Ten Things To Do Before You Submit A Script

I'm doing a blog tour tonight I started with syd field, found a youtube guy ashley and now I'm here :)

I've written several novels (posted on authonomy.com for voters) and now my first screenplay during the 2010 Script Frenzy Challenge (winner).

I took out seven books from the library and they all say "different" things about the script. Mind you they are from 1998. How do I know what the market is looking for now in 2010?

Some want the (emotions) in the dialog while others say it's an insult to put it into your script because when actors see it they run. (Joe Eszterhas Book - The devil's guide to hollywood - the screenwriter as god - i'm blogging his book and Linda Palmer's How to Write It How to Sell It on my writers blog the idea girl says - I'm sure i've seen your website in my comments from one of my readers)

The other question is in the script do you describe how your characters look?

Or does that only go into the synopsis?

I wrote a one page synopsis but when I put the character descriptions in it goes to two pages, so I removed their descriptions.

Not sure what to do about this, please advise. thanks.

http://www.twitter.com/theideagirl

maybe if writers would spend more time writing and less time complaining mabe some new material would result from it.. Tired of seeing the re-makes thats all I'm saying...

I have to agree with the commenter citing Ted's statement, "I have never found something that did not come from a friend, partner, or directly from a filmmaker that I had already wanted to work with."

This list really just makes me want to make my own films instead of even bothering with submitting to anyone. Really Ted. Why bother? If your staff never heard of me, they won't bother with me either? And that makes me wonder why you even bother to post this at all.

Comment third from the top (Anonymous) said this:

"This is all well and good, except that everything on the list should be considered before you even write 'FADE IN' and that can't be fixed simply by doing another draft (indeed, by then it's too late to do pretty much everything you've detailed here). Which means it's not a list of things to do 'before you submit,' it's a list of things to do 'before you start.'"

Have you, Sir, ever written a screenplay? A polished, crafted screenplay? If so, did you write it all in one draft, or did you fix some of its problems in later drafts and polishes?

This kind of statement is nonsense. Every screenplay goes through multiple iterations. Even professionals will often admit that their first drafts are miserable.

Admittedly it would be better to take Ted's suggestions into consideration before embarking, but to say that you can't fix even major, fundamental problems by continued work betrays a deep misunderstanding of the craft of screenwriting.

Re: Cranky's Question

It's sort of difficult to pinpoint exactly what expanding into other platforms specifically means as it certainly goes differently based on different stories. Though there are a lot of strategies to look at in terms of how to expose your film over the different mediums. For example, with a very commercial film (say the one we hear a lot about right now - Avatar) they might try to hit up all sorts of platforms, making it into a video game, having an interactive website, doing viral videos, having people write blogs about it, following threads on twitter, getting coverage in magazines, all that stuff.

Something with perhaps a more modest budget that say fits more into a dramatic context, and seemingly doesn't have the sort of story that might transfer over well to trying to create a tv series from it, or doesn't have that 'hook' to it that can generate instant word of mouth, it still has several options over the platforms to consider. It too could have an interactive website that releases content from the filming of the movie; maybe some behind-the-scenes content. You might also want to get your audience more involved with your content so give them photos they can photoshop or put up on their blogs. Maybe try something new and give them footage to cut together a teaser trailer with, or have a contest to win. For mobile use, have the actors talking about the shoot on twitter and posting photos and stuff. There is of course a limit to doing this stuff, and you want to control it so that it's nothing that can discredit your film, but these sort of things generate a lot of word or mouth and so if you can find ways to expand your story across these platforms with just the idea, just release interesting, interactive, free content, and you'll hopefully find positive response.

Quick note towards platforms like TV or Webseries; these of course are a lot harder to go from theatrical down in to, though comedies can lend themselves to transitioning over in much broader ways as the world isn't so set on rules. It's much easier to go from a Webseries into TV (or maybe vice versa if the content is right) but Webseries alone have the ability to expand so much more into other platforms and can cross into music, film (especially shorts), and otherwise to find a diverse audience. My company Awkward Moment Productions just co-produced a webseries called Mental Beast (www.mentalbeast.com) which had artists around Vancouver write songs for it, as well as do in-character radio interviews that play separate from the webseries about a group of people running a radio station on the verge of collapse. It was just voted as one of the top ten best series of the decade and received a lot of word of mouth from the internet advertising and audiences in all those various venues. I know that's sort of shameless self promotion, but it's the best example for that I have right now. That and a webseries called Riese that's pulling in a huge audience for sifi fans (I have nothing to do with that, but check it out if you want to know more). They went down to Comicon and handed out like 60,000 flyers to sifi fans and have been getting great word of mouth!

Hopefully that's detailed enough and helps a little. It's really complicated to know what is right and what could work, but think outside the box and if your film doesn't fit into the mold of expanding it's central idea, think of ways to use these platforms to gather word of mouth in other ways!

Cheers

Hello - good food for thought. However, what does expanding a story into other platforms mean, exactly? Doing such certainly couldn't apply to every story, if I understand what expansion into other platforms actually is. Would love a response explaining that! Thanks!

In regards to the question about #3, most distributors these days are looking at ways to be able to expand just past one platform in order to take advantage of as much exposure and use from one idea as possible. This means that from your screenplay, see if there are ideas to expand it into video games, TV, internet segments (webseries/interactive websites like The Dark Knight did/ blogs, etc); ways to possibly connect to it mobily (the new big thing it sounds like), or other such things.

I also agree with the point about knowing these things going in to writing your screenplay, though disagree that these things can't be fixed with rewrites or that at any point it's too late to revise (except if you submit prematurely to production companies that is!). Having worked for a production company where we had to go through hundreds of scripts (theatrical & TV Pilots), I see now how critical it is for all aspects of a story to come together as even a great concept can't tread water. I hold great respect to producers or companies who are willing to hold out or be extremely selective on the stories they choose, and if you want to learn how to be a better writer, work for a company where you read a lot of scripts... It'll really put into perspective how hard it is to find a very well rounded project that's worth the time and money to invest into. And I swear you'll vow to never become a writer who just puts slabs of raw beef on someone's plate and call it a hamburger.

Last off, if you want to write, start learning how to love rewriting and find story editors (or writers) you can trust and who understand your voice and style and can offer critical, useful feedback (over your several drafts). The first draft is just laying out the brush strokes, the rewrites are the detail and color. How could you not love seeing your baby evolve for the better?!

has Jentrl said, happy writing!

Thanks for the post, Ted. From my experience as an indie filmmaker, I've found all of your above points to be true at some point in my progressive screenwriting career. And I understand writer's frustrations, I really do. I've felt it all, too, but bottom line - it's a two-way street. We can't forget that, even though we're writing something WE would want to see, (hopefully that's the case) there's still a huge world out there we have to find - our audience. Without knowing who 'they' are, we're just wasting time.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.

And...

If you believe in your story you won't stop because someone says "no." You'll simply find another way. :)

Happy writing, friends!

I've submitted to various outlets from The Nuyorican Poets Cafe (when they had a Screenplay Readings Night) to CAA and the outlet you are submitting to should reflect your writing. Years back when I submitted to NPC I actually met the readers. They were all of 18 years old working for free. It is thankless and it is a stepping stone job into the industry. I've done that too.

The reality is Ted is looking for something unique that stands out from the slushpile. The studio MO is the complete opposite -- "the same but different." Now, especially, they want a copy of a copy of a copy. That's fine. Good stories can be told there too but that's not really Ted's goal here. Look at his producing credits on IMDb.

It takes years and stacks of material to to know what it is you excel at as a writer. Look at your first screenplay and look at your most recent. It goes without saying that there should be more than one but there should also be a vast difference in style and quality. There are hundreds of moving parts that you have to adjust along the way and you need to be flexible. What's the rule of thumb? It takes ten years minimum to be a writer and by writer I mean competent. I'm not there yet.

It's hard to not be cynical about the process but you can't be. Writing an engaging screenplay that will get made is almost impossible. Almost. Those are your odds and you should know that going in. Like pangofilms said, having a thick skin doesn't hurt either.

yes perhaps the article shd be retitled: Things To Do Before [emphasis on before] you start!

Could you please elaborate on #3? Thanks in advance.

This is all well and good, except that everything on the list should be considered before you even write "FADE IN" and that can't be fixed simply by doing another draft (indeed, by then it's too late to do pretty much everything you've detailed here). Which means it's not a list of things to do "before you submit," it's a list of things to do "before you start."

Reading scripts is a thankless job. I have no problem believing that there was nothing in the thousands of submissions. It's more of an achievement that Ted managed to find enough scripts to make as many good films as he has.

Writers are all convinced that they're scripts are great. I don't know how practical that list is, but most of it makes sense. A different producer might have a few disagreements as Ted Hope looks for stuff that is different and new and original and a lot producers do not.

Here's another one: don't take rejection personally. That's more from experience. I don't know if you can teach that.

This is all true except that it's WHO you know as well. You have to do all of the above and have a friend at a film company to pass it along. This is evidenced by your statement "I have never found something that did not come from a friend, partner, or directly from a filmmaker that I had already wanted to work with." I have a hard time believing that in the THOUSANDS of blind submissions you have received that there weren't a few scripts worth making. There probably were, but some intern who didn't know what he/she was talking about gave it a pass.