There's no easy way to do it.



Here are some of the things that I've been told and that I've done (not
necessarily in a specific order).

1. Grow a thick skin; you're going to need it for all the let-downs
and rejections.

2. Don't send out a script that isn't ready!

3. Put that script away for a while (at least 3 weeks) and think about
it: your story, your characters, your arcs, your plots, EVERYTHING! You only
get one chance to make an impression with it. Don't blow it.

4. Have friends/other writers read it and listen to their remarks (see
2 & 3 above)

5. Find out who's buying what. It's pointless sending your script to a
company that goes in for Chick Flicks when you're writing horrors. You may
get lucky; chances are you won't.

6. Get hold of the Hollywood Creative Directory and similar books and
magazines and see who accepts unsolicited scripts in your genre. Mail them
the logline (assuming you have a punchy logline) and follow up if necessary.

7. Enter the script into competitions- companies do look at them to
see if there's anything they can use. The judges are people in the business
too. It's a way to network yourself. It's also a barometer to gauge how good
your script really is.

8. Network yourself in the business: go to pitchfests and lectures by
writers/prodcos etc. If somebody in the business is meeting with writers,
then be there. If they don't know you, they'll be hesitant to look at your
work. Some writers phone the prodcos too; I live in Africa and that's too
darn expensive for me.

9. Learn to pitch that script flawlessly in 15 seconds or less if
you're networking. Most times your audience will make up their minds if they
want to read it or not in that time.

10. Put your script on websites that do placings: Moviebytes and Inktip
come to mind; there may be more. Moviebytes has a free service (allows you
to put limited info about your script on the site) and I had 4 queries from
prodcos last year from that site. Inktip charges a fee and has a much
broader scope for information. I had 2 queries from them in the 6 months
that I paid for.

11. Join newsgroups like this one and others. Sometimes writers will put
leads up on the sites that you can investigate.

12. I would be hesitant to use "Mailbomb" companies like
Scriptblaster(?). I'm pretty sure those things mostly end up in the trash.
If I was a prodco, I certainly wouldn't pay attention to them.



Selling a script is like fishing: plenty of nibbles, but few bites. When you
get one, you have to reel it in slowly or you may lose it.



Most importantly: don't give up. Keep writing:- the more you write, the
better you become, the better your chances at a sale.



Good luck!!



Kindest regards,







Terrence Marx

Website: <http://www.writestuff.synthasite.com/>
www.WriteStuff.synthasite.com

Blog: <http://writestuff2009.wordpress.com/>
http://writestuff2009.wordpress.com/







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