Finished first screenplay -- now what?

Question

Hi,Noob alert. =) I finished my first screenplay (3rd draft), almost ready to start writing my second (have a detailed beat sheet almost done). Wondering where to go from here, what steps to take. Of course I plan to write a second and a third screenplay asap, as I have heard it helps to have 3 screenplays (and from variety of genres) if seeking an agent?I think my screenplay is pretty good (it brought me almost to emotional tears as I read through it while editing the 3rd draft and I knew it was fiction, and my words to top if all!). More importantly perhaps, the consultant I hired to mentor me through process, who taught me, was blown away by my screenplay, said it was one of the fastest reads she has ever experience. Encouraging. Of course I plan to keep revising it; 4th, 5th, 6th revisions in the coming months. Maybe take it to another consultant (like John Rainey?).But as a newbie I am not sure what route to go now. Should I just keep writing 2nd and 3rd screenplays, build up a repertoire, maybe enter my screenplay into the Nichol Fellowshop contest 2009? Should I query producers? agents?And what are the chances of actually selling a really good screenplay? I read in books that it is like winning the lottery as far as the odds, but then I hear of writers that write and sell several screenplays (I do not hear of people winning the lottery several times, unless the game is rigged). I really enjoy the storytelling, the writing, I write several hours each day, but I also could use some hope of a possible sale in the future.~Randall

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hi, Noob alert. =) I finished my first screenplay (3rd draft), almost ready to start writing my second (have a detailed beat sheet almost done). Wondering where to go from here, what steps to take. Of course I plan to write a second and a third screenplay asap, as I have heard it helps to have 3 screenplays (and from variety of genres) if seeking an agent? I think my screenplay is pretty good (it brought me almost to emotional tears as I read through it while editing the 3rd draft and I knew it was fiction, and my words to top if all!). More importantly perhaps, the consultant I hired to mentor me through process, who taught me, was blown away by my screenplay, said it was one of the fastest reads she has ever experience. Encouraging. Of course I plan to keep revising it; 4th, 5th, 6th revisions in the coming months. Maybe take it to another consultant (like John Rainey?). But as a newbie I am not sure what route to go now. Should I just keep writing 2nd and 3rd screenplays, build up a repertoire, maybe enter my screenplay into the Nichol Fellowshop contest 2009? Should I query producers? agents? And what are the chances of actually selling a really good screenplay? I read in books that it is like winning the lottery as far as the odds, but then I hear of writers that write and sell several screenplays (I do not hear of people winning the lottery several times, unless the game is rigged). I really enjoy the storytelling, the writing, I write several hours each day, but I also could use some hope of a possible sale in the future. ~Randall[/nq]
The relationship between selling a screenplay and winning the lottery are only similar in terms of their long odds. Obviously, there's nothing you can do (legally) to improve the odds of winning the lottery, while there are lots of things that you can do to improve the (very long) odds of selling a spec screenplay.
Entering it in a contest like the Nicholls is certainly one of them. If you win or finish near the top, that's immediate access to, at the very least, getting your script read and thus getting attention by all sorts of people. Even if you place reasonably high, that will let you know how your script ranks against a great many others in the same arena.
Even winning a big contest, of course, is no guarantee that your script will get sold the criteria that contest judges apply isn't necessarily the same one that producers apply when deciding whether or not to spend twenty five or fifty million dollars on making a movie.

You can, when you think your script is ready (and not before) try to get an agent and there are all sorts of threads that you can search for on how to go about doing that, or you can try to get your script in front of producers yourself and there are all sorts of threads on how to do that.
There's also a rather lengthy article in the FAQ that I wrote on this same subject for beginners who ask this question that talks about how to do this in detail.
It seems as if you've failed to make most of the mistakes that most beginners make which is to go running out with their very first script just finished or even half-finished.
What's important to realize is that, even in a very tight market which this is it is still possible to sell your work, provided that you've written something that is exceptional and commercial.

That is always going to be the winning lottery ticket.

NMS

Usenet · Answer

...
[nq:1]There's also a rather lengthy article in the FAQ that I wrote on this same subject for beginners who ask this question that talks about how to do this in detail.[/nq]
Can you give me a link to that FAQ? Or is that posted here on this newsgroup periodically (if so I will keep an eye open for it)?

...
[nq:1]What's important to realize is that, even in a very tight market which this is it is still possible to sell your work, provided that you've written something that is exceptional and commercial...[/nq]
Sounds reasonable, logical. Commericial appeal. From a studio's POV I would think they want a great story, but a story that does not require a huge budget, warships or starships, etc. Maximum profit potential, minimum risk. E.g. "Maid in Manhatten" grossed $150M+ worldwide I believe, budget of $25M or so; a fantastic romcom can be produced relatively cheap I would think, and have huge profit potential.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]What's important to realize is that, even in a very tight market which this is it is still ... that you've written something that is exceptional and commercial. That is always going to be the winning lottery ticket.[/nq]
While I always defer to Neal in matters business and the like, I have to take my kids' complete repetition - and if you have kids, you know they're repetitive - about Parcheesi "It's a game of skill as well as chance!" Why shout this at breakfast? Who gave that kid espresso?

But I do aver - to use a short but little-used word - that it's a game of skill. Someone wrote that "even a very bad novel takes a lot of work." I mean, buy a lottery ticket and it's the luck of the draw. Write a good script and maybe you have something. You have a property. I've done real estate, a lottery ticket is a piece of paper. A property has worth.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]There's also a rather lengthy article in the FAQ that ... question that talks about how to do this in detail.[/nq]
[nq:1]Can you give me a link to that FAQ? Or is that posted here on this newsgroup periodically (if so I will keep an eye open for it)?[/nq]
The FAQ ULR is attached to the bottom of all my posts (including this one).

The page Neal was referring to was a particular post of his that he graciously allowed us to turn into a standalone FAQ, as it addressed a lot of the questions people bring to MWSM. That page is here and it's definitely worth a read:
http://www.panix.com/~mwsm/nms faq.html
[nq:2]What's important to realize is that, even in a very ... that you've written something that is exceptional and commercial.[/nq]
[nq:1].. Sounds reasonable, logical. Commericial appeal. From a studio's POV I would think they want a great story, but a ... of $25M or so; a fantastic romcom can be produced relatively cheap I would think, and have huge profit potential.[/nq]
It's not like Hollywood is going to stop making movies so they're going to need good scripts, and those scripts have to come from somewhere. Established Hollywood screenwriters put on their pants the same way the rest of us do (you DO have a team of Brazilian bikini models help you get dressed each morning, don't you?)
Against all advice, odds and common sense, I got an agent (in Hollywood, WGA-signatory) based on an early draft of my second script. A couple MWSM regulars have read the script and can verify when I say that it wasn't really very good. But the concept was fantastic and it got me meetings with studios and prodcos all over town and very nearly sold. Anyway, William Goldman's thesis that nobody knows anything applies, as do the words of Terry Rossio, here: http://www.wordplayer.com/columns/wp44.Never.Wait.html

Alan Brooks

A with an Underwood
There's no
test run
for life.
MWSM FAQ: http://www.panix.com/~mwsm/faq.html
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Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]And what are the chances of actually selling a really good screenplay?[/nq]
Good.
You just have to find someone who is capable of getting it into production to fall in love with it.
Fall in love, not think it's pretty good.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Established Hollywood screenwriters put on their pants the same way the rest of us do (you DO have a team of Brazilian bikini models help you get dressed each morning, don't you?)[/nq]
Lol!
-ROn

Usenet · Answer

,,,
[nq:1]You just have to find someone who is capable of getting it into production to fall in love with it. Fall in love, not think it's pretty good.[/nq]
Reasonable. From the POV of the producer/studio, they are going to invest millions to turn a screenplay into a marketable film product. I can not blame them for wanting a script that excites them into seeing it as the blueprint for a money making machine; I am starting to see they do not necessary want the next Titanic, at least from a noob first time script, but that they want maximum return on investment, which might mean a script calling for high concept but cheap easy location and low number of actors, and lots of interest in theatre goers. Am I on track with that notion?

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi, Noob alert. =) I finished my first screenplay (3rd draft), almost ready to start writing my second (have a detailed beat sheet almost done). Wondering where to go from here, what steps to take. Of course I plan to write a second and a third screenplay asap, as I have heard it helps to have 3 screenplays (and from variety of genres) if seeking an agent? I think my screenplay is pretty good (it brought me almost to emotional tears as I read through it while editing the 3rd draft and I knew it was fiction, and my words to top if all!). More importantly perhaps, the consultant I hired to mentor me through process, who taught me, was blown away by my screenplay, said it was one of the fastest reads she has ever experience. Encouraging. Of course I plan to keep revising it; 4th, 5th, 6th revisions in the coming months. Maybe take it to another consultant (like John Rainey?). But as a newbie I am not sure what route to go now. Should I just keep writing 2nd and 3rd screenplays, build up a repertoire, maybe enter my screenplay into the Nichol Fellowshop contest 2009? Should I query producers? agents? And what are the chances of actually selling a really good screenplay? I read in books that it is like winning the lottery as far as the odds, but then I hear of writers that write and sell several screenplays (I do not hear of people winning the lottery several times, unless the game is rigged). I really enjoy the storytelling, the writing, I write several hours each day, but I also could use some hope of a possible sale in the future. ~Randall[/nq]
Listen to Neal, Randall. He knows his stuff.
W : )

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]And what are the chances of actually selling a really good screenplay?[/nq]
[nq:1]Good. You just have to find someone who is capable of getting it into production to fall in love with it. Fall in love, not think it's pretty good.[/nq]
Aw, Skip, you're a romantic!
W ; )

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1],,,[/nq]
[nq:2]You just have to find someone who is capable of ... with it. Fall in love, not think it's pretty good.[/nq]
[nq:1]Reasonable. From the POV of the producer/studio, they are going to invest millions to turn a screenplay into a marketable ... location and low number of actors, and lots of interest in theatre goers. Am I on track with that notion?[/nq]
You're on track but not from a studio perspective. The studios have been losing their "speciality" (meaning independent film like) divisions lately. They're swinging for the fences, the big blockbusters like The Dark Knight is about to be. Hellboy II was #1 last weekend but it only got made because the director's Pan's Labyrinth did so well, and as his next film he wanted to do HB II. Hellboy was good but not a runaway moneymaker. It's a money game.
Plus it's always easier to steal a lot of money from big movies. Seriously. And the same amount of work, pretty much.

There are strata. If you're making a TV movie you're only looking at a few million. If it's an indie it can cost anything.

So "producer/studio" isn't a workable hyphenate. Some producers will work on anything they can get made. Others with more financial reserves and wanting to make a certain type of movie in a certain way will hold out for other things. And some producers do things out of love with regard to marketing like a guy I'm working with at the moment who's doing the movie about the dumpy salesman opera singer who blew people away when winning Britain's Got Talent. (I have nothing to do with that production, but it's a "little" movie that will probably do killer box office, if cast right and shot right and I'm sure it will be.

Studio is a far different animal than producer.

Finished first screenplay -- now what?

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