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101 Articles To Help Sell Your Screenplay

You’ve spent months, maybe years, you have given your blood sweat and tears. You’ve read it through a dozen times, you have exorcised all your grammar crimes. You have tied up all the loose ends and have a story that transcends. Now that is time to sell, you may be saying what the hell? But have no fear IQ is here! So when it came to selling, you may have wondered, but now you have a list of articles that number over a hundred.

FilmmakerIQ.com

Formatting Scripts to Sell
Advanced format and style tips that can turn a good script into a great read

10 Story Techniques You Must Use to Sell Your Script
The key question that all screenwriters should ask themselves is: how do I write a script that Hollywood wants to buy?

Writing Loglines that Sell
Have you ever been stuck listening to a friend tell you a joke that seems to go on without ever reaching the punch line? Your mind starts wandering and you stop paying attention as the joke painfully loses its momentum.

How Do I get an Agent When I’m just Starting Out?
Short answer: I have no idea. There is no set way to do it. I called agents on a list. Others knew people who recommended their work to Agents

How to Get ‘Em to Read Your Script
It was a big shot producer from a major studio. “Hey, Ken, I love what you’ve done! What a great idea! I’m gonna steal it from you.” Was he talking about one of my scripts? No. What he was talking about was - well, read on.

Writing Successful Query Letters
A great query letter is your key to unlocking an executive’s door. Take your time and be as thoughtful about your query as you were when writing your screenplay.

An Agent, An Agent, My Kingdom for an Agent
Question from Chris Van: I write to you from Johannesburg, South Africa. I have finally completed my screenplay after a six-year haul. Thanks to Writers Store I have used many of your publications on my path to success.

The Eight Steps to a Powerful Pitch
Selling a screenplay or a novel is simple. It’s not easy, but it’s simple. First: write a great story. Then: get lots and lots of people to read it.

Do You Have to Live in Hollywood?
I wrote ‘The Writer’s Guide to Producers, Directors and Screenwriters’ Agents’ somewhat by accident. I quit Hollywood in disgust after two feature screenplays were purchased, but not filmed, this after years of options and some TV work, but no feature credit.

Ten Tips For Being Good in a Room
You’ve worked for months (years!) on your project and a buyer is interested. The meeting is set and there’s a lot at stake. You’re going to get one chance to effectively communicate the value and uniqueness of your
project. Many people get nervous at this point.

Breaking In - Through Hollywood’s Back Door
When you write your first screenplay, the path to glory seems clear: find an agent who will get you a six-figure deal. A hundred and fifty query letters later, you’re languishing at Hollywood’s front gate.

Proven Advertising Techniques Can Make Your Queries & Loglines Stand Out From The Pack
You’ve slaved over every syllable to make it memorable. Your manuscript spills over with high ideas, scathing wit and a dash of drama that would send even the coldest executive producer groping for a box of Kleenex.

WordPlayer.com

A Foot in the Door
“The Warner Bros. Hallway Test” emphasizes the importance of concept. The concept you choose is the first test of your creative sensibilities, and is your calling card to Hollywood.

Death to Readers
Here’s a checklist similar to what many studio readers use when assessing the quality of your screenplay. Does your script pass the test?

23 Steps to a Feature Film Sale
Writing advice I’d give my best friend. A plan of attack once you have your basic idea. The Disney animated feature approach. Much, perhaps even

The Wind-up & the Pitch
Use show and tell to take the focus off of you and put it on your story. Creating a new industry standard for pitching. But you feel silly walking around carrying a big cork bulletin board.

Tinsel-speak
How can you take this town seriously? Look at how they talk! A not-too-serious glossary of insider terms.

You, the Expert
Pretend that every agent in Hollywood has a brain aneurysm. The way they’d pick a doctor is the way they’ll pick a screenwriter. They want an expert. Don’t ask me if your script is good — know enough to tell me that it’s good. You be the expert.

Risk vs. Reward
Spec script or writing assignment? That delicate balance between money, risk, and creative control. Spec script sales torn from trade headlines. What are the odds?

Hard Bargain
What to ask for when the bidding war happens. (May you have such troubles.)

Your First Contract
People breaking in want to see real stuff, not someone’s diluted re-cap of their interpretation of events. Hard evidence, please. So here’s an actual film contract.

I Love LA
So, do you have to live in Los Angeles to be a screenwriter? Yes and no. Or, more precisely… no and yes.

Throw in the Towel
Not all people are going to make it. And you probably won’t. The qualities that people who make it have: passion, history, care for the moment, objectivity. Give up before you waste any more time.

Proper Treatment
The ultimate no-win situation. No matter what you put in, they’ll criticize what isn’t there. And you don’t even get paid.

Breaking the Ice
The query letter. Getting to the second date. Twenty common mistakes from the slushpile. Three real query examples: the good, the bad and the ugly.

Cover Me
Real examples of studio coverages. Step-by-step, the making of a big summer movie deal; how we got one writer over the wall.

Never Wait
Writers are naturally patient. Writers are naturally hopeful. That can be deadly to a Hollywood career. Don’t allow yourself to wait for anything, ever. Take responsibility for making things happen. The proper mindset of a writer: you’re too busy doing stuff to wait for anything, anyone, anytime. Excerpts from Carlos Castaneda and Robert Heinlein.

The Second Concept
Bad news, one great killer concept is not enough. In today’s competitive market, you might need an amazing second concept as well. Push your story past audience expectations by doing the obvious beats quickly; get into uncharted waters, which is where audiences — and authors — really want to be anyway.

JohnAugust.com

Money 101 for screenwriters
Read this before you cash that first check.

How to handle a meeting
For newcomers, I can offer a bit of a summary

Are studios open on Saturdays?
It’s the wrong kind of question, but you don’t know that at the start.

When is it brown-nosing?
Any sort of application, whether it’s for a grant, for college or for a job, needs to do exactly three things.

Sending out to multiple agents
Rifle or shotgun approach to getting an agent?

How to handle a phone meeting
A play by play of how it should go down.

Shouldn’t I get credit for the outline?
Explorations of ownership in a corporate environment.

What do you do when the buzz fades?
You made a movie. Get the most you can out of it, then get cracking on doing the next project.

How to Meet
Moment by moment; what to expect and how to behave in meetings.

They love it and they’re passing
Capitalize on people’s affection for your script to find something that pays money.

Moving to LA (via NYC)
Sage advice from a fresh transplant who took the plunge.

Starting out in Hollywood
First person account of the glorious drudgery of starting at the bottom in Hollywood.

I talk with my hands
Video links explaining how film and television writers should approach promoting themselves and their work through the media.

How do you become successful?
Ground your notion of Hollywood. While it seems glamorous and lucrative, if you’re coming to the film industry looking to get rich, you’re wasting your time.

What if my agent doesn’t like my idea?
Knowing the market isn’t the same thing as taste, and everyone’s taste is different.

When should I panic?
How to deal with the waiting cycle. The good/bad news: no screenwriter, at any level, is immune.

When do you walk away?
Often, the only power a screenwriter has is to walk away, and the decision whether to do it is almost never straightforward.

Do screenwriters get a chunk of foreign TV money?
When writers do and don’t get paid residuals.

Agency wants me to pay their “editor”
Is your agent asking for money up front? Run away.

Spec, or write it for the producer?
Have it your way first, then compromise if need be.

Why most scripts never become movies
As the screenwriter, there are hundreds of variables I can’t control. So I consider it a minor miracle any time a movie gets made.

Which side of the pond should I choose?
Depends on your sensibility.

Being a reader
Detailed account of the lifestyle of a professional reader.

Someone actually wants to read my script
Not the time to play it cool. Don’t waste a day and risk her forgetting who you are.

Which agent should I choose?
Important questions to ask the clients of prospective agents.

When should a writer become a corporation?
When why and how to incorporate.

Good advice from agents
The single most asked question (How do I get an agent?) answered directly by the source and amended by me.

Good article on Shane Black
Including the best explanation for how to keep a pitch engaging. Two words: “But then..!”

Taking a meeting without an agent or manager
If you can set something up without an agent, go for it. But don’t do it without a lawyer.

Whether to pitch or to spec
For working writers, Craig Mazin says to pitch.

Are four scripts better than one?
You’re much better off with one good screenplay than four noble intentions.

How do I find out who represents a given actor?
Unless you’re calling to offer him gainful employment, an agent is not the one to help you. But here’s where to find out.

The not-so-well-dressed screenwriter
Why the writer should always be the worst-dressed person in the room.

Why agents send out terrible scripts
Do agents submit anything their clients write, or do they ever tell clients that they need to work on something a little longer before they’ll send it out?

Getting a reader job
Where to find the jobs. Warning: you may have to start at slave wages.

Do screenwriters make anything from video rentals?
The writer doesn’t get residuals on rentals, except for whatever Blockbuster paid for each videotape or DVD it bought it from the studio.

Sending a script to an actor
If you’ve written a role that’s “perfect for Tom Cruise,” you have almost zero chance of getting it to him. But the more specialized the actor you’re targeting, the more reasonable it is to try.

Scripts sold
There are resources for finding out what scripts sold for what, but verifying the truth is another story.

Moving to Hollywood
If it’s big movies you’re talking about, big movies require big money, which pretty much means LA.

Agency papers
When you sign with an agent, know what you’re signing and how to protect yourself.

Sold a script, next stop: agency
Finding the right agency means doing your homework and consulting with others.

Finding assistant gigs
Advice on finding those hard to come by writers assistant jobs.

To live and die in LA
Boy does this question come up a lot. If your life’s dream is to become a giant Hollywood screenwriter, then you need to live in Hollywood.

Do i show my scripts or my short?
Not many agents are apt to pop in a videotape to check out a low-budget movie from someone they’ve never heard of. The odds of suckage are just too high.

How I Got My Agent
My personal answer to the most asked question of young writers.

Should I write a straight-to-DVD knockoff?
Don’t turn up your nose to actual paid writing for a company that makes movies.

What should I do in a general meeting?
Taking generals: how to turn a get to know you meeting into paid work.

Movie speak
Terms that will save you some embarrassment on set, unless — writer — you start throwing them around like you know what you’re talking about.

UnknownScreenwriter.com

The Elevator Pitch
The Elevator Pitch. You’ve heard of it before… Right? They’re called elevator pitches because you need to be able to pitch your screenplay in the length of time it takes for the person you’re pitching to — to arrive at their floor and exit the elevator.

Get A Manager To Get An Agent?
So I have this script… I’ve worked on it off and on for approximately three years. I don’t need coverage. I don’t need anyone to tell me it’s good. Why? Because I had basically sold it before…

We Pass
So a friend of mine who just happens to be a reader for one of the big agencies as well as screenwriter trying to break in, sent me an email today… I thought this communication would make an outstanding followup to the last post.

Copyright Your Screenplay
In case you’ve not yet heard, U.S. Copyright Form PA is being phased out. To register a copyright for your screenplay, you should now use U.S. Copyright Form CO. And, unless you’ve already filled this particular form out before, I highly recommend that you read the instructions for completing Form CO.

Always ask for a referral…
Another slew of email I’ve been getting recently is the same old tired, “Unk, how do I get an agent?” The email then goes on to complain that of course they can’t get an agent because no agents will talk to them and yada yada yada.

Just the facts, Ma’am…
So before we put high concept away for another day, let’s take a look at what I’ve come to know as the FACTS:

What market are YOU writing for?
It occurred to me today that we toss around the phrase, SPEC SCRIPT as if we know what we’re talking about.

Screenwriters are LAZY!
If I’ve heard this once, I’ve heard it at least fifteen times this year… Screenwriters are LAZY. Who’s telling me this? Producers. Why are they telling me this? Because it’s true?

How much would you spend to make a million dollars?
Half a million? A hundred thousand? Ten thousand dollars? A grand? You tell me.

SellingYourScreenplay.com

How to Sell Your Screenplay (in a nutshell)
Since the title of my blog is “Selling Your Screenplay,” and I want that to be the focus of my blog, I figured an obvious first post was to write a simple guide to getting your screenplay sold.

Writing A Screenplay Logline
You will need a great screenplay logline to sell your script. The logline will be a one or two sentence pitch of your film.

Writing a synopsis for your screenplay
You’re going to need a short synopsis for your script. It should be a little less than 1 page long and clearly show your characters and story.

Getting your screenplay to producers and production companies
Getting your screenplay to production companies is actually a lot easier than most people think.

How to write a professional query letter for your screenplay
When you submit your screenplay to a producer or director you’re going to need to submit a professional query letter before you send the full script.

Submitting your screenplay to Craig’s List postings
If you’re an experienced screenwriter there’s probably better ways for you to sell a script than submitting to postings on Craig’s List but if you’re trying to make your own breaks and get your scripts produced this is probably a pretty good place to start.

How long should you wait after sending out your screenplay query letter?
I got this question recently: “I’ve recently submitted 100 query letters to production companies and am just wondering how long should I wait for me to decide to work on my query or my next wave?

What is a screenplay option?
An option (as it relates to screenwriting) is when a screenwriter gives a producer the right to purchase the writer’s script.

Query letter responses
Below is an email exchange between myself and a writer who emailed me.

Should you mention personal experiences that relate to your screenplay in the query letter?
I got this question recently: “I’ve written two screenplays. One is a stoner/office comedy derived from my own experiences but with a fictional storyline, and the other is a drama/dark comedy which is essentially the telling of my own true story about a 15-year-old girl whose boyfriend commits suicide.

Should you set up a website for your screenplay project?
I got this question recently: “Would you advise I buy the domain name for one of the scripts that I’m polishing right now, a contained thriller. I will give it all up should I sell the script.

How to decide if you should option your screenplay to a producer
There’s not an easy “right” answer to this question but there are some factors to consider.

How long does it take to sell a script
I got this question recently and I wanted to make sure that people who were thinking about getting involved with screenwriting didn’t have this same fantasy.

Taking a Trip to Los Angeles to Jump Start Your Screenwriting Career
A got a few questions from two aspiring screenwriters a couple weeks ago who were planning a trip to Los Angeles.

Who Do You Address Your Screenplay Query Letter To?
“When submitting a query letter, should you send it to the company in general, should you send it to a specific representatives of the company (after looking in the HCD), or should you send it to multiple representatives of the same company?”

Submitting Your Screenplay Via Email – How To Create A Catchy Subject Line
“I’ve noticed that e-mail queries are becoming more accepted. When sending an agent an e-mail query, what should the subject line be? Should it say Query or the script title or Attn: Agent’s Name?

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Tags | Featured, General, Screenwriting, Selling Your Script