Screenwriting : Getting Your Script Out There by Becca-Chris M

Pay $$$$. Pay to play Industry. I once had to buy a $500 dinner at Maestro's steakhouse for a Pro basketball player & his entourage just so I could ask for $250K donation.

A.S. yes, we have. We placed as quarter-finalists three years, but never advanced further.

Dan, what do you mean by that? We've paid to have readers read our scripts before.

Becca

Pay more. Pay executives . They cost north of $200++. check with Happy Writers. They got a list of decision makers who will provide feedback and call you on phone. one on one advice. Whatever you have done in past is not working now. Do something else radical. Maybe get a screenwriter coach? Take a class. Or shoot a short movie.

That's not getting DMX any closer to filing his income taxes as a "writer." Producers and execs pay you, not vise-versa. Sites like this didn't exist until a few years ago. Definitely pitch to managers here if you have something to sell, then let them approach agents, producers, and/or execs on your behalf.

How would a Producer or Exec know bout your material if you can't get past a query, or have a Rep? Every legit prod company rejects unsolicited, unless they know you.

$$ opens doors. Either take classes, keep paying for pitches to middle people, hire a consultant, attend film school, join a synagogue.

As far as professional readers, what does that lead you? Nowhere. I was a 'professional' reader. I read what my Bosses want, write a standard coverage, and move on to the next script. Few pro readers stick their jobs on the line and RECOMMEND scripts. Go straight to Bosses. Cut the line. Be a detective. Research. Who wants what? Luck plays. So does having the right material, in the right hands, at the right time. And there are tons of great writers with great specs. Think radical. Do the opposite.

I eschew such Machiavellian approaches, and I'm reasonably certain I would burst into flame should I place so much as a toe on hallowed ground, but Dan does make some good points. :)

I'd recommend giving some of the paid pitching sites a try. Either here or Virtual Pitchfest.

Love your comments here, Dan. I'm amazed just how often person's ideas of being helpful is along the lines of" "You should get so-n'-so Director for this feature" or "so-n'-so Actor would be the perfect attachment for your project.. get them and you're golden!" as if this is good advice. I always retort, "OK. I'll give you 40% of the project if you get them attached, so you go ahead -- take action on your proposed helpful advice and give Dennis Quaid or Christopher Walken (or their agency) , who you say would be a great asset to my project -- a phone call". At this juncture a busy dial tone goes off in their heads. I can almost hear it.

I'm not convinced that paying more is the best way to get your scripts out there. Maybe it IS a numbers game - the more you pay the more likely you are to get your script noticed - but I haven't seen that to be true. Becca, you say you have been trying for years; what have you been trying? Maybe I can help with a path you have missed.

Maybe the best way is eye to eye, physical contact. Same room, share a drink, talk, decide if you want to work with somebody for the next 3-5 years developing a project. But not everyone can collaborate and check egos. Of course, the big egos always have the $$$, so it's kinda hard to balance and do a dance. Dont need to like a person but you gotta show up to meetings and make sacrifices, artistic and financial.

Honestly, I haven't met enough people to say this with authority, but most of the people I've talked to in the industry are actually really cool - not actors, of course. I have no idea what they're like in their personal lives, but they at least put on a good Game Face when it comes to business. Except actors, as noted. ;) :D

Beca - I have no idea where you are located, so I can't provide anything very specific. It looks like you've been finalists in a couple of contests - so it's likely that you have a reasonable script. Where to now? First, make sure your script is industry ready; that means you'll need to spend a few dollars on a "script doctor" - but be careful as there are only a few decent ones out there. Then start looking for film festivals that bring in worthy professionals for seminars (Every year, I bring in a professional working Agent for my screenwriting retreat.) Remember that while you're looking for representation, that Agent/Manager is looking for scripts to sell. Be prepared with business cards, a logline, a "leave behind" and a copy of your script just in case (usually they'll ask that you send it to them.) This is a very personal business, founded on a lot of face-to-face connections. If the Agent feels that your script is worthy, believe me, he'll take it wide. Keep in mind - he earns a living by selling your work.

D Marcus, we've contacted agencies and production companies (did receive several script requests, but it never went further), entered multiple contests (placed quarterfinals 3 years, but never further) and have our scripts posted on the Script Hub (https://screenplayreaders.com/hub/). All the while we've been paying for professional script notes and rewriting as necessary.

Dan, we live over 2,000 miles from Hollywood. Whatever contacting we do will need to be done long-distance.

Doug, what script doctors do you recommend as decent?

OK.. let's step into the shoes of an agent. I mean, let's really squeeze our feet into their POV Aldos. You're an agent now -- YAY! -- and you're off to an event... any event. You have a roster of working clients with strong platforms and credits. You're looking to hob-nob with network executives of upcoming shows, studio execs in development, and maybe a casting director or two, all to find your working clients, well... work, so you can get paid healthily and put gas in your BMW. Along comes an unproduced "baby writer" with no money to provide an official "Offering" to any of your rostered clients, no production company that can fulfill the script he or she is trying to hand off to you, no prominent Hollywood name to gain them better positioning in their firm or make them look good at Monday morning's agency appraisal table, and, you've basically asked the agent and agency to spend time and money (not make money) kickstarting your career. Agents don't build or kickstart careers, they find work for their working clients. Now that we've ripped off the blinders and provided proper perspective to the agent's actual point of view, how can we approach him or her at the event and be appealing? Do we say we have a dynamite script we'd like them to read? Probably not, wrong approach. What can we say?

Pidge I personally don't bother trying to connect with agents anymore. Seems like managers and producers are more open to taking on baby writers, at least in my limited experience.

My attitude exactly, Jody. Maybe that means we're "learning to walk". :)

AI generates 242 screenplays per week for 143 producers and 17 studios in 33 countries and 218 languages. AI wishes it could "go out there," human writer. AI wishes it could jump up and down on a king-sized mattress.

Hi Dan. I have a screenwriter friend who is currently smack in negotiations with an agency regarding attachment of an A-list actor to his screenplay. While he does have an EP that made the connection happen for him, he unfortunately has no studio attached. As of two days ago, status was he had to provide an offering backed by $$$ (over 3 mill) before they would attach. This is because the unproduced screenwriter cannot provide any stitch of reassurance the proposed film they attach their client to will ever get made. If it was Katzenberg sending over the script it would be a different matter, because he has a line of credit (known as fulfillment) in the Industry. So really, my screenwriting friend is entering into an endorsement arrangement from the agency's perspective, and endorsement deals get paid. Unless you have industry credibility or go in under the banner of a reputable studio, it often is a pay-to-play situation behind the red curtain until you're more established. Dan Maxx was speaking of this earlier, I believe. Yes, as you mention, the agent does attach talent and packaging is still also done, albeit more sparingly it seems, but it's performed for and around mainstream writers, prominent directors, and industry persons with names that excite, sell, and catalyze confidence, not screenwriters who have no street named after them. Basically, if you're going to invite everyone for a picnic under a tree in what's sure to be a windstorm, you want it to be a descent-sized oak. If not, you're going to have to pay everyone to risk their careers and co-workers to sit next to your sapling.

3 scripts in 8 years is not much output.

Dan, this thread is about Getting Our Script Out There and we've already established that a baby writer is not likely to secure representation from the agent he or she is standing next to at a cocktail party and why. We wish it were a studio producer or manager, but it's not. And yes, you are correct, we don't pay agents to represent us. The question was what can we do to get our script out there, which begins with getting it read. We have the ear of an agent, but he won't read or represent. Instead of asking the agent for a read or representation which is futile, we can turn what we do have -- the screenplay -- into a tool that is a more appealing conversation for an agent and indeed get it read, which is our goal. This is not conjecture; I know this because I've done this. So now our script has been read by the agent which otherwise in majority of cases would've never happened. What would you do in this brand new situation you find yourself? Can it lead, if angled properly, to eventual representation?

This topic conveys why writing screenplays is not for everyone (not directing that at the original posters whose works I've never read). Some people I've run across think "I wrote my first script...or second...or third..." and that there's this huge market for spec screenplays. There isn't, and most of mainstream Hollywood isn't buying spec scripts, nor are they looking for many new writers. Most of mainstream Hollywood already has enough scripts to last a lifetime, and already has their favored writers.

But they are always looking for new and brilliant writers.

I still believe this is the best time to be a screenwriter in the history of the world. There are hundreds and hundreds of films made every year in the U.S., and thousands around the world. There are dozens and dozens of film producers looking for brilliant scripts. Inktip has helped to get hundreds of scripts optioned and/or sold, and has helped writers develop relationships with producers looking to contract writers for assignments. So has many other websites. You can even pitch people here on Stage32. And you can win contests that get your scripts exposure.

People who are trying to write/sell scripts - especially novices - need to understand how UNIQUE and how BRILLIANT their scripts really need to be, and the reality of the marketplace. But novice screenwriters don't have those understandings at the novice stages. As soon as a producer hears a pitch that they have literally heard hundreds of time before....BAM....you've lost their interest, and you're just another bad/mediocre (and maybe clueless) writer to them. New or inexperienced writers, though, usually write scripts that are pretty bland and pretty derivative to begin with, and don't really learn how important that is (to be unique and brilliant), and don't really develop into brilliant writers until years later (if they do at all).

Write some UNIQUE and BRILLIANT scripts....excite producers with something they've never heard before....and have a box of them. It's not so difficult to garner interest and option scripts, or even get a writing contract, when you can do that.

Correct, Bill, write great & stacks of concepts people want to pay $$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

Derek Kolstad was writing overseas Dolph Ludgren movies (which I turned down, but that's another story). Derek was about to quit the business, then his wife encouraged him to finish/write an original spec "SCORN" which sold, then Keenu Reeves signed on, they rewrote the entire script together, from page 1, change title of SCORN to JOHN WICK... and the rest is Hollywood legend.

Pidge

I had a UTA Agent-in-training (mailroom guy) at one time but I had to show him $250K before we talked face to face and pow wow'ed a game plan, attach young & cheap Acting Talent and raise more $$$. Agent wanted to leave the mailroom and I wanted to go to Sundance.

My $750K budget project didn't excite anyone at UTA. "Not enough meat" on the bone for Junior Agents. Too much work, not enough commission. My guy's brilliant game plan was to sit on my project for a year, use $250K to buy & flip homes, raise the budget, get bigger Talent names.

Start marketing like a madman. You can start with LinkedIn - look for producers who are in the genre you are interested in and start connecting. Build your network. In one year I built over 5,000 producers into my network.

Dan - You have an agent that reps you as a screenwriter...but you're not trying to sell any of your screenplays? My Agent would drop me faster'n you can say "Boy Howdy" if I told him I don't want to sell my scripts.

Becca-Chris m I am looking for good scripts that fit in a rural area. I will be glad to read yours If it's good or fits my need .

Oh. Makes sense.

i'm convinced Doug and Dan; I need to become an agent. :)

I'm moving up to tentpoles, Vitaly. Can we talk about 50-100 mil projects here? Only here? :)

Becca, it seems you have already tried all the "best ways". Perhaps the scripts you have are not what producers and studios are looking for. Maybe it's time to try something that is not often considered the "best way" - write something more marketable to showcase your talents. That sometimes opens the doors.

D Marcus, we're trying the script coverage here. Might as well see what an executive has to say about it. Otherwise we received recommends for both our comedies at another website. Comedy is difficult. We have a fantasy script that we're putting the finishing touches on. - Chris