So...You Want to Be a Screenwriter—Snap out of It!

I am a screenwriter.  I started writing professionally as a screenwriter.  I will always be a screenwriter because it's fun and I'm hooked and I'm good at it.  But, I say this with all sincerity and compassion—do yourself a favor and start writing novels and self-publish.

I say this because there is no market for screenplays.  I say this because so many screenwriters think a sale a year will make them rich (NOT!).  I say this because, as the wonderful John August (Big Fish, Go, Charlie's Angles) says, " ... you’re never as broke [as a newly employed screenwriter] as when you first start making money."  There is no real outlet for screenwriters to be writers and find an audience as writers. Just consider the Writers Guild of America's (WGA) statistics from its 2011 Annual Report (2012 report for 2011 isn't out yet):

Out of roughly 10,500 members, in 2010:

• 4,244 reported income overall (@4%)
• 1,615 reported income from features (@2%)
• 3,142 reported income in television (@3%)
  (Deadline Hollywood, Nikki Finke 2011)

So, even screenwriters who have "made it" and join the WGA number under 5% annually.  Of these, even a smaller percentage make "big money."  What about all the other screenwriters?  All the many thousands who are not in the WGA, but who think it's only a matter of time before their lottery ticket gets hit by lightning on their birthday on a leap year?  They beat their heads against the gatekeepers walls and doors and write their fingers to the bone and make NO money—ever.  This is the vast majority of screenwriters.  This is the reality of the movie and TV business.  It's called "the business" and not "the art" for a reason.  But, "the business" is stacked against you (us).  It is siloed and a closed shop.  It is designed to keep you out, not to invite you in.  Everything about Hollywood is designed to make it as hard as possible to "break in."  None of this reality check will not stop anyone who wants in, however.  Once bitten by the bug it is impossible to talk reason into the smitten (I know of what I speak, I'm one of them).

And so this missive.  If you have to write screenplays, fine.  Go for it.  Just know there is no market for them.  Everyone is competing for the same, few potential buyers (and I mean few), and there are already 10-thousand professionals who are inside the walls and have preferential access due to their WGA status.  Sorry, it doesn't matter that you have the best story ever written—no one will ever read it, due to the closed system. So, where do you sell your script?  The indie film market?  Most producers will ask you to write for free or pay you a couple thousand and promise to pay Guild minimum when they make a sale.  Good luck with that.

So, where else will you sell your great American screenplay?  Nowhere is where.  If you can't get a studio to buy, or a production company, or a legitimate indie producer, there is no other outlet.  Like I said, there is NO market for screenplays outside of these few and restricted points of sale.

But, there is hope. You are a writer. You don't have to beat your head against Hollywood's door.  You can write something else, you can write somewhere else!  The world of writing has changed forever, and is changing as I write this.  Writers can actually make money, find readers, and find satisfaction in their work through the wonderful world of self-publishing and e-books. But, you've heard about all this.  You know about e-books.  "That's fine," you lament, "but, I'm a screenwriter."  So, drop the "screen" part and just be the other part (hint: starts with a "w" and ends with an "r").  You can do this, honest. 

Writers, nowadays, can ill afford to specialize if they want to make a living doing what they love; and for the first time in publishing history it is actually possible for a writer to make a living writing.  Writers have to diversify with their work: short stories, plays, novels, novellas, screenplays, etc.  Most of these can be put up on the Internet and generate readers and money.  I know screenwriters who have put up old short stories (20 years old!) and people buy them.  And they are feeling like real writers for the first time in their lives.  They have fans, they have market share (small as it is) and they are making some money.  Not with their screenplays—nobody wants those, nobody will read those, nobody cares.  But, e-books and short stories and novellas—you bet.

If you are a screenwriter who must write screenplays, knock yourself out.  But, do yourself a favor and learn how to write prose fiction.  Self-publish and discover a world that has been custom built for you as a writer.  In this new world, people won't rewrite what you write, people won't tell you to turn all your characters into robots, people won't hire other writers to completely fuck up your story and you will actually be appreciated and thanked (imagine that) for doing what you do. You may not get rich, but you will make some money—guaranteed more than you will screenwriting! 


So, consider my words.  Consider what is waiting for you on the Internet right now.  Consider actually writing for readers and not for trust-fund-baby, wannabe-writers playing movie producer (because that's who most of us screenwriters end up writing for—not Paramount!). Just consider ...

Now go be brilliant.

(Note: Some have said to me that this post makes self-publishing sound like it's easy and a bonanza for money. NO, NO, NO... none of this is easy.  My point here is that screenwriting will get you basically nowhere.  Self-publishing will at least get you somewhere... not a panacea, but a real outlet for your work.  No such possibility exists with screenwriting.)

Interview with the Fantastic Barbara Freedman Doyle

I am pleased to have a friend and colleague here to answer questions about her new book, Make Your Movie: What You Need to Know About the Business and Politics of Filmmaking. There are so many run-of-the-mill, how-to books on how to break into the film business that it is rarely on my radar to bore you with any of them. THIS IS NOT ONE OF THOSE. I know Barbara and I know her depth of experience and down-to-earth common sense about "the industry." This is a must-have book for anyone with stars in their eyes ... or at least spot lights. Buy This Book! :)
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Barbara Doyle is the author of Make Your Movie: What You Need to Know About the Business and Politics of Filmmaking, an insider's look at how to break into the film business. The book is a behind the scenes guide for aspiring filmmakers who are passionate about movies, but who don’t yet have the contacts and experience to get a foot in the door of one of the world’s most competitive industries. Make Your Movie is a view from the “other side of the desk,” featuring interviews with veteran film executives and the lucky newcomers who’ve had their first breaks in the business of film.

Barbara worked her way up from an assistant at Tri-Star Pictures to Production Supervisor and Line Producer on national commercial spots, network TV movies and feature films. She is the former Associate Dean of Production at the American Film Institute and currently serves as Chair of the Film Division at Chapman University. 

Questions: 

I know this book was as long time coming. How did it begin? What stopped you from finishing a long time ago? And what prompted you to get it done this last time around? 

Life and work got in the way. I started the book, then stopped for about a year, then finally decided that if I was going to write it, I just had to make it happen. As I’m sure your readers know, it’s really difficult to come home after working and sit down to write. It’s like a second full-time job. And personally it’s hard for me to just write little bits at a time. Normally my writing mode is to write in long spurts, because it takes me a while to get back into it each time I stop.  

Would you have done this book if you were not in academia? Was this always a book targeted to film students? Or is this an incorrect labeling of the target audience? 

It was always targeted to film students or aspiring filmmakers. Back when I was working on films and television movies, any time I met someone on a plane or at a non-Industry party (and I was not a big Industry-partygoer), we would ask each other what we did and when I told them what I did, there was always a follow up of “my son/my daughter/my nephew wants to work in film-would you have a cup of coffee with him (or her).”

And the questions were always about how to get that first job or how to get a first movie made. Thanks to digital technology, any aspiring filmmaker can learn how a camera works, how editing works, they can watch ‘behind the scenes’ extras on DVDs and learn a lot-although much of that material is very slanted towards what is entertaining or good publicity. But it’s very hard-unless they read lots of books and magazine articles and meet some people in the business-to get practical information about how the business actually works. 

When your publisher engaged you on this book, what did they ask you about author platform requirements, etc.? Was this even an issue for them (it is for most first-time writers). Or, was your role at the university enough to sell them on the idea that you had a built-in audience already? Is the publisher helping you with, or doing any marketing, book tour, etc.? 

The publisher asked for a proposal about who I thought the audience was for the book. Focal Press is an academic publisher. They publish this type of book so it was a very good fit. Their marketing people are taking care of the publicity and I think they are doing a very good job of getting the word out to the target audience. 

The nonfiction, entertainment-how-to genre is a solid prospect for a self-publishing platform. Would you have considered self-publishing this book, considering the sea change that has taken place in publishing? If not, why? If you would have considered, then why didn’t you? 

Focal is the first company I sent the proposal to, and I was lucky that they were interested. There are only a few options for this type of book, so I imagine I would have tried the other companies had Focal not been interested. I don’t know enough about self-publishing to know if it would have been a good match but it seems as if that’s the way a lot of writers are going these days. 

How-to, or technical nonfiction has its own challenges and problems. What was the hardest part of the writing process for you? How did you overcome it? 

For me, the most difficult part was deciding how much detail to go into. I cover a lot of ground in the book, and it’s really meant to be a broad look at breaking into the film business, and I had to leave out a lot of information. I’m figuring that readers who have a specific area of interest will use the book as a jumping off point, and then research the area on their own. In the book I keep saying, “research,” “do your homework” so I’m assuming that serious readers will do that. 

What did you leave out that you wish you could have left in; i.e., a topic that is important but too hot to handle, even in a next edition? 

I didn’t cover post production very much because technology is changing so fast, and it’s the fastest changing area of filmmaking. I didn’t want to be out of date before the book even came out! I do bring up Video on Demand and Day and Date film releases-those are kind of the hot buzz points now. By a next edition, I think there will be lots more information regarding the impact of both of these on box office, and more examples of filmmakers who have chosen to release their films in an innovative, enterprising way. I’d like to interview a few of those people—maybe one filmmaker who has done very well with it, going through it with them, and maybe one filmmaker who has not done well and who has an idea what he or she can do differently next time. The thing with film is, there is no formula for success. There is just looking at what worked, what didn’t, and coming up with your own strategy.

One thing that took a long time was coming up with the title of the book. That changed several times. For a book like mine that will be sold mostly online, I wanted a title that would come up in an online search so I had to think of key words. So the title is long, but it’s definitely clear what the book is about! 

The timeline from manuscript delivery to published book can be exasperating for many authors. What did you hate most about the publication process with this book? What did you appreciate most? 

The publication process was fine for me. If there was one thing I regret, it is that I was always rushed. I have a job, I like to spend time with my husband, my dogs, my friends and to juggle all that with the book was hard for me. I have no idea how writers with children handle it! Writing for me, takes a lot of concentration, and the pressure was on. On the other hand, without the deadline, I could have let things drag on for a couple of years and I don’t know that the book would have been any better.  

I started with the table of contents and that served as a kind of outline, which helped a great deal. Also, for a few days I left town. I went to a little beach town that I love because there is not much to do there and the cell reception is bad. No escape. All I had to do was sit with my computer, look out the window and take walks. After a good start I wrote little bits every weekend, and then several months later I went back up to the beach town to write more. I’m not very disciplined and the fact that I was paying to be somewhere helped me focus.

Why Twitter Matters to Writers

I know, I'm writing a lot about Twitter these days. There's a reason. It's getting to be a force in the writing universe. Consider the following:

I've heard it all before--as have you, "Why bother with Face Book, Twitter, My Space (so not cool now), etc.? Just a black hole of my time and keystrokes. Who has time?" I've heard myself say these same things.

Well, 28-year-old Justin Halpern found the time to setup his Twitter account titled "ShitMyDadSays." It has over 700,000 followers. One of those followers is CBS television. And--please sit down for this so you don't fall down--they just signed Justin to a TV deal. In addition, Justin signed a book deal recently based on his Dad who says shit.

Here's a sample:

"You look just like Stephen Hawking...Relax, I meant like a non-paralyzed version of him. Feel better? ... Fine. Forget I said it."

("ShitMyDadSays," Twitter 2009, Justin Halpern)

I can totally see how a creative executive at a network could run with this. Whoever saw the potential in this tweet made their salary for the year. And they made the right call. This is perfect for sitcom development, and this is the kind of stuff that fuels TV development all the time. I completely see how this could spin off into a multi-camera, family sitcom.

So, why Twitter matters, why Face Book matters, etc., beyond the social networking aspects, is that there are companies out there scouring these sites for ideas. We've all known for a dog's age that media companies have their story department interns reading e-books, watching every new web series, and listening to podiocasts galore. Web series like "Quarterlife" are now legendary for jumping species and moving to TV (disastrously in Quarterlife's case). But, now the focus of the Great Eye is now taking in anything where an ounce of creativity might show itself.

The point here is that writers can no longer take social networking for granted. Social applications where you can create a presence for yourself are gold. They are part of doing business for the writer, like writing every day, or calling your agent every week, or drinking gallons of coffee. You have to have a presence in all these venues. It's time consuming and a pain in the ass, but if you want to work, if you want exposure, if you want to be seen by the Great Eye that sees all things remotely creative, then you have to play the game.

If you watch anyone under thirty, you will notice they spend as much time thumbing their mobile device as they do making eye contact. These are the people who are being hired into power positions at networks and studios. I'm an old fart, but I'm tech savvy and I know this stuff, so I'm not behind the curve. But, how about you? Do you have your blog? Do you have a Twitter account? Are you marketing yourself in all the places you can to maximize visibility for your work and your brand? Even if you don't have a brand?

I'm happy for Justin. But, his story is no different than the stories we used to hear about in the indie movie world where the young-up'n-comer from out of nowhere lands the movie deal for the sixteen millimeter short he/she shot while on summer break from school. We just heard a similar story with the phenom "Paranormal Activity," shot for 15,000 by an unknown director two years ago. Recently released by Paramount, "Paranormal" is now pushing 100 million domestic and hasn't even been released globally. There are always the lottery winners out there who fuel the dreams of struggling filmmakers and writers everywhere. "Hey, that might be me next!" I say dream on, and congratulations Justin.

But, in the meantime, while you wait for the lottery to shine on you, take a cold, hard look at what is happening in the marketplace and on the Web. This is where writers have to be in the years to come (screw years-months). It's just starting. We don't even know how all this is going to end up, because it is constantly evolving. All I know is that Justin is a huge shout to us all to rethink our businesses and our writing. I'm not saying you have to abandon traditional values and/or methods, or that you have to start writing 140-character novels. I'm only suggesting its time to open up the repertoire and design a business model for your career that leverages the world as it is, not as it was.

Publishing, movies, television, it's all changing--and fast. Justin is our canary in the coal mine, only instead of dying form poisonous gases he is flying high for being in the right place at the right time. You can too. It just takes work and attention to your writing life--screw the lottery. You have to be your own lottery.

Let Us Now Praise Stephanie Harrison: Adaptionatrix Extraordinaire

As you may, or may not know, adaptation of fiction to film is one of my dark loves; hell, I’m researching a book about it! How to adapt, whether to adapt, is it possible to adapt: all these, and other questions related to the topic of adaptation keep me up a night (literally!), along with my cat, Petie, who randomly bites me when I’m not looking and then scuttles under something low to the ground so I can't throw his hairy ass out the window. But, I digress.

In my nocturnal stumblings, I fell upon Adaptations: From Short Story to Big Screen, by Stephanie Harrison. This is a gem of a book. Okay, it came out three years ago, but it’s still a must read book for anyone who writes short stories interested in adaptation, and certainly for screenwriters interested in honing their skills. The only “bad” part of the book is that Stephanie doesn’t include a long enough introduction, but The Directors chapter kind of makes up for it. I just wanted to hear more about what she had to say about the stories, their authors, the process of moving great fiction from page to screen, etc. Her writing is unpretentious and enlivening. The stories are the most wonderful and eclectic mix of prose imaginable, and thoroughly delightful:

• Blow-Up by Julio Cotazar, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni in 1966.
• It Had to Be Murder by Cornell Woolrich, Rear Window directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1954.
• The Sentinel by Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey, directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1968.
• Stage to Lordsburg by Ernest Haycox, Stagecoach, directed by John Ford in 1939.
• A Reputation by Richard Edward Connell, Meet John Doe, directed by Frank Capra in 1949.
• In the Grove by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Roshomon, directed by Akira Kurosawa in 1951.
• Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa by W.P. Kinsella, Field of Dreams, directed by Phil Robinson in 1989.

Just to name a few!

In just one of many wonderful examples, Harrison describes the amazing collaboration between Arthur C. Clark and Stanley Kubrick over the adaptation of Clark’s The Sentinel into 2001: A Space Odyssey. Rather than immediately writing a screenplay from the short story, they both decided to write a novel of it first. Kubrick felt a screenplay was, “ … about the least ideal way of communicating information, especially if it’s visual or emotional … ” They ended up with what Kubrick later called a “fifty-thousand word prose ‘thing.’” They ended up writing the novel and screenplay in tandem, in a kind of race.

What a treat to read the original sources of some of our favorite movies. And, as Stephanie points out in her introduction, “Reading the story that inspired a beloved movie is a little like meeting your mother-in-law for the first time: It’s never less than a revelation.” And how, sister.

I’m trying to track Stephanie down to do an interview with her about this book. I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, buy this book and have fun. I sure did/am.