Like most writers I'm certainly encouraged with the recent signs of life in the market. However, even with the uptick in ACTIVITY, the terms under which many of these deals are happening are pretty abysmal.

For instance Deadline was reporting that "Evidence" sold to Bold in the six figures, but it was actually just an option for a very nominal sum. Enough to pay your annual cable bill. Sadly that's pretty typical for an unsold writer making their first deal.

But, these low-dollar options are still getting reported in the trades (sometimes even as "sales"), so it's tempting to read too much into them. Still, some activity in the spec market is better than no activity, but it's still very rough waters for the spec writer.

SuperSned: Another project the THR article notes as a "sale" I have on good authority was a free option. Those type of arrangements do muddy the water in terms of analyzing the spec market. But even if a project is an option deal, given the Hollywood's austerity the last several years, the fact that any money exchanges hands is significant.