This is extremely true and very valuable information! I did get a manager on my first script, and I'm struggling to get through a second, as I don't yet have my confidence, voice, or process worked out. So, as you so rightly say, Scott: the only way out is through!

Great post, Scott. And I couldn't agree more. I've written about ten features so far and I wouldn't show any of the first seven to anyone. They live in a box in the corner of my study as a reminder of just how much work is involved in not just getting the words on the page but in a way that's lively, readable and viable commercially. Number eight got me an agent. And I had two more to show her when she asked me what else I had. I will swap out two of those when I finish the two I'm currently working on. There is a MASSIVE difference between the scripts I first wrote back then and the scripts I write now. And it's only recently that I've felt confident enough in my work to send it out. I think for many beginner screenwriters, getting three decent scripts under your belt can feel a little insurmountable. But this is a long game. If you're not prepared to put in the work, if you're only in it for the "lifestyle", then choose another profession. Of course, some writers sell their very first script. But the majority of first scripts never sell. You have to put in the work. You have to learn as you go. And you have to have patience.

It can feel insurmountable to get 3 done...certainly when you are sitting down having just written "FADE IN" on the first......but it can be done. I had three finished in the space of a year. It was a hard slog, and the first two are "okay" (in my opinion) but they taught me so much about how I work as writer. Will they ever be saleable - probably not as they are, but I may go back to them one day. But what that did was give me the confidence to take on the advice and guidance of friends on the Black Board and Scott and the Screenwriting Masterclass delegates to redraft number 3 into something bigger and, hopefully better.....confidence and skill I definitely didn't have when starting number 1. Whether or not I get anywhere with #3 is yet to be seen, but #4 is on the way, and #5 and #6 are gestating. Stopping at one and trying to make a career out of it would probably ended that career before it started. So, as Lydia says, you have to put in the work and keep writing, writing, writing...the more you do, the better you get and, I hope, the easier we are to sell! So 3 may be the magic number, but 4 can't hurt, or can 5, 6, 7 or 8.....

Solid advice. When do you recommend to work with the formula to write one script and prep the other? After the 3rd finished script or after script number one?

Thank you so much, Scott, for making this post. You've done a great deal in bringing us interviews with writers who have paid their dues, done their apprenticeship, and continue working and improving. Sometimes you have to flat out say it. I'm returning to screenwriting, and writing in general, after being away for over a decade and stunned silly by the changes. Back then I owned every single book written on screenwriting, all four of them :-) Our little group met twice a month, and we looked pretty dumb if we showed up without something written and ready to critique, rewrite, then write another one for more critique. We turned out some pretty darned good writers...after many really bad scripts. Everything has changed in a short period of time, and I've had difficulty adjusting. I just had to get back in the mindset that this is a profession and it's not a just-add-water profession. Every other field where others aim for the brass ring accept and expect a long term commitment, many mistakes, hard work, and getting back up and continuing to do it all over again. If it gets easier along the way, something's wrong. @Lydia...You kept your first scripts? Brave lady! Only one of my earlier scrips survived The Great Purge Of Past Junk, and I nearly stroked out when I read it -- what a train wreck. I'm so glad the others are beyond these eyes.

Shari, I wrote about this here: The Art of Stacking Projects.

Cyd, it has changed in 10 years. Some of the 'old' guard who broke in 10 or more years ago have little awareness of what it's like for new writers hitting their boots on the ground for the first time. They're like, "Managers? Who gets a manager when you have an agent?" The changes extend to everything from screenwriting style to format to what's selling to... well... just about everything. That's one reason why I focus a lot of my interviews on writers who have broken in in the last 5 years or so. Another reason: They have a much fresher awareness of what it is like to be on the other side of Hollywood's fence. That said, some things never change like this: If you write a great script, someone will notice it. In some ways, that's even MORE true nowadays than ever. Welcome back to the fray, Cyd. The world needs more thoughtful, colorful writers like you!

Cyd, I even have the first script I wrote when I was 17, which was hand-written on an A4 pad and was about 67 pages long :) I didn't know you'd been away from writing. Welcome back. You're an absolute library of knowledge on the Black Board forum so it's always great to see your input.

[…] Into The Story recently posted an article called The Business of Screenwriting: Three Scripts.  That post made it’s way over to Reddit where more screenwriters commented on whether you […]

Uh huh... Agreed; one script ain’t enough. You gotta be ready and sure of it. Is there anything worse for a newbie writer than having dinner with a Friend and his very legit producer Buddy and not really being properly prepared to take advantage of the opportunity? (The Buddy’s Dad was part of a duo that produced some big, big star-driven films.) Moreover, I feel as though I let my friend down as he was doing me a kindness he certainly didn’t have to do.

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