Screenwriter career professional#

Otherwise, what you may have received is a bulk email or from someone who doesn’t see you as an individual and is instead contacting anybody with screenwriter in their job title.ĭon’t worry if they’re using a Gmail/Yahoo/AOL email address, writing in blue coloured 8pt courier, or have a nasty looking email signature. You may find that they’ve been looking at you and your material for some time and have already set the wheels in motion in certain areas such as getting second opinions on aspects of commerciality. They should, at the very least, get your name right and demonstrate they either have some knowledge of your body of work or are following up a recommendation. They may even go as far as to initially ask something from you to see if you’re willing to do a favour for a stranger. Some industry members, mainly the more established, can be a little mysterious in their approach, perhaps wanting to establish a friendship before talking about work.

Screenwriter career professional#

If you’re cringing at what you’re reading, so is every other professional they’re approaching, including any funding sources.

Hopefully the writing will be coherent providing the writer is operating in an English speaking region but some slack should certainly be given to anybody writing in a second language. Neither suggests good or bad so don’t be put off by what seems curt or overly casual. The message itself may be detailed and formal or short and informal. If you keep it hidden, it’s not unusual for industry members to reach out via LinkedIn, Facebook, Stage 32, Twitter, or even Instagram. If your email is easy to find, they should have gone to the effort of obtaining it.

How someone gets in contact you will quickly determine their professionalism and aptitude. A big part of building a screenwriting career is turning down bad offers until the good ones come in. I’m by no means living the dream and I’m not quite getting those regular cheques just yet, but I have made a lot of sound business decisions that have led to me finally breaking in including dodging many bullets. I pay my bills by screenwriting, I get to work with stars within the top 5,000 on IMDB, and I get flown out to Hollywood to watch what I’ve written get made by a team I’m now incredibly close to. While I have aimed to give accurate information at time of writing, fees such as quoted guild rates can always be changed, and will most likely increase, at a later date. You should do your own research and consult other sources than this article before making any business decisions that may affect your career. This information does not constitute business, intellectual property, copyright, or financial advice.

Please keep in mind that I am not an entertainment lawyer and I am giving the following information as best to my knowledge. After all, this might be your big break, right? Or that dice you roll that really pays off in the long-run?Īs you get a little battle-hardened by experience, you start to develop an instinct and a process for analysing the situation and I’m going to share what I’ve learned thus far. Excitement, fear, and confusion are the recipe of the day as you go from feeling honoured to insulted and back again while re-framing and rethinking the deal at hand. It’s a tough emotional place to find yourself, especially the first time you’re presented with certain offers and, as your career grows, new types of deals come to your table. You’ll also find that any fantasies you had of remaining stoic and unwavering until George Lucas himself offers you the highest sum ever presented to a screenwriter quickly go out the window as the possibility of earning so much as a dime for writing suddenly feels like a king’s ransom and that once in a lifetime opportunity. As you raise your profile in the screenwriting world, you’ll start to see messages come in with potential offers of collaboration.