You have reached what seems to be a major milestone. You have written a screenplay that you want the world to see. And you want the world to actually read it. And make into a film. And you want your script to help you get work as a writer. 50% of success in show business is showing up. Some say that actually 90% of it is just showing up, being there to find opportunity. You have to work hard to create the opportunities for the right people to read your script. This part of the process may be just as arduous, or even much more so—more difficult than actually writing. Time spent with the blank page is tough. Time spent trying to sell people on the idea of just reading your script may be interesting, fun, an adventure but also very hard work. Budget serious time to this process. Plan carefully and also allow for an element of spontaneity. As William Goldman famously said, “Nobody knows anything.” Regarding your screenplay, you do have to know a few things. Who may want or need my script? How may I reach out to them and be heard? Are there protocols and norms to this system? Yes. And No. Welcome to Hollywood, my friends. It is always an adventure. Just like writing an original screenplay. The trick is to build out your own personalized structure for the task of marketing your script.
CONFIRM THAT YOU ARE MISSION READY:
First order of business. Make sure this is the script to show to the world. The cream ALWAYS rises to the top. No amount of networking and industry knowledge can make up for a mediocre script. This may be the land of second chances, but the entertainment industry is notoriously time-challenged and made up of many one-way streets. That script may be the first and last impression that your carefully chosen readers, the ones who you labored so intensely to find and then convince to read your script, may ever have of you. So, take two steps back, proofread your screenplay AGAIN and ask if there are any other adjustments that really could make your script not just good, the best you've written so far, but GREAT. Because that is what will get through all those filters at the agencies, management firms, production companies and studios—a great script. Of course, shit happens, bad or just decent scripts get through. If you have a great script and at least one contact in the industry, your script will get read and passed around, possibly leading to representation. Assistants to managers and agents are constantly on the lookout for baby writers to recommend to their bosses.
DO FUNDAMENTAL NETWORKING:
Check your contact lists. Do you have friend, colleagues, acquaintances, friend of friends who are in the industry, know people who are. Contact them. Tell them about your script. Ask them to read it.
SURVEY THE INDUSTRY LANDSCAPE CAREFULLY:
Research the business. Relentlessly.
DEADLINEHOLLYWOOD.COM, VARIETY.COM, THR.COM, THE WRAP.COM will give an emerging screenwriter a means to develop a submission strategy and more.
WHOREPRESENTS.COM contains comprehensive agency and literary manager lists, as well as search functions that allow you to narrow down what kind of managers/agents represent what kind of material. IMDBPRO.COM (the fee based version of IMDB.COM) provides up-to-date agency, management, and production company listings, as well as project info.
Tracking boards are an important source for all kinds of information about the screenplay market. TRACKINGBOARD.COM, TRACKINGB.COM, DONEDEALPRO.COM, ITSONTHEGRID.COM and numerous private tracking boards report on script sales, scripts out on the market, open writing assignments, projects in development, and scripts that are still being written right now. The public boards can be joined for a monthly fee. To join a private board, network, ask around, form a writers group and start your own. Luck, diligence, and positive attitude come into play.
Stay familiar with the annual lists of prominent spec scripts The Hit List on Trackingboard.com and the Black List. There will be more of lists of scripts which deserve industry recognition as these “institutionalized” lists have evolved, some believe, into an outlet for agents and managers to campaign for their clients. There are good scripts to read and know about on those lists. And it is a helpful tool to learn what kinds of writers and scripts prominent literary agents and managers are representing.
CRAFT A PITCH:
Be ready to speak with anyone about your script, to give a brief talk to potential readers. Create 30-second and two-minute explanations of what your script is about, what kind of movie it is, what the major plot and character conflicts are about. These are your elevator pitches. You can use them to write query letters and to talk about your script on the phone. Not the entire story of the movie. You need quick summaries to hook a potential reader. A two-floor elevator ride version. And a 25-floor ride version. Just in case you find yourself in an elevator with Matt Damon, a high-powered agent, or have somebody's assistant on the phone for less than a minute.
MAKING SUBMISSIONS:
It's important to recognize WHO you're submitting your script to, industry-wise. Contacts are great; the right contacts are essential. Obviously, if you only know one person in the industry, send that person your script (when it's ready). But, if you put in the time and effort to become part of a wider networking community, find out as much as you can about your contacts and choose your submissions wisely. Submitting your shuttle disaster drama to Adam Sandler's personal assistant is a waste of time. It probably won't get read through that contact. But, submitting it to the director of development at Adam Sandler's company might just get it passed on to the development assistant at Rogue Pictures, who's been, perhaps, desperately searching for a writer who can handle a quick pass on Armageddon 2 to recommend to his boss. Ideally, you should strive to be on top of the phone tree-email contact list of the development side of the industry so that you can get up your courage and just contact the Rogue Assistant directly with your highly targeted submission.
ABOUT REPRESENTATION:
Yes, it matters. Agents and managers provide guidance and may be the gateway toward industry opportunity BUT having a manager/agent isn't the be-all, end-all, and it's definitely not a guarantee that you'll start getting paid to write. Honestly: you're the only one who cares (excluding your mom, true friends, significant other, etc.) when you're just starting out, despite what your representation may tell you. Work with your representation, if you have it. Continuously seek out your own opportunities and go after them.
SCREENPLAY CONTESTS:
It is always nice to win. It may open some doors. Agencies, managers, producers systematically read scripts that place high in the contests. The more prestigious the competition, the better the exposure, naturally. A strong finish in the most prominent screenplay competition, the Nicholl, is highly relevant to the industry at large, as well as Slamdance, the Disney and Warner Fellowships, Big Break, Blue Cat, and a few others. Screenplay contests winners can benefit from cash, validation, and some promised industry contacts though contest wins do not provide any guarantee of representation or employment. Most importantly, it indicates your script may be ready to strategically submit to the industry at large. So, enter your script in the contests. It is always great to be read and have your written work understood and appreciated. Validation stands on its own apart from any “reward” the business may offer you down the road.
GOING HOLLYWOOD:
You don't have to “be in L.A.” to get read, sell a script, or find work as a screenwriter. You may have to show up in town eventually, but most of what you need to do may be accomplished on the Internet and over phone lines. Face to face contact, interaction with the business through internship, social acquaintances, just pounding the pavement can be valuable. By osmosis, living within proximity of “the Hollywood Community” could jump-start a career. Or it may diminish a writer's creativity. Bottom Line: As long as you can show up for key meetings, nobody cares where you live. It's all about the scripts you write. Diligence. Luck. Creativity. A positive attitude. Showing up with collaborative skills in key situations. And more luck. And more diligence. And, yes, more creativity. Keep writing. The script you just wrote may be pretty great. But they will want to read the next one. And the next one.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I will say it again: Keep writing. And: Keep networking. Keep on pushing. Enjoy the process