or "Attn: Agent’s Name?” The fact that email
queries are considered “acceptable” does not mean your mail
can get lost or perceived as spam. No one has invented a spam
filter for fax machines and most companies are not in the habit
of throwing regular mail away without at least opening it up and
having a quick glance at it. If you’re going to use email as your
delivery method be prepared to spend a lot of time gathering the
email addresses because you’re going to need to send a lot.
As a rule I would try and be as direct and up front as possible
while also trying to catch the person’s attention. Perhaps you
can even slip in a condensed logline. Do not just use something
vague like “Screenplay Submission Request” as your subject
line. That will most likely be deleted. You’re not giving the reader
any reason what so ever to actually open your email and read
what you’ve written.

I highly recommend you not try anything underhanded even if

you think it might increase the likelihood that someone would
read your entire email. For instance something like this is
probably a bad idea: "James Cameron told me to contact you
about my project.” You’re trying to build a long-term working
relationship with this person so start it out on the right foot. Use
creativity in a positive way to make your subject line catchy and
interesting.

It’s really marketing 101. If your email actually does arrive in

someone’s inbox they’re most likely going to read the subject
line and then either view the full email or delete it without
reading it so make the subject line count. Keep in mind there’s
really no hard and fast rules with something like this. Use
common sense and test what you do. For instance if you gather
100 email addresses from the Hollywood Creative Directory try a
test on 10 or 20 of them using one version of your subject line
and then 10 or 20 with another version to see what works best.
If you have a specific contact name [i.e. a friend knows the
brother of an agent at CAA or you meet someone in a coffee
shop who gave you her business card] use that in the subject
line. “Jane Smith told me to contact you” or “We met in
Starbucks on Thursday”. These may not be very creative or
catchy but a lukewarm lead like this may actually be just enough
of a cracked open door for you to slip your email in and it will
separate you from all the other people just trying to submit
using the above mentioned logline approach.
Screenwriting/
The Wrong Motivation to want to be a Screenwriter:

Screenwriting is not a wise career path if you're choosing it for

any of these reasons:

1) The Money
Pursuing screenwriting because an occasional spec script sells for
a million dollars is like studying hotel/motel management
because Donald Trump has a big yacht. Starving screenwriters
are no happier than starving poets, and if the big bucks are your
only goal, by the time [if ever] you get there, the trip may not
have been worth it.

2) Your in love with Words

If your love of writing is based on the beauty, texture, breadth
and majesty of the English language, you'll be much happier as a
poet, novelist or essayist. Screenwriting "style" is much closer to
that of ad copy, comic books and the sports pages than it is to
great literature.

3) Fame is a substitute for love.

If you sell a screenplay, it probably will be re-written by
someone else [often several others] until it's unrecognizable.
You're usually "persona non grata" while the movie is being shot,
and neither the status nor the financial reward given the average
screenwriter is anywhere close to proportionate to his or her
contribution to the film.

4) You Harbor a Strong Visual Sense.

If anything, it's detrimental to successful screenwriting. Sure you
want to picture what is going on on the screen, but the
important talent is the ability to turn action into words. If you
think only in pictures and are very right-brained, pursuing a
career in production design, cinematography or directing might
make more sense.

5) You want to adapt your own Novel.

This is hard to accept, I know, but trust me: if your novel or play
wasn't published or produced in its original form, it's extremely
unlikely it's going to work as a movie. And, by now, you're much
too emotionally attached to your original story. You will never be
objective enough about it to make the numerous changes
necessary for it to become a commercial script. The same holds
true for your own life experiences [or those of your
grandparents]. Yes, your life has been thrilling, painful,
passionate, moving and glorious for you. But, I'm afraid the
mass audience 99% of the time really isn't interested.
[It's fine to draw on your own experiences, but only to provide
an arena for a fictional story. And if you want to be both a
novelist and screenwriter, choose separate stories that are best
suited to each medium. Just don't mix the two until someone
offers you money to adapt your work into script form].

The Right Motivation to want to be a Screenwriter:

1) The Money
Yes, I know I just said that untold wealth is the wrong reason for
pursuing screenwriting. But if money isn't your only motive, and
you know you want to write, then you can probably make more
as a steadily working screenwriter than with any other form of
writing. Just remember that it's a package deal, and all of the
other rules and obstacles are included.

2) You get to create Stories.

If creating unique, captivating characters and taking them over
seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieve visible, bigger-
than-life goals is the kind of writing that thrills you, then you
should consider movie writing.

3) You love Movies [and/or Television]

You not only love seeing them, you relish the challenge of
staying within a rigid formula and creating a visual story that is
original, thoughtful and emotionally captivating.

4) You'll reach a huge Audience.

More people saw last week's episode of C.S.I than have read
Gone With the Wind. Makes you stop and think.

5) You Love Writing.

Screenwriting may not employ all the big words in the
dictionary, but you still get to spend your day lost in the power
of language.

Forget both the defeatist statistics and the dreams of glory and
riches. And omit the word "easy" from your vocabulary entirely;
there is no form of professional writing or filmmaking worth
pursuing because it's easy. Instead, ask yourself if your joy will
come from within the process of sitting every day at your
computer and creating a story for the big or small screen.
If the answer is truly "yes" and your motives match those listed
above, then close the door, fire up your computer and start
writing.

Important traits/ that will

take you there/
1) Patience. There is no way to overstate this important trait
that you must develop if you ever wish to make money as a
screenwriter or any kind of writer, period.

2) Live Life. You will become a better screenwriter if you get out
of that apartment, duplex, condo, favela, whatever, and go out
and live. You need to experience life in order to fill that well of
knowledge, emotions, and experiences that you can tap into and
use in your writing. It takes more than creativity or imagination
to be a Writer. It requires that you hurt a little, bleed some, and
heal over time. It requires that you live.

3) Your Characters. The actual art and craft that is screenwriting

is not so much about gimmicks or hooks, though they are
important in certain respects, but at the end of the day can you
write great characters? Can you write the kind of characters that
rapture your audience [reader] and make them forget what is
around them? Craft them well, make them real, not too real as
they are after all supposed to be a little better [or worse] than
the rest of us.

4) Give yourself permission to give up. So long as it is only

temporary.
Tips/
1) The Inertia of complacency.
Write something every day, exorcise your brain, whether it’s
your project or an assignment. If you find yourself stuck just
staring at a blank screen, try staring at a great script instead
and try to figure out how it’s put together. It might inspire you
to get your own writing done. The point here is to keep
exercising and refining your craft, building your knowledge, and
keeping the momentum, all of which will give you a competitive
edge. This isn’t about becoming a workaholic. It’s about breaking
through the inertia of complacency. It’s so easy to get
comfortable, to settle for the status quo, to rationalize why
you’re not doing what you know you need to in order to succeed.
“I don’t feel like it,” is not a viable excuse anymore.

2) Intelligent rest.
This may sound like a contradiction to the above habit. It’s not.
In fact, without this one, you won’t be able to sustain the level of
quality and productivity referred to above. Unless you’re able to
take a break [whether it’s ten minute, an hour, a day, or a
week] and recharge, you’ll soon be booking a room in burnout
city.

3) Organization.
A messy, disorganized "Space" is an energy sapper. Not just
because it takes longer to find that important document under
that stack of unopened bills, but also because it literally pulls
power from your psychic field. Every little "toleration" you put up
with burns fuel that could be put to much better use in growing
your business.

4) Work when you work best.

Some of us are morning people, I am not. Others are struck with
the muse at the stroke of midnight. If you don’t already know,
find out what time of day you work best, and direct your most
labor-intensive activities for that time period. If you schedule
your activities based on your energy cycles, you will find your
productivity take a quantum leap.

5) Give every project 100%

Treat every project like it’s the job of your dreams and you’ll
soon attract more and more of your dream jobs. Why? Because
you don’t get what you want in life, you get what you are.
Gandhi said "we must become the change we want to see in the
world". Likewise, we must become the kind of person who would
get the kind of jobs we want in the world.

6) Keep Learning.
To have what others don’t, you must do what others won’t. The
average person and the average screenwriter has a tendency to
take the path of least resistance. So you must take the road less
traveled. Stay open at the top. Maintain a beginner’s mind.
Besides continued study in related and complimentary fields,
read and investigate areas outside of your field and outside of
the Industry. Some of the most innovative ideas have come from
people adapting concepts they discovered in completely
unrelated fields.

7) You are who you present yourself to be.

This is another relative rule. A stockbroker acts and dresses
quite differently than a tennis pro. In the entertainment
industry, an executive acts and dresses differently than an actor.
Even more specific, different clients will have different
expectations. In general, business casual seems to work best.
You also want to have an updated resume and work samples
[scripts, pitches, synopses, etc.] readily available. Do your
homework, show up to appointments with all the right
Instruments to get the job done, and treat each prospective
client [Producer, Director, Executive and Agent] with the utmost
respect and value.

8) Time Management.
During work hours, especially in a home office, you’ll have plenty
of opportunities for distraction from well-meaning friends and
family members. In the most diplomatic tone you can muster,
kindly inform them that you’re at work not at home. Your writing
is a real business, not a hobby. Like Zach Braff once admitted to
me he never viewed so much Porn as when he started to write
Garden state on his Laptop.

10) Focus.
The most successful people, in this or any field, know who they
are so they can be true to that. They also know their strengths
so they can play to them and their weaknesses so they can
compensate for them.
These principles might not seem like great revelations. The fact
is, most fundamental principles are quite simple. The key is in
practicing them. Over and over. Day after day. Until they
become as natural as breathing.

Getting Paid/
There are a large variety of rates in the WGA Basic Agreement.
If you are not working under a WGA Agreement, your
compensation could range from zero to whatever you can get.
See here for the most current published WGA rates.

We’re used to getting paychecks that have all of the taxes and
expenses taken out. Maybe you’re bringing home $750 per
week. The math is relatively straightforward: you know how
much you need for rent, food, utilities and whatnot. And next
week, you’ll get another check.
Screenwriting is nothing like that. You get paid in chunks, from
which you have to pay taxes and percentages to all the people
working for you. The money shrinks at an alarming rate. Worse,
you have limited ability to predict when you’ll get paid again.
As an example, let’s say you and your writing partner sell a spec
script to a studio for $100,000. That seems like pretty good
money. But how much of it do you get to keep? Let’s run the
numbers.
Out of all that money, you have less than $37K, and that’s
before you’ve paid a penny of taxes. So don’t buy your fractional
Net Jet just yet.

Some points while we’re here:

• Not every Writer has a Manager. Many beginning Writers find

managers helpful in making contacts and working on pitches.
Your mileage may vary.
• While most Managers get 10%, that’s not fixed by law the way
it is with agents.
• You can also pay attorneys by the hour, but they’re well worth
the 5%.
• You generally don’t write a check for your Agent and Attorney,
that money is deducted by the agency when they collect from
the studio for you.
• The WGA sends you a form every quarter on which you list
what you’ve been paid by signatory companies. It’s your
responsibility to pay dues.

Flipping through Variety, you might think that all screenwriters

are rich. For instance, you might read that Sally Romcom sold a
pitch for “low six figures.” That’s slang for $100 to $250K, still a
lot of money. But if you actually looked at her deal, you’d see
that the money is structured in a way that she’s unlikely to get it
all at once, or even in the same year.
Sally is getting paid in three steps: first draft, rewrite and polish.
For each step, she is being paid half at commencement, and half
when she delivers. Each step has a time frame, ranging from 12
weeks for the first draft to four weeks for the polish. There is
generally a four week guaranteed reading period between each
step, which means that the fastest she could expect to be paid
for these three steps is 32 weeks (12 + 4 + 8 + 4 + 4). She’ll
get $125K for these three steps. The $75K sole credit bonus only
happens if (a) the movie gets made, and (b) she’s the only
credited writer on it. In order to pay her bills, Sally needs to be
able to predict when she’s going to be getting more money. For
years, I kept a spreadsheet tracking projects and expenses
across upcoming months, to make sure I’d have enough cash to
pay rent six months down the road.

WGA membership happens

automatically/

One day, you’re an aspiring screenwriter who hopes to join the

Writers Guild. The next, you’re a working screenwriter who must
join the guild by law. The first time you sell a script to [or are
hired to write by] a signatory company, you need to join the
Guild. Odds are, the guild will contact you as soon as paperwork
crosses the right desk, but you can also jumpstart the process
by calling the Los Angeles office. You’ll have to pay a fee of
$2,500 to join. Ask nicely, and they’ll let you spread out the
payments.

The most immediate benefit to joining the guild is the health

insurance. The plans and benefits are confusing but extensive,
with trade-offs for Preferred Providers versus HMOs. It’s worth
spending a few hours getting it set up correctly. Once you’re in
the plan, you’ll need to keep working in order to maintain
eligibility. Whether you’ve made a bunch of money at once in a
spec sale, or carefully grown a nest egg through steady
assignments, you’ll want to put your money in two virtual boxes.
In the first, stash enough to live on for six months [including
taxes]. In the second box, put all the rest of the money you
make and pretend it doesn’t exist.
I’m not qualified to talk about investments, pensions or
retirement, but I feel absolutely certain giving you this financial
advice: save your money. Get financial advice about about smart
places to put it, and then leave it alone. Except for rare
occasions buying a house, for example you should never need to
touch it. Your living expenses should be more than covered by
new money coming in the door.

Incorporation/

When a studio hires an "Incorporated Writer", they actually hire

a "loan out corporation", which provides both tax advantages
and liability benefits. It’s a lot of paperwork to set up, your
attorney will do most of it and a fair amount of responsibility,
with quarterly taxes and other filings. Like heart surgery, it’s
smart to ask a lot of questions, but you ultimately want it
handled by professionals who do it every day. The added
complexity of the corporation will lead you to hire a business
manager and accountant. The best resource for finding a good
business manager is other writers. You want someone
responsible, reachable and thorough. Keep in mind that a
business manager is not an investment guy. A business manager
is writing checks to keep the lights on. The only financial advice
you’ll be getting from your business manager is to spend less
money, which is always worth hearing. I’ve often heard $200K/
year as being the threshold at which point incorporation makes
sense, but it may be higher or lower depending on
circumstances.

If you sell a script, the studio has to pay you scale. “Scale” is
just a term for the basic minimum amount. Right now, if you sell
an original screenplay for a “big budget” film [a film that costs
more than $5,000,000], scale is roughly $77,000 [including one
additional rewrite step].

Minimums aside, however, most writers work above scale.

A typical deal for a pitch or assignment works like this, you’re
paid your “quote” [your going rate] for a draft and a set of
revisions [aka a second draft, often shortened to “set”]. In
addition, the studio will typically detail optional steps they can
trigger if they desire. So, if your deal is, say, $500,000 for an
original, you’ll get paid $500,000 for two drafts, but the studio
might hold an option for another set for $150,000 and a polish
for $75,000. If they want it, that’s what they’ll pay [and you
have to write it, pending your availability]. If they don’t want
those optional steps, they don’t have to pay that money out.
Then there’s the credit bonus. Most writing deals include a bonus
for sole screenplay credit and a reduced bonus for shared
screenplay credit [I’ve never heard of anyone getting a bonus for
story credit]. That’s where all this “X against Y” stuff comes in.
If your quote is $500,000 against $1,000,000, that means you
get paid $500,000 for those first two drafts. If you get sole
screenplay credit on the movie, you’ll get an additional $500,000
to get you to the $1,000,000.

Shared credit bonuses are typically half the sole credit bonus.
When working on deals, it’s always important to know what’s
applicable against the bonus and what isn’t. For instance, the
optional steps are almost always considered applicable, meaning
that if you’re $500,000 against $1,000,000 and the studio pays
you an additional $225,000 for optional steps, that optional
money cuts into the rest of the money they owe you if you get
sole credit. In this case, instead of getting $500,000 to get to
the million, you’d only get $275,000 in bonus money [because
you’ve been paid $500 + $225 already, and 500+225+275=1M].

Therefore, once you work beyond the initial quote work and
optional steps, it’s critical to ensure that new payments are not
applicable against the bonus, because you never want to be in a
situation where working more doesn’t get you more. Many
writers will do an “all services deal” once the film heads into
production. The all services deal is a flat payment that covers all
the writing the film requires until release. All services deals
should always be non-applicable against the bonus, and they
should be made with care. Some kind of time limit on them is
usually advised, in case a film drags on and on.

Payments are typically made for commencement and delivery,

with a 2/3 - 1/3 split being ideal, i.e. you get 2/3rds of the
money for a particular deal step when you’re told to commence
writing, and the remaining 1/3 when you turn in the draft. All
services deals are typically tied to production milestones, e.g.
you get 40% at the start of prep, 40% at start of principle
photography and 20% upon completion of the film.
Unfortunately, studios are infamous for “late pay.” Writers will
turn in drafts and be forced to wait weeks for payment. Or even
sometimes writers are hired and told to commence writing, but
even the starting payment is held up for weeks.

No writer need suffer it. Your position should be “I start when

I’m paid” and “I turn in my draft when I’m paid.” Simple as that.
The studio likes to say they can’t officially pay commencement
until a longform contract is signed, but that’s baloney. A deal
memo and certificate of authorship is all that’s required. As far
as quotes go, rewriting usually pays less on a quote basis than
original work. The basic rule of thumb is that a rewrite gig
should earn you about 75% of your quote for an original gig.
Of course, there’s the highly-desired weekly gig, which is
something else. "Weeklies" are when studios hire writers on a
week-to-week basis, almost always for production writing.
Weekly rates tend to be quite high. The studio will always try
and finagle the writer toward a polish if they think one week will
turn into three or four. That’s the tug of war that makes
dealmaking so much fun. So, once you have a quote, how do
you improve it [or get a “bump” in the industry parlance]? There
are three basic ways to get a bump. First, sell a pitch or spec in
some kind of competitive situation [more than one interested
buyer]. Second, write a draft that gets a green light. Third, get
screenplay credit on a film that performs at the box office or
earns awards.

Some basic guidelines for what writers earn. Note that these
groups exclude spec sales, which, at some point, no longer affect
a quote in a specific way [for instance, Rossio & Marsilii’s $5M
sale for Deja Vu doesn’t mean that their quote for an original is
$5M, although I think they’re both doing just fine]

"Baby Writers": Commonly used around town to denote writers

who are either very fresh to the business or who have little
experience working. Typical quote is 100 against 250.

"Typical Writers": They’ve sold scripts, maybe had a movie or

two made, maybe it didn’t do so well, but they’re definitely in
the game. Typical quote is 300 against 600.

"Known Commodities": These are writers who have multiple

credits, a number of fans at studios, a good track record and a
hit to their name. Typical quote is 700 against a million.
"A List": These writers have hits to their names, and are known
to deliver the goods for the studio. They almost always have a
few key relationships with top shelf actors, directors or
producers. Typical quote is $1-1.5M against $2-2.5M.

"Marquee Writers": Rarified air here. You’re talking about a

pretty small number of writers who aren’t employees as much as
investments. They earn more than most directors do. To be in
this group, you’ll need a quote of two million against…well…
more. Three million? Something like that.

Evolving from unpaid

screenwriter to paid/
Consider smaller production companies whose bread and butter
rest heavily on low-budget genre films and made-for-TV
specials. These companies have existing relationships with
television and foreign distributors. Some even have the money
for future projects and scripts from pre-orders [pre-sales]. These
"jobs" aren't big payday gigs. However, at $10,000 to $28,000 a
pop, if you're the kind of writer who can write well and write
fast, there is a lot of money to be made.

Below is a list of three recommendations that will help you make

the transition from unpaid writer to paid writer.

Watch Television.
Specialty stations like Spike TV, SyFy, Lifetime, G4 typically air
made-for-TV specials or original programming. Watch to see
what production company, producers and studios are behind
these films. The Hollywood Creative Directory [online or hard
cover] as mentioned is a good resource to research names and
addresses. The IMDb Pro database is another great resource.
Make a list of the producers and production companies and keep
tabs on the genres they prefer. Depending on your cable or
satellite TV provider you may be able to watch the guide channel
and scroll through an entire week of programming per channel
[i.e. Check SyFY network Sunday through Saturday]. Pay careful
attention to late night and weekend programming.

Take a visit to your local DVD rental house, Blockbuster [Before

it disappears] or Netflix streaming and scan through the list of
titles. Look at the obvious genre films and note the companies
with several titles on the shelf. These are the companies with
existing distribution deals for direct to video or foreign sales.
Don't underestimate the value of selling a script to a direct-to-
video distributor. A video title with a budget of $250,000 will pay
out a minimum of $5-10K to the writer.

Find Out What Sells.

Using the list comprised from data above, contact the producers
and distributors to see what is selling. You can contact them
using email, fax, or call direct if you've got the balls. Don't
overlook the receptionist or the assistant who may have
overheard the need for a new script. Remember, you aren't
asking for a job you're asking for a general explanation of the
types of films the Producer/Production company finds profitable.
That discussion will lead to, "how long has it been since you
made a [scifi thriller]?" And that question will lead to, "When do
you plan to make another [creature-feature]?" Ask questions
about the company's production plans. The answers will tell you
everything you need to know.

Write What People Want.

If you want to sell a script you must write what people want to
buy. It's far easier to write what people want to buy than it is to
write something you have to convince people to buy. If you're a
screenwriter you probably have several scripts you can rewrite
to fit a genre. The small town artsy film you wrote about a family
dealing with the death of the matriarch can be edited to be a
Christmas script. The big budget script your wrote for Michael
Bay can be edited down to a half million dollar budget for Screen
Gems' new scifi action for SyFy. The cop thriller you wrote with
the testosterone filled leading man can be rewritten for a woman
and offered to the production company doing business with
Lifetime. The baby boomer script can be rewritten for the high
school crowd and sold to ABC Family or Nickelodeon.

Making a script sale requires being flexible. Flexible writers who

write fast are always in demand. You'll always have time to write
the Oscar-winning script. In the interim, make some money,
make a name for yourself and knock down a couple doors.
The Top Tier/

From an Agents or Producers perspective without being overly

crass, they are looking for something that people are going to
make. There aren’t that many people in Hollywood. It’s one thing
to make Iron Man, and you’ve got millions of people who see the
movie. But at the same time, you have to get past 40 people to
make the movie. You have to get people to send the money to
make the movie. They want to read a script and hope those
people are going to pay for it. It’s a very small audience and a
very small window that they are looking to get the script into.
When they read a script they are thinking in regards of the right
director and right actors, any given time and agenda, at the
same time. They are not looking for a script every single day
that goes through the same cookie cutter but a script that they
believe manages to combine a commercial sensibility with the
kind of writing talent that gives that commercial sensibility a
greater depth. But when it is all said and done, the script needs
to appeal to many people on a multitude of levels. Remember an
Agent is always looking for something new, something in a genre
different from what his clients write. The reason is that he
doesn't want his clients competing for the same job.

E. Matthews.

scriptflags.com