"According to a recent Daily Variety article, 43% of 1997's studio produced films came from spec screenplays..."
--Hollywood Literary Sales Directory
If resources change, marketing strategies are surprisingly constant, with occasional creative twists. I decided to keep the original commentary below because old copies of the HCD are still available on the net. A serious screenwriter should own as recent a copy as possible.
More recent developments are at the Market Resources page I use in my classes, at http://www.ibiblio.org/cdeemer/swmkt.htm. This has the latest information as I write.
There are a few things you want to do before you let your script out of the house.
Why? And what about copyrighting the script?
You want to register the script with the WGA because it is the industry standard. That's the only reason, but it's reason enough.
You may or may not decide to copyright your script as well. In fact, your script is copyrighted as soon as your write it. Brad Templeton has put a couple of very useful essays about copyright on the Internet, which contain important general points as well:
My recommendations are as follows: yes, register your script with the WGA. No, don't worry about formally copyrighting it (unless you are wealthy or very paranoid).
The standard is simple, so just follow it:
One of the "safest" places to test the waters, so to speak, is by entering a screenwriting contest. You won't burn any bridges if you lose - and you can burn bridges by sending out scripts to producers too soon, as you'll learn in the next section. So consider entering a contest.
Not just any contest, however. There are many things to consider before entering a contest, among which are:
Now in the beginning, it may be worth it to enter any contest, just to get your feet wet. But I recommend a more deliberate strategy.
There are two annual contests with a proven track record: the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship and the Austin Heart of Film Competition. Additionally, there is the Columbus Discovery Awards, which is an ongoing competition with monthly winners and an annual grand winner. There also are a number of competitions for internships or workshops, such as the Disney Fellowship and Sundance Lab. And there also are some reputable smaller contests, such as that run by the Wisconsin Screenwriters Forum.
I recommend that beginning writers enter the Nicholl and Austin competitions annually. The advantage of these contests is that winners sometimes (but not always!) move quickly on to screenwriting sales. But more important to you is that by placing as a quarter-, semi-, or finalist in these contests, you open doors to producers and agents. These two entry fees every year won't kill you, and I recommend you enter these two contests regularly until you get on one of the "opening doors" lists.
That's all I recommend. If you have the money and inclination to do more than this, be my guest. But before you do, listen to my warning and my alternative.
First the warning: beware of "fly by night" contests. A few people have figured out that there are thousands of "wannabe screenwriters" out there who will do almost anything to break into the business, including paying fat entry fees for contests. Do your homework before entering any screenplay contest. (If you are online, one of the best resources for getting the latest information from other screenwriters is the screenwriting newsgroup or the screenwriting listserv. See the networking area at my website at http://).
If the contest is not mentioned here, get all the information you can about it. In particular, pay attention to who the readers are and if they have significant industry positions or connections. Remember that the quickest way any new organization can gain credibility is to give an award! Beware of contest sharks.
Also ask yourself this: since contests always cost money, is this the best way to invest money in your future?
I think not. For example, if you live distant from L.A., take the entry fee money and get yourself an 800 number. That, in my opinion, is much more helpful to your career. Or purchase the online Hollywood Creative Directory for a year, which is updated weekly and is hands down the most up-to-date marketing resource you have short of reading the daily trades (which serious career-minded screenwriters also will do).
In other words, at $30 and $40 a pop, entry fees add up - is this a better investment in your career than buying stamps or an 800 number? Not always.
Because there are other ways to open doors, as you'll see. Yes, the Nicholl and Austin are great gold stars to have on your resume if you win or place high in them. And probably winning any contest might open a door or two (locally, the Willamette Writers had a screenplay contest - there were 11 entries! Well, someone can write agents, "I won the Willamette Writers Screenplay Contest!" And maybe the agent will laugh and maybe not).
Use your resources wisely. An 800 number is a great thing for non-LA screenwriters to have - it encourages people to call you because it's at your expense. If I were you and money was tight, I'd get my own 800 number before I thought of entering any contests. And if I can still afford investing in my career, I'd then enter Nicholl and Austin annually. And if still, Columbus now and again.
But you need to put together your own plan according to your needs, based on as many divergent opinions and recommendations as you can find.
One thing is certain: you should be contacting producers before you start contacting agents. Why? Because there are fewer agents, and they are harder to get the attention of. You do not want to burn bridges with agents by showing them scripts before you are writing at a professional level - assuming, that is, you can even get an agent to look at one!
Besides, you can accomplish a lot - and even make some money - without an agent. You won't be dealing with major studios, but so what? You have to start somewhere.
Of course, there are also beginning writers who get so paranoid about burning bridges to agents and producers that they never enter the marketplace, or do so later than they should.
In general, I suggest the following guidelines:
When you are ready to send off a script into the marketplace, there are new guidelines to follow.
The procedure is to send out "query letters" first, pitching the script and asking if a producer would like to read it. Queries can be by mail, by electronic mail, by fax or by phone. I discourage the latter, although a few writers, especially those with great phone personalities (which I don't have), swear by this method. Most producers are too busy to take cold phone calls graciously.
The "standard" way to query is by mail (or "snail mail" as it is called by those who also have email). You are going to send out letters to the development executives at production companies (prodcos) (more about this in the next section). What's in the letter?
The first rule: keep the letter under a page. A variation on this rule is to do the actual pitching on what is called "a one-sheet" and attach an even shorter cover letter. This is the method I prefer, but I have a track record, which means I have something to say in the cover letter. Most beginning writers will pitch and "cover" in the same one-page letter.
In pitching your script, your goal is to briefly intrigue the producer into requesting the script. You want to tell him/her enough to want to read it. This means you must have an appealing logline already written.
How do you write good loglines? Wendy Moon's How to Write a Really Good Logline should be helpful.
My Cyber Film School column on query letters.
Here are some examples of successful query letters by different writers. Each got the intended result - a producer asked for the script to read:
Note that what these letters have in common is brevity.
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