True Stories 4 Hollywood

Selling Ideas Before Selling a Treatment

admin — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 21:04:44 +0000

Finding news quotes from successful treatment writers can give you insight to amend your working plan accordingly and possibly improve the odds of selling a treatment. For example, one writer who has successfully sold more than on screenplay said this: “You don’t sell a treatment … you sell an idea and try to get them to pay you to write the treatment.” This aspect is lost on many fledgling treatment writers. You may end up wasting time finishing a story in entirety, as opposed to first selling the concept and later finishing up if a director or producer indicates interest. (more…)

Routine Marketing to Help Sell a Script or Treatment

admin — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 09:46:37 +0000

When all is said and done, script writing is a business. You are creating a product to sell, for a profit. Successful businesses employ marketing, to reach target audiences and make sales. Simple, right? Then you, trying to sell a script, need to add marketing skills to the array of skills you need to be successful in the business your are entering. Mailing queries and spec scripts to producers and assistants is part of the equation, because it’s like mail marketing your product to potential buyers. But this kind of hawking print materials is about selling a product – your Script or Treatment. Will it help sell a script if you sell yourself? (more…)

Selling a Treatment or Script in other locations besides Los Angeles or New York

admin — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 03:42:19 +0000

The world of trying to sell a script often focuses on Los Angeles and New York City, and for good reason. However, as you write and contemplate selling a script, it might be wise not to overlook some other towns, particularly those with unique or burgeoning film festivals. One, in Boston, will celebrate its 10th year in July 2008. The Roxbury Film Festival for years has carried the tagline, “Celebrating people of color,” but in recent years has branched out to show films focusing on Bosstown locations, as well as how to use MySpace or YouTube to get your story out there. The Festival might make for a nice summer vacation, while at the same time gaining you contacts or insight toward selling a script. (more…)

Marketing Through Online Script Registries to Sell a Script

admin — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 05:36:39 +0000

As you aspire to sell a script or treatment, it goes without saying that you need to market yourself and your story. There are numerous tools out there, including a vast universe online. One emerging tool is online script registries – an online database accessible by industry professionals who subscribe. You just post a logline and synopsis of your script, and hope for the best. It’s not surefire for success, but there are a lot of registries out there, and costs are manageable. Online script registries can improve the odds for selling a script because of the market they cater to. (more…)

Hot Topics to Help Sell a Script

admin — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 17:31:29 +0000

If you are exploring writing and selling a script, you might research which types of films are winning awards in various industry festivals or contests. For example, for the third year in a row at the January 2008 Sundance Film Festival, a movie about immigrants claimed the top prize. So, three years running film watchers preferred stories about the struggles of immigrants. That gives you an indication about what producers or directors may be interested in, and if you can write a similar story, perhaps the odds will increase in terms of selling your script. (more…)

Multiple Marketing Channels to Help Sell a Script

admin — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:26:33 +0000

Many fledgling screenwriters ultimately reach a day when they feel exhausted from writing and submitting scripts to as many producers and production companies as they can locate, without any response. It can feel like fishing in the ocean for a week without as much as a nibble from fish below. Well, while trying to sell a script, perhaps using only the shotgun approach to connecting with buyers is not the best avenue. Think about expanding your avenue into a boulevard or even highway, by tapping multiple marketing channels. While waiting around for that nibble of interest, spend some time getting your story before other sets of eyes. Have more than one line in the water. (more…)

Sell Your Script Via a Marketing Game Plan

admin — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 03:26:00 +0000

So you’ve finally finished writing that story that’s developed in your mind for quite some time, and you’re ready to move on to the process to sell your script. Where to go from here? You probably know, or if not, you should, about treatment, loglines, query letters and the like that are part of the script selling process. Do you do one and all, or are there best practices in selling a script? The bottom line is you need to get your writing product before the eyes of someone who wants it. You might be thinking, “Duh” – but you’d be surprised how many writers are unaware of the marketing involved to sell a script. (more…)

Tapping a Literary Agent to Sell Your Script

admin — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 03:03:37 +0000

When you’re first starting out in scriptwriting, it’s doubtful that an agent will surface and ask to help sell your script. You might one day get to that point, but most beginners have to explore the literary agent world and seek by themselves representation – if indeed they can get any. For those writing for film or television, representation usually comes in two forms – literary agencies, and packaging agencies. If you are sending query letters to attract agents to read your original pieces, knowing the difference can be very helpful toward selling your script. There are, of course, differences in the types of representation you can get. (more…)

Writing and Layout Tips to Help Sell Your Script

admin — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:48:47 +0000

It goes without saying that success in selling a script can be very dependent upon the quality of the product you submit. Improper layout, spelling or grammatical errors, a confusing plot, and more can doom your project. Aside from the fact that way too many scripts are submitted than possibly can be transformed into a film or show, a problem with selling a script today is too many writers see it as a get-rick-quick avenue for a career. That is so rare it’s not worth exploring here. Know that preparation, training and resources can increase your odds in selling your script. (more…)

Writing the Killer Logline to Help Sell a Script

admin — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:25:18 +0000

A logline may be short and sweet, but ultimately vital toward selling a script. A logline is a single-sentence summary of your script. It needs to be brief and to the point, yet catchy enough to grab the attention of a producer or agent. It’s much like the lead sentence in a newspaper article. Often cited as the most important aspect of a news story, the lead sentence either convinces a reader to continue on, or to move on to the next headline. Without the grabber – a logline, or a good lead – you as a writer have failed to capture an audience. (more…)

Selling Your Script to Television

admin — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 22:59:23 +0000

Aiming to sell your script only to television, with little interest in motion pictures, it can help to understand the TV writing industry and its differences from film. There are multiple types of shows you can write for, including sitcoms, episodic dramas, soap operas, movies of the week, or, in recent years reality series. Often television writers won’t pitch one spec script to a single show they like, but a portfolio of scripts for the type of show they aim for, such as sitcoms. Also, you likely will not be able to submit a script for a specific show you wish to work on. More on that below. But in scriptwriting, and trying to sell your script, understand the area’s nuances. (more…)

The Role of Script Coverage to Sell Your Script

admin — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 22:39:20 +0000

One of the best tips on selling your script is to outline the role of script coverage in a production company. Script coverage is a film-making term for grading screenplays. It’s usually delegated to the script development department, during the so-called development phase of a project. As you explore selling a script, it is very worthwhile to understand the criteria most often used in the script coverage process to analyze a submitted written piece. Ultimately your script is graded just like you were in school, and if you don’t pass with flying colors your script won’t see the light of day. (more…)

Introduction to Sell Your Treatment

admin — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 22:23:30 +0000

For the newbie screenwriter, an assortment of terms surface. One of them is treatment, short for film treatment. A treatment is a bit of writing, usually somewhere in between basic notes for a story and the first draft for a movie or television show. Selling your treatment obviously could be vital toward your success in ultimately selling a screenplay. Treatments are used routinely in the motion picture industry as documents aimed at selling a story. This differs from outlines, which generally are part of the development process, when multiple stakeholders are involved. To sell your treatment effectively, learn what it should look like, and what decision-makers expect to see. (more…)

Temper Expectations as You Sell Your Script

admin — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 22:17:13 +0000

When venturing for the first time to sell your script, it is advisable to look past instant-success stories like that of Diablo Cody, discovered by a producer who found her blog on the Internet. Online discoveries are so rare it’s hard to think of another example. Cody’s discovery, and eventual production of the film “Juno,” was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. If you think selling your script is as easy, you’re greatly mistaken. Waiting around to be discovered and skipping the marketing and promotion commanded would be a time-waster. Stick with what works for most aspiring scriptwriters: present a clean script, and promote it well to the best markets. (more…)

A Primer to Sell Your Script

admin — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:54:42 +0000

So you’ve finally finished a writing product you feel is complete, and you are ready to sell your script. From there you need a game plan, and you can start with the “Four Ps”: preparation, persistence, patience, and perseverance. It’s probably an understatement that getting noticed by someone in the industry will be challenging. To sell your script, you have to market well to get someone to even read it. Not to be discouraged, though. With a plan, the energy to execute it, and patience, it is possible to sell your script.

Selling a script is like selling a product: you have to know your target audience, and get your product before the eyes of someone who has decision-making authority. In the movie or television business, that could be a literary agent, a producer, or an assistant to someone linked with a project or show. Trade publications such as the Hollywood Reporter or Variety can lend insight into who’s who, and who’s looking for what. Selling a script today actually has been made somewhat easier with the advent of the Internet, but that also means if it’s easier for you, it’s easier for other scriptwriters. (more…)

Welcome to True Stories 4 Hollywood!

admin — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:47:41 +0000

True Stories 4 Hollywood intends to give you the best information on submitting your script, screenplay, treatment or true story to Hollywood Professionals. Stay tuned for updates!