Tips
Stop Tweaking and SUBMIT
You know you do it. You compulsively tweak your script. A little here a little there, you can’t leave it alone. You go back through the pages and change dialogue. And change it back. And fix an action line. And fix it back. But then the real trouble begins. You tweak something on page thirty-two which necessitates changing something on page seventeen. And page forty-nine. Now you’re done. Time to send that script off to a competition, consultant, friend – whoever. But wait – one more tweak r-i-g-h-t here…
When does a writer know when to leave well enough alone? Make sure that every time you open your script you have an actual goal in mind. Maybe you are in the midst of adding new scenes, aka actually completing your script. Maybe you just got some notes and you’re addressing the pertinent sequences. Maybe you’re just rereading it one last time and OH LOOK there’s something to tweak.
The problem with tweaking ad infinitum is that you can’t see the forest for the trees. Yes, tweaking can improve your pages, but if you do it compulsively, sort of like chewing a fingernail, you can actually damage your script and/or just be wasting your valuable time. Because your time is very valuable, as a screenwriter. Anyone can go back through and rearrange punctuation, but what actually improved and shifted in your last session with your script?
So before you open your script for the day, ask yourself: what is the goal of this writing session? Am I tweaking here and there but ultimately getting the work done? Or am I stalled out in tweak-mode? In many ways, tweaking is the way screenwriters justify to themselves that they are working on the script so lay off! But – it’s a little lie they tell themselves because they aren’t actually being productive at all.
Quik-E-Structure Check
Here’s a quick way to check under the hood to see if the structure of your script is solid. So put on your grease-stained jumper, stick your wrench in your backpocket, turn your hat sideways and let’s put your script up on the rack:
Take your script and turn to page 10. Write down any significant event that occurred thereabouts (two pages before or after is okay too)
Go to page 30 and do it again. Again, you are looking for a significant event.
Go to page 50 and do likewise, and then again at page 75ish.
Now look at the events you wrote down. They should be the most significant turning points, reversals and complications in your story – upon which the entire plot turns. You should be able to look at these events separately, without the window dressing of the scenes in-between. And they should still work from a bird’s eye view of your script.
Well – how do the events you wrote down look? Pretty exciting? Does each one hinge on the last? Are the events causal, compelling and escalating in nature?
Sometimes when your script has made it into the “maybe” pile at a competition, a judge will glimpse at the synopsis of the prior reader and simply thumb through your script – to those significant act breaks, looking for exciting set pieces and turning points. Believe it or not – I’ve seen this done. One competition called it “the page 50 test”.
If your script does well in a competition this season, first of all, congratulations. That means your script was more original and better executed than the majority of other scripts in the same competition. This puts you in the top percentages. And that’s something to be very proud of. And maybe you even meet Shane Black and fly out to Hollywood for some meetings.
But what happens next? Is your phone going to start to ring? And if it does – what can you expect? Does this mean success is knocking at your door? It might. But proceed with caution.
Two things to think about:
One: Please be measured and thoughtful in your response to those who may contact you asking to see the script. Don’t freak out with joy and promise them exclusive rights to your script, all future scripts or your first born child. Don’t make a $1 option agreement with the first person who calls. Don’t be overly flattered; be cool and do a little research. Look up the person on IMDB Pro. What are his or her credits and professional credentials? Where is their office located? This may be a new company which has no credits, but click on the names of the principals; at a different company they probably do have credits of some kind. Or maybe this is a manager or producer who is starting off and is hungry and ambitious. That can work very much in your favor. But take a moment and look people up.
Two: You do have an arsenal, right? More than the one or two scripts you entered this year? Are you writing within the same genre? I hope so. You want to establish yourself as an expert in one genre. Many writers feel that they should write in many genres to prove that they have flexible chops. Don’t do this. It won’t prove anything, it just makes you less marketable. Line up your arsenal and have a look. Do you have another sample ready to send out if requested? Is it in great shape? Now is the time to get some feedback and assurance on your other scripts. A rep who calls and asks for more samples will be greatly turned off if it turns out the competition winning (or placing) script was your best work and that, in other words, you do not have “legs” as a writer.
So as you ready to turn in your script to competitions this year, make sure that while you wait for the results, you are hard at work on the next script. And the next one.
How to Get an Agent or Manager
So you’ve written several scripts, gotten feedback, done your homework, paid your dues and got into three fights with somebody on a message board. Now I’ll give you the keys to the kingdom. Drum roll, please….
In order of efficacy, here are the best methods for seeking representation:
1) Friend of a friend.
2) Be a competition winner or finalist
3) Query selectively using the HCD
4) The Schwab’s Drugstore Fantasy
FRIEND OF A FRIEND
The friend of a friend is obviously something very few people can take advantage of. But you can cultivate relationships in the business that could lead to a hand-off at some point in the future. You never know. That’s how I got my first manager. But as I look back, it was a long time coming until the stars were aligned and I just so happened to have a good script and it just so happened to be right up that manager’s alley. Luck = timing + opportunity. How can you tip the odds? Network, network, network.
COMPETITIONS
A much more realistic approach is to enter your scripts into competitions. There are many to choose from and by and large, they really are a terrific way to get noticed. I would avoid those contests that run competitions frequently and that don’t seem to have much in the way of industry credibility. In my opinion, some competitions which can really pay off for you are:
The Nicholls Fellowship
The Austin Film Festival
Final Draft Big Break
The Blue Cat Screenwriting Competition
Slamdance
The Silver Screenwriting Competition
Creative Screenwriting Expo Competition
Competition winners will have their work exposed to industry professionals. Some competitions are more illustrious than others – Nicholls comes to mind – but all of these competitions are designed to help launch writers. I urge all my clients to enter as many of these competitions as they can.
QUERYING
This is not the most effective method but hey, if you aren’t a neighbor of Jason Reitman or a friend of a friend of Josh Olsen, you gotta make like the regular people and buy yourself the latest edition of the Hollywood Creative Directory for agents and managers (it is updated quarterly) or get an online subscription of same. As you flip through the book, have your IMDB at the ready. Read the company descriptions carefully, look up execs and their resumes.
If you are a newer writer, the smaller boutique management shingles are the best place to look. The HCD will include absolutely everybody but there are two things to be very aware of: The long shots and the shysters. A short list of the long shot agencies and management firms would include:
CAA
ICM
WME (William Morris/Endeavor)
UTA
Benderspink
We know that these agencies represent the crème de la crème in both the literary and acting realms. Not the best place for a newbie to come a’ knockin’. Which is not to say you can’t try – just be aware that it would be quite an accomplishment to even get a response to your query through these venues. Just keeping it real, folks.
The shysters are usually the one-man outfits, usually. With addresses outside of Los Angeles or New York. Yes there are managers and agents in Chicago, Atlanta and Minneapolis; but that’s not where the business is. How effective and connected is a manager who can’t do lunch easily and regularly with potential buyers? As you peruse the HCD, IMDB the principal and see if anything comes up. If you do call or query, absolutely do NOT pay a fee for anything. Some of these unethical charlatans prey on new writers by charging fees to send your work out. These types of people are tempting for new writers because they will pick up the phone more or less immediately, they will talk to you and they will agree readily (most often) to read your material. That’s because they aren’t in the business of making deals – they are in the business of bilking writers. If it’s too good to be true – it probably is.
Do not pay any fees – ever. Believe more highly in your work than to be lured into the grasp of these bottom feeders.
The steps to get representation through querying are quite simple:
1) write a great script
2) then write another one
3) stick with the same genre
4) have a dossier of several great ideas in the form of loglines
5) write a brief, powerful, polite, effective query letter
6) get hold of a Hollywood Creative Directory
7) focus on 10 to 15 agents or managers that seem like a good fit
8) query
9) wait
10) wait more
11) follow up with an email or phone call if you haven’t heard back in six weeks
Pretty simple, right? It actually is. But here is what writers often do – they jump the gun. They query when they only have ONE good script. They don’t get feedback on what they think is a good script and so really have no idea where they stand. They query managers or agents all over town, indiscriminately, without doing any research. They send poorly worded queries with dull loglines and wonder what’s up with the silence.
If a manager or agent likes your query, you should hear back pretty quickly. If they like the read, you’ll hear back quite quickly. They’ll ask you what else you have. They’ll ask you about you – your writing experience, where you live, what competitions you may have placed in.
THE SCHWABS DRUGSTORE FANTASY
Legend has it that Lana Turner was discovered while sipping a soda at Schwab’s Drugstore in Hollywood. And hell, that’s not even true. It was the Top Hat café. See, you just cain’t never believe what you hear. The point being that we’ve all heard stories of an actor or writer being discovered at odd moments or locations. And yes, it can indeed happen. Which is why you should always be prepared to talk about your work. However. The instances of a writer making a profitable connection with a representative or producer while shopping for shampoo are – well – miniscule. If you are doing everything in this list to find representation and then you run into Tom Hanks while you are checking out with your Clairol Herbal Essence – terrific. But don’t count on it.
Check back later for more screenwriting tips to help make you a success this competition season!
