Screenwriting : What's the crucial first step to get your screenplay out there to the masses? by Jacob Taylor

You may want to check out my article Building Craft and Breaking In; Three Budgets for Aspiring Screenwriters which covers networking/marketing on different budgets.

You're also more than welcome to put your material on www.scriptrevolution.com or you can upload them here on Stage 32 or over on www.simplyscripts.com for free.

It's very easy to get sucked into competitions/festivals/evaluations/ranking-lists but a lot of them are only there to suck money out of you. They claim to serve a need for curation when really they cash in on validation.

Nicholl and Stage 32 are the only competitions I recommend. The former because it's really the only competition that the industry proactively takes notice of and the latter because the winners are given so much support afterward.

write another and another and another

Write. Become indispensable. And write.

Hey Jacob Taylor I am the Director of Script Services at Stage 32. Congratulations on writing your project! The first step is to get feedback on the project from someone you trust who knows about story and screenwriting. While you have a clear idea in your head about your story, you need to find out what it reads like to someone who is approaching the material totally fresh. I would suggest if you are in your early drafts, get Coverage from one of our Industry Readers. You can find that link here: https://www.stage32.com/scriptservices/coverage/buy?id=23&affid=mjm

Good luck! Write me at j.mirch@stage32.com and keep me posted!

Jacob, I agree with CJ. (As a matter of fact, all ten of the screenplays I've completed thus far have been uploaded to both Stage 32 and www.scriptrevolution.com.)

Wishing you all the VERY BEST!

Define what you want in your own mind. Then plan for that. If you love writing and just want people to read them, competitions. If you want to get them mad, look for producers, many different tactics.

Keep going until you have a dozen screenplays to share with the world. Having a strong sense of yourself as a writer is more important than having a killer story.

This is turning insane. You don't need to have a dozen screenplays ready before you start marketing yourself. I got my first feature job after someone read the second script I'd ever written, Amazon Studio's featured the same script, I had an actor show the same script to her agency after she read it, the same script temporarily made the Top List on the Black List.

By all means, to keep writing is essential but, the earlier we start marketing, the earlier we start learning how that side works.

Wow! Thank you guys for all your helpful advice. I'll be sure to put all this to good use. I have recently submitted a TV pilot of mine into the Atlanta Film Festival, but i'm getting the sense that competitions aren't the only route I should take. I am, at the moment, looking for feedback on my writing and how I can improve that, since I am fairly new to the industry(I was a former Political Science major until I just couldn't ignore my love and interest for writing/film/television.)

Best way to get feedback in my opinion is to work on your craft so you can become your own critic. Most of the feedback you'll get from peers and anonymous feedback services is not likely going to be of any help.

You also need to do some reflecting on the best way you learn.

If books work well for you, check out The Books Screenwriters Should Really Be Reading.

I definitely agree with CJ that it is never too soon to put yourself out there, that said, 99% of "first scripts" are not ready to be marketed -- so it's extremely important to continue to write until you find your voice as writer. Most "first script" writers make the mistake of marketing that one script to death and getting discouraged in the process. I read hundreds a year and maybe find 5 that I would champion forward, plus the more you have, the more opportunities you have and the more you have to talk about as you market yourself.

Absolutely. After dipping my toe in the water, I pretty much worked on my craft and focused on short scripts for five years before starting a career.

Well, if you want to go to all of the trouble to film it so that you can enter it in film festivals, that's great... But screenwriting contests are easier. There are only a handful that matter. You can also e-query, and network and all of the usual stuff. I could never enter screenwriting contests because I sold a script at 20 years old and was considered a pro. I was broke and driving a forklift in my hometown, but couldn't enter contests.

https://www.stage32.com/KayLuke

I had the same problem. I have a script that was big sci-fi; starships, battles, and plot.

Answer: No one will produce that for a beginning writer.

Now I struggle to write compact, sci-fi with a budget under $1 Million. I limit locations, CGI and cast. learning it fast.

Get thee into a screenwriters group!! You can Google screenwriting groups for your area, but if your friend/professional circle can't recommend, Meetup is a good start. You want to find a group that has a mix of beginners thru to professionals. Having writers of that background will (hopefully) provide useful/actionable notes to help get your script tight before sending your "baby" out there. Also by reading other writers' scripts it will help strengthen your skill and ability. By reading others misses or wins with a script helps you identify those aspects in your script. You could also go the script reader/consultant route but that could be tricky, because there's some problematic ones out there that are just looking for a "pay day".

There is no magic number. But you know that you are a better writer now than when you started. So the 12 script comment means we all need practice to become professional.

You have not much to offer as a first time writer. If you script needs $30m to be made, that’s unfortunate. Because those producers know screenwriters. They are probably not looking for more. Great will always rise to the top. So keep it handy.

I reached out to producers that I could work with. People that may be willing to read work from unknown people. This tends to be the low end of town. These people can still make quality. If you write quality it will get noticed.

Mel Gibson came to Hollywood with a copy of Mad Max under his arm. Low low budget film.

The first step is marketing. The second step is marketing and every step thereafter is marketing.

Doug is absolutely right.

I'm currently in the same boat as you Jacob. The only thing you can truly depend on is yourself. If you promote yourself and find a way to put up a social media page, get some business cards, enter some screenwriting contest, send out query letters, pitch your screenplay to the producers, managers and execs here on stage32, and try to get a job at one of these studios in LA (which it appears you already have), you're one step closer to your goal. Marketing is what I'm currently working on.

Best Wishes!

Tee shirt cannon.

Marketing is definitely something I need to work on, i'm pretty good at pitching my ideas and my scripts and ideas to people on the street, but finding the right place to start sharing myself and my work online has been more of a learning experience(I've been a little bit of a dinosaur when it comes to social media until the last couple of years). How crucial would you say it is to get your script registered with the Library of Congress?(I have character bios and location treatments for a said script as well.)

The registration things is always a hot topic. But if I am spending cash to make a film. Why would steal one of the cheapest parts and risk my entire investment?

Up to you. There are millions of scripts. You are pretty safe.

Marketing is also not just reach and frequency ( advertising), it is making sure you have the right product. I have posted a discussion here not long ago. Might be worth a read. It was an interesting thread.

Yeah, as mentioned, LOC registration is potentially going to be a requirement in a sale.

Marketing as a writer is really tough, Jacob, few know how to do it effectively, and those working will almost always tell you their success is down to meeting the right people.

Dan MaxXx has a great bullet point list shared on twitter that's probably one of the best roundups of what the process really looks like.

Basically, you want as many channels as possible reaching out from you and your script. That's everything from attending events, to networking, to querying, to listing, to blogging, to social media, to community engagement, etc, etc... But then you also need to be working your way up the food chain in the background by starting at the bottom with either making your own films or helping first time filmmakers.

You want to have potential alignment with every tier of industry member out there ready incase you meet the right person, which is most likely going to be some completely random act that kicks everything off.

Seriously, just get out there and hustle as 99.9% of screenwriters aren't doing it.

To add to Dan's note on registration, if you sell your script, it will have to go through a process of titles and clearances where you have to prove and then assign you own the copyright. LOC registration is the important one, not WGA.

Jacob, Playing off of what C.J. said, it really is ALL ABOUT THE HUSTLE ... Network, Network, Network. And, as he pointed out, there are different tiers of the industry and different ways to do it. Here's my addition, and I can give it to you from two perspectives: That of being a screenwriter and that of a working director/producer, yet it's all the same. GET YOURSELF to as many Film Festivals as you can. Meet as many Indie Filmmakers as you can. Schmooze with them, talk shop, brainstorm ideas. The next thing you know, you're getting paid a small sum to write a short or a feature. Build your IMDb, regardless of what others may say on here. THAT is your resume. At the same time, send out queries to agents and managers, however, YOUR BEST BET is meeting fellow independent filmmakers and writers, pooling your connections and making some films. Dan MaxXx calls it, getting some "Skin in the game," and he's absolutely right. "Build your Tribe," as Dan says. A good friend of mine who worked for Universal Studios told my acting students - and told me years earlier ;) - in my workshop: "You just have to keep banging on doors and banging on doors and kicking down doors, until they can't ignore you anymore." Heck, surf the job boards here on Stage 32 - I see advertisements seeking screenwriters for shorts and features all the time ... some even paid work. Are you in a position to turn that down? Build your IMDb, Build your Tribe AND THEN WATCH THE AGENTS AND MANAGERS take you more seriously. Go write a feature as C.J. just did for a production company. They may even get some name talent such as Steve Guttenberg and others such as were in C.J.'s film. I know from here on the boards he already has another projects. The Bottom Line: Become a Networker. Attend Film Festivals. And, you don't need to be in California to do any of that. Look for short stories to adapt. Keep sending those Queries. But, Build your resume and Build your tribe along the way. If you liked what I had to say, hopefully you CHECK OUT MY BLOG THIS FRIDAY on STAGE 32! ;) Break Some Legs! GOD BLESS and STAY FRESH!!! ;) ;) ;)

Is there a different hustle involved depending on if it is a feature screenplay or a tv pilot screenplay? I currently have a 62-page pilot written I would love to start shopping around.

Jacob, At the moment, I don't do television myself - in terms of producing content - however, hustle is hustle. I will say that television is a different animal. Usually, you have to find a Showrunner to pitch your stuff. But, in terms of the Networking and the Hustle, you still have to do the same things. I always would rather produce it as an independent film. You can always get it in festivals, if no one wants to release it, you can four-wall it or do one-night screenings, not only at movie theaters, but at restaurants and taverns that have banquet-type rooms. You can get it online - Amazon, I-Tunes, Hulu, YouTube (and I DON'T mean for FREE on your own channel here), Roku and even release it on DVD / BLU-RAY. You can get it on cable television - they are always seeking content, perhaps get a few foreign deals and even make a deal to get it on the airlines, so long as it isn't terrible. But, with a tv pilot, if you don't have a network or major cable television network, where do you take it? That's just my theory. I would always rather make it as an indie film. My advice is add 12-15 pages on to that script, flesh it out a bit and seek to make it an independent film with some names. It's doable. And, then, you have a place to go with it.

But, again, I'm not a T.V. guy per say, though I know people who have pitched television shows. Again, to me, while the hustle is the same, it's a whole different animal in terms of how you go about it.

Jacob: First polish that sucker 'till it glows in the dark, next fire it off to one or two folk who are in the right place to effectively DO something with it. I strongly advise against shotgunning it out the masses.

Sam Borowski, you are totally on the money, my friend, and I'm certain you'll go places with your attitude. Love to see someone chasing the dream with some vigour and passing the knowledge learned back down in detail. Hats off to you.

I know this is just an Australian thing. But some of our TV networks but content directly. They then resell international right and end up with free content.

I don’t know if they buy from overseas as this defeats the business model.

SBS in Australia has a distribution like arm. A friend worked in it for a while. She said that they worked their butts off for the first 12 months. Bought and sold heaps of films. Only made a profit of $3,000. But the station had a library which cost them zero to acquire.

She left SBS and sells furniture now. Obviously TV is all it’s meant to be from a back room POV.

Hey Jacob Taylor I am the Director of Script Services at Stage 32. Drop me a note and let me know what you are working on! I have some ideas on how you might start to get work out there and get some feedback from professionals. Look forward to hearing from you!

I just want to thank you guys, every single one of you for all of your input, this has been a tremendous help!

Luckily, I am a big believer in "less is more," I tend to write more thriller, drama or personal stories with minimal cast or effects in mind.