[…] Eric, let me take this opportunity to frame the conversation by offering this reminder I post regularly just so everyone understands this fundamental reality about breaking into …read more […]

Love this question and this post. Thanks Eric. As we all are working to get there, it's fun to read what happens if/when you do.

:) I was always curious about this... since no one ever talks about it. It's good to know what to expect so we can all plan ahead.

Thanks Scott, I know it takes you time to mull the question and write these blogs, so I appreciate it. This part of the process has always been the Land of Oz...very mysterious that only a few people allude to, but never get into specifics. I was curious because I've seen a few acquaintances kind of get fizzled out at this part of the stage. They get a rep, maybe an option and then nothing else happens. I don't know if this is true, but it is my impression that big million dollar sales are a lot less common these days? I remember that there seemed to be more. The ones I see now seem to be on the low six. Not that writers do it for anything but the love, but it's nice to have a safety net before you land your next deal. Also, reading a few managers interviews, they seem to hint that chasing open writing assignments is like chasing a needle in the haystack and it's really hard to break in a new writer....so do most new writers in this new landscape now just keep writing/selling spec after spec until they are established?

Eric, there's probably no definitive answer, but I think it's fair to say that most people involved in the business would agree it's harder nowadays to sell a spec script and those that sell do for less money than we saw in the spec script boom of the early to mid-90s. A lot more options today. Fewer acquisitions by major studios. Again, you have to go in with your eyes open. It's a tough business. The odds are long. And as you suggest, if you do sell something or get a break of some sort (e.g., representation, win a contest), you should be smart about your choices. Keep that day job. Sock away a big % of your writing revenue. Always be writing on spec to maximize the material you can get out there to sell. Ironically, the actual process of getting a script in front of potential buyers has never been easier. The Black List website, for example, is a transparent way of having an original feature script or TV pilot made available to thousands of industry insiders. There is the Nicholl competition or the Austin Screenwriting competition. Many managers will accept blind queries. With email and PDFs, you don't even have to have a printed copy of your script. Per your last question: There's no fixed answer, Eric. Some writers land OWAs right off the bat. Others chase them for years and end up with nothing. The fact is much of the business is dumb luck and timing. This is yet another reason why you should always anticipate writing on spec. That is a big change from 20 years ago. Most writers wrote specs to break into the business, then gave that up to write on assignment. There were some working writers who continued to write specs like Shane Black, Joe Eszterhas, Nicholas Kazan, David Koepp among others, but I doubt it was a majority. Nowadays unless you are an A-list writer, I suspect most working writers always have some spec project in the works. This is, I believe, pretty much the result in the shrinkage of writing assignments due to cutbacks by major studios and lower budgets for financier-based projects. If a rep or producer happens to read this and has a different take on the subject, please feel free to weigh in. Bottom line, always be writing. Always be generating story concepts. Always have a spec in the works. There is no downside to this, only upside.

A blog answer within a blog....I don't know how you do it Scott--generate so much material. I barely posted my comment, so it must have taken you only a few minutes to write that. Great stuff. Man, I wish this was the 90s... they must have had it so good. In truth, I'd rather write on spec 99% of the time. Writing assignments with a ticking clock makes me break out in sweat thinking about it. With a spec, it's your idea and you can control how long it takes to refine it. But, I realize that might not go over so well with managers/agents. I think your blog is a bit of an eye opener. The plan is usually to get that home-run spec to get the dream manager/agent team, make a splash and sell it for money to quit your job, go on the waterbottle pat on the back tour....but, it seems like from reading your blog, it's wiser to have a plan going in to make it over the long haul--having followup projects and good habits to capitalize on the next project. The ability to write a good spec, might not be the ability to turn in a writing assignment in 3 months or do a good pitch. A spec you might have in your head for a long time, refining it for a long time. A writing assignment you have a ticking clock, it's not your idea so it might not play to your strengths. It's like a talented youngster that goes into the NBA and has a lot of hops...but he favors going to the right. That's taken away and it's suddenly like being a fish out of water.

In terms of people liking to work with people they like and being good in a room, how do some of the more introverted writers excel? I've seen some big names who are excellent writers but they appeared kind of awkward and introverted at events... more like that Charlie Kaufman character played by Nicolas Cage than movie star handsome smooth talker Dan Fogelman. To be really good, they probably spend all day shut in a room writing so it almost seems counter to their daily habits to be the extrovert working rooms.

Paul, this is a really good point and thanks for bringing it up. Some writers have poor to even HORRIBLE social skills. People in Hollywood are aware of this, in fact I'd say it's almost expected to some degree. So there's quite a bit of latitude in that respect. But being an Introvert and Not A Social Butterfly is not the same thing as Hard To Work With or Unlikeable. If you come across as creative, and that is primarily through what is on the page, and you seem to understand the story which is the project you are meeting on, bringing some clarity to its problems and possible solutions, even if you're nervous or awkward, it's okay. Talent trumps all. Now if you're awkward AND an asshole... that's problematic! But even then, if you have an unarguable talent, that will likely be the determining factor. My point in the OP is generally speaking, people in Hollywood like to work with writers who they feel are problem solvers, not problem makers, and if they're likeable, easy to get along with, etc, that is a winning combination. BTW there isn't a writer I know who does NOT get nervous in a pitch or project meeting. It's a performance and you are in the spotlight, so it's only NATURAL to feel that.

A few working screenwriters have mentioned being diplomatic as an important skill so I'm glad that you emphasized that above. Are there phrases or diplomatic ways of speaking when you're bringing your point across? There will inevitably be times when you have a different opinion or want to say yes I've considered that point already but here's why I thought it didn't fit. Also, writers might not be able to be creative in the fly on the room. What makes them good might be that they spend all day thinking about something...rather than on the spot. Would it be easier to tell the producer, let me mull on this and and talk to you when I've thought it out more? Getting back to your second paragraph, I've found that writing talent seems to almost be inverse to social ability. The really good ones are twitchy like Quentin Tarantino who throws his hands wildly, kind of awkward like the character portrayed as Charlie Kaufman... there was this guy that was a great pitch artist...I think he used to sell a pitch a month....I read his script and it was just dreadful. I know this might sound silly, but what things would qualify as writers being difficult, unlikable or being an asshole? vs. being a problem solver and easy to manage?

Sorry for coming so late to this, but I thought I could add to the conversation having recently had part of the experience myself. About two years ago a script I wrote got quite a bit of attention around L.A. through a couple of screenplay competitions. I was contacted by several agents and managers as well as producers. I signed with a well known boutique agency and began the process of re-writing with the aim of sending the script out. My agent attached a director to the project and I worked with him streamlining the script. That process (a lot of which was waiting for people to read drafts) took about six months. That’s something I didn’t really realize: your agent is the first gate-keeper. Even if you’re his/her client, your agent isn’t going to send your script out until s/he thinks it’s ready. After all it’s your agent’s reputation on the line as well. The agency I’m with has lots of writers, but they only send out a handful of specs every year. Okay, the script went out. Lots of positive response (for what it’s worth) but no ‘yes’. However, almost everyone wanted a meeting. So I went out on the ‘water bottle’ tour. But before I went out, my agent made me come up with a pitch for the next script. Which meant pitching him quite a few two sentence ideas before he said yes to one. I worked up a pitch and headed out. Very nervous indeed. ? But part of sending you out on twenty or more general meetings is to get you comfortable in a room. And it works. After the first couple of meetings I relaxed and felt good, and even enjoyed myself. The pitch went well and some execs spent quite a bit of time with me spitballing the story. I had dinner with a VP and we ironed out some of the problem areas in it. I was given a chance to pitch takes on two OWAs. The thing is, I believe there are different kinds of OWAs - maybe Scott can confirm or deny - but because I was not ‘hot’, merely warm (or lukewarm), the OWAs I was presented with were, to put it kindly, on life support. These were scripts which had sold some time back, for quite a lot of money, had at one time been hot, but failed to take off. The feeling was that the studios they belonged to didn’t want to throw a lot of money at them, but if some new writer came up with a great take and they could pay him/her a small amount, they might go for it. In other words, they weren’t anyone’s passion project. No one would complain if they sat in a closet for five more years. So, I pitched on both. One studio passed, the other liked my take, but in the interim the original writer had come back and expressed an interest in directing the script (the original was written in the nineties and he’s now well known), and so… better luck next time. However… my agent got a call from one of the producers I’d met with and it turned out that one of the better known cable channels was looking for a series that took place in the same world as my original feature script. Would I consider adapting it into a series? Uh, well, YEAH! So I went to work on that for a few weeks, had a ton of fun, learned a lot, enjoyed the company. Ultimately it was a pass from the channel, but it was a great experience. Last, but not least, the script was finally optioned by an L.A./U.K. producer. The option lapsed recently but another producer has expressed interest. All of this earned me very little money. I have a day job. I have a family. I have a busy life. But I’m hopeful. As to the introvert question - well, I’m no social butterfly, but I’m friendly and nice, and not dumb. In other words I’m Canadian. And pitches used to give me a stomach ache. But I rehearsed the crap out of it, down to the last word, on video, in a mirror, hours and hours, til I could do it without thinking. But in the end all those execs want you to tell them a great story, they’re on your side. And they make it easy. They mostly carry the conversation, ask you questions and make you comfortable - in generals anyway. I hope my experiences as a luke-warm writer on his first tour of duty help answer your question, Eric Harris. And for those of you who wonder about the eternal question of geography. I live in Toronto. Hasn’t been a problem so far, but I’m keeping my options open.

Thanks for that, Markham. Your saga is much more typical than someone who sells a spec script for a zillion dollars, lands on Go, and has an instant career. And that's the key word: Career. Even if a writer does manage to sell a spec script or get it optioned or even just land a rep, then use that script as a writing sample to do the bottled water tour, the goal is establish your career as a writer. Yes, you want to get that script made into a movie, but that's only one project. A career will by necessity involve DOZENS of projects. I touched on this in a post called It's Not Just About the Script. Frankly, as much as I focus on writing a screenplay here on the blog and at Screenwriting Master Class, I also emphasize aspects of the craft that are more business-related precisely because these are things writers need to know in order to sustain a career. So thanks again for your comments, Markham. Question: Would you mind if I reprint them in a blog post? Hugely valuable, I think, for a wider audience to read because an accurate reflection of a more 'traditional' entrance into the business.

I wouldn't mind at all if you shared my experience. You've been so helpful over the years it's nice to be able to give back a little bit.

I like these reader question blogs...they seem to zero in on the questions that weigh on the reader's hearts.

LOL: "In other words. I'm Canadian." Yes, your answer is very helpful. Thanks for sharing.

A 500 page book could probably be written about all the invisible things to observe in meetings, working a room and sustaining a career. Thanks for linking the two previous blogs--a nice treasure trove. "God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason" is sound advice. And, I really liked this quote: "I do know this: If you consistently write great scripts, you could be a mime who dresses like Sasquatch and farts in their faces… and they would hire you again and again."