“Most screenwriters are unemployed, chronically unemployed.”
Screenwriter Tom Lazarus (Stigmata)
Secrets of Film Writing
“It’s either very lucrative and exciting, or nothing.”
Screenwriter Anthony Peckham (Invictus) on screenwriting
(Note: Though this post is now several years old it continues to get solid hits because it’s such a basic question. I’ve chosen not to update the NFL references because that’s a continually moving target. Just exchange the names for the current hot players of whatever year you’re reading this post.)
When people think of how much professional football players make they tend to focus on the big numbers. Brett Favre’s $20 million dollar one year contract with the Minnesota Vikings. Payton Manning’s $99.2 million seven year contract with the Indianapolis Colts. But the truth is most rookies in the NFL earn around $300,000 per year. Deduct taxes, agent fees, a down payment on a house, and an expensive sports car or two and there’s not that much left. (Relatively speaking, of course.)
Then factor in that most pro football careers last less than four years (NFL=Not For Long) and you can see why the majority of players who play in the NFL really have under a million dollars to their name when they retire. And when you factor in a history of NFL players making bad investment decisions it’s not hard to understand why so many end up filing for bankruptcy when their short careers are over. (Hence, the ESPN documentary Broke.)
Often when people think of Hollywood writers they tend to once again think of the multi-million dollar deals. (Like Basic Instinct banking Joe Eszterhas $3 million—back in the early 90s.) But the truth is most writers (factoring both union and non-union) won’t make any money this year from their writings. (According to the Writer’s Guide of America-West (WGAW) recent report, of the 8,129 union members in 2007 3,775 were unemployed.) Depending on different sources working WGAw members seem to average between $40,000-$110,000. per year. (Key word there is “working” WGAw members.) Factor in the cost of living where most writers live (New York & L.A.) and that’s probably about the earning power of (just a wild guess) $20,000-65,000. in much of the country.
On the film side a good rule of thumb is scripts can make up between 2-5% of the total budget. So on a $50 million dollar film that could be as much as $2.5 million.(The highest paid spec script to date I believe is $5 million to M. Night Shyamalan for Unbreakable, though that may have included his directing fee.) But it also means on a $200,000 indie film could mean the screenwriter was paid $4,000. (And independent films make up the majority of the 500 or so feature films made per year. )
“When you’re not in the [WGA] you’re just grateful for anything that’ll you give you a month of rent or a couple months of rent. My first couple of jobs were New York independent things…of course, there wasn’t a lot of money for an untested writer. So if somebody had read some things you’d written, or a play you’d written, or a script you’d written on spec then sometimes you’d get paid 5,000 bucks, if you’re lucky, on a good day maybe 10,000 bucks.”
Screenwriter Chris Terrio (Argo) taking about getting his start on DP/30
Of course, what screenwriters make globally will vary greatly. In Nigeria—Nollywood— they are making a lot of movies, but most budgets are sub-$100,000. And even in Hollywood what screenwriters make will vary. At the top of the Hollywood feature film food chain are working WGA writers who generate writing income several ways. Nailing down those exact numbers is hard, but this is how the top screenwriters can make $100,000 or $200,000 a week and millions over the course of the year:
—Writing assignment (developing new script from book, article, or an idea)
—Punch-up a script (take an existing script and add action and make it more dynamic, tweak the dialogue, and/or add humor to make funnier)
—One to three week polish of a script
—Page one re-write. Take an existing screenplay that has promise, but needs a lot of work, and make it a script worth producing.
—Residuals (DVD/Blu-Ray/digital sales, Tv and foreign rights)
—Speaking (college and corporate work)
—Spec work (selling a screenplay without a deal from a producer or studio)
—Story meetings (A gathering of writers to kick around story concepts. Seen by some as a negative direction for the industry, as it’s the equivalent of kicking tires.)
On the TV side writers can be paid per script or as a staff writer. The highest paid are the ones who create a hit network show and stay on as producer/writers. If that show stays on the air for five years and goes into syndication then they can afford to buy a small tropical island. (Largely based on the success of the TV show Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld’s net worth is in the hundreds of millions—and maybe over a billion dollars by the time you read this.) A good gig if you can land it, but that doesn’t describe most TV writers.
“On balance, television writers today are the highest-paid practitioners of the literary profession in history. But mark the phrase on balance. If you can sell two one-hour scripts per year, which is a pretty good average for a freelance writer, that’s about $40,000 per year, before taxes. That figure is comparable to or less than the yearly average of elementary school teachers and considerably less than plumbers. The majority of working writers fall into this financial category. It’s only when you get the top 5 to 10 percent that you find writers and hyphenates who routinely earn six figures a year or more.”
J. Michael Stracznski, writer/producer
(Babylon 5, Changeling)
The Complete Book of Screenwriting
Granted that book was published in 1996 (and I think the minimum range for a 90 minute or less story & teleplay these days is around $30,000.*) but in a world of reality TV programing there is less scripted work being produced. (I know there are a lot fewer soap operas being produced than in 1996.)
“In 24 hours, NBC has just three hours of dramas and comedies. And, on some nights those make way for Dateline or Deal No Deal.”
Charles B. Solcum
Written By, August/September 2009
page 19
I have a writer friend with network credits in L.A. who was recently offered a job on a cable TV program that would pay her just a little more than her unemployment benefits. When you live in a land where rent is $1,500-3000. per month these are trying times. One more reason to live outside L.A., right?
Screenwriter John August recently wrote an excellent post What’s wrong with the business where he addressed some of these issues. I’ve quoted from that article before, but this is worth repeating because the industry is changing and the young, creative people coming up are going to embrace the changes;
“To become one of those inventors of industry, you need to surround yourself with similarly ambitious people. Film school is a good choice, but so is living and working in the right neighborhood in Silverlake or Brooklyn or Austin — or more likely, a place I wouldn’t even realize is a hotbed.”
Screenwriter John August
(Big Fish, Corpse Bride)
Could that hotbed be a place like Des Moines, Iowa? Steven Spielberg thinks so. He told Katie Couric on the NBC Today Show back in 1999, “I think that the Internet is going to effect the most profound change on the entertainment industries combined. And we’re all gonna be tuning into the most popular Internet show in the world, which will be coming from some place in Des Moines.”
Wait a minute, didn’t John August go to Drake University in Des Moines? That Spielberg is a genius, you know? And didn’t Diablo Cody go to school in Iowa City? If John August and Diablo Cody ever move back to Iowa then you know that this blog will at least be assured a small footnote in the history of screenwriting.
I wouldn’t bet on that anytime soon, but I would bet that within ten years places now known more for football like Minnesota & Indianapolis (as well as Detroit, Austin, Atlanta, Memphis…and, of course, Cedar Falls) will see writers and filmmakers rise up (and stay put) as they embrace the digital revolution and the opportunities it brings.
Related Post: Investing in Screenwriting. (I have a quote in there by Max Adams who explains how a $500,000. feature script option can really translate to a mere $3,500. per year for the writer who worked on that script.)
* To see current Writers Guild of America’s Theatrical and Television Basic Agreement visit the WGA-West website.
Update 12/09: Since this is a popular post as far as views I will update it from time to time and welcome your input on correcting any numbers. While reading over the WGAw report I made another connection between screenwriting & the NFL. On the film side there were 1,553 male writers employed in the last year of the report. That’s about 150 less writers than players in the NFL any given year. If you’re a female writer it just gets harder as they make up just 24% of all members in the guild. I don’t write these stats to discourage you but to help you know how solid your writing has to be to make a living doing this. And to also encourage you to keep your eyes open for alternative ways to earn a living in film, TV, and the Internet.
Update 3/12/10: Just read on Scott Myers’ blog Go Into The Story that the average production worker salary in the motion picture and tv industry is $74,400 a year.
Update 5/14/10: Residuals are another way film and TV writers get paid. I once worked with an actress who had worked on a popular TV show back in the day who told me she made $40,000 a year in residuals. A nice base. Check out the post Question: Do screenwriters get a percentage on the back end? by Scott Myers.
Update 11/08/10: Interesting article about football player (Keith Fitzhugh) who turns down NFL offer to keep his train conductor job.
Update 1/15/11: “Let’s talk money, because no one ever does. A top tier screenplay deal these days might be for a million dollars or more. Most are far, far less, but let’s work with those crazy high numbers, in fact let’s say 2 million dollars, though nobody is paying that any more. Wow that’s a lot of money. But consider. With a writing partner, that gets cut down to $1,000,000., and after taxes, lawyers, agents, managers, and the WGA, let’s hope you get to keep $400,000.
That’s still a truckload of money, life changing, but they don’t give you that all at once. It might take six months to a year just to get the contract done, and the deal is contingent on the film going into production, and if it does that might take a year or three or five, and also the WGA has to grant full credit at the end of it all, which often doesn’t happen. But let’s say it all goes well, which means the ‘highest paid screenwriter in history’ is actually taking home around $200,000. a year, at least on that one deal. Which is good money, real good money, more than I ever imagined making, and let me tell you I do own a dream home in the hills … but it’s not in the fly-a-Learjet-to-your-own-private-island-in-the-Caribbean category.”
Screenwriter Terry Rossio (Shrek & Pirates of the Caribbean)
Interview with John Robert Marlow
Update 2/11/11 “For every writer I know that lives high on the hog I know twenty who buy their bacon at Costco.”
Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds)
And this from the book Power Screenwriting:
“The truth is, the odds of writing and selling a screenplay are probably just as great as winning the state lottery or the next Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes. Yet, with the emphasis directed towards the big bucks sale, the aspiring screenwriter may be deprived of one of the greatest transformational processes known to man: spinning a well-told story.”
Michael Chase Walker
Update 3/24/11: “Most writers never sell scripts. Why should you be any different?”
Christopher Lockhart who is the Story Editor for WME
From the post The Right Stuff on his blog THE INSIDE PITCH.
Update 5/29/11: This is the WGA’s current minimum basic agreement (MBA) for a screenplay purchase:
Between $500,000 & $1.2 million budget: $42,930
Between $1.2 million and $5 million: $42,930
Between $5 million or more: $87,879
Keep in mind those are union numbers—and minimun numbers at that. (Top writers making much, much more than scale.) But if a non-union company buys your script expect less. If you wrote the screenplay with another writer cut those numbers in half, and of course, deduct for taxes, lawyers, agents, etc.
Update 7/6/11: This post is by far the most viewed post of all time on this blog and you may enjoy this post today from Scott Myers on his blog Go Into The Story: Reader Question: How much does a top screenwriter get paid for a rewrite?
Update 11/08/11: “Most writers are middle class; 46% did not even work last year. Of those who do work, one quarter make less than $37,700 a year and 50% make less than $105,000 a year. Over a five year period of employment and unemployment, a writer’s average income is $62,000 per year.” Writers Guild of America, West
Update 2/22/12: Bureau of Labor Statistics in May of 2010 listed the mean annual wage for writers (including screenwriters) and authors at $65,960 (with $109,440 being in the 9o percentile).
Update 12/11/13: Even though this post is now four years old it continues to get steady hits and is by far the most viewed post I’ve ever written. But I’d like you to take the time to jump over to the post and read what Oscar-winning screenwriter Michael Arendt has to say about what I call The 99% Focus Rule. And a positive thing that’s happened since I originally posted this is quality cable TV has exploded —as well as groups like Netflix producing their own programs— opening up new opportunities and a broader income stream for writers.
Update 6/11/17: While this post was on how much screenwriters get paid in the U.S., I should at least touch on the various ways writers can get paid for their work. This seems to be the core areas:
Spec script (You don’t get paid to write unless the script sells.)
Writing assignment (A writer is asked to write the script.)
Open assignment (Where several writers are asked to come in a pitch their take on what they’d do with a concept and one of the writers is chosen.)
Rewrite/polish (Could be as short as one day, but one to three weeks seems to be common. Enough time to take a script in various stages of either pre-production, production, and post-production and work your magic. Punch up the humor, tighten the structure, round out a character—something that makes the script better. I’ve heard the numbers between $100,000-$500,000 a week tossed around so that’s great money for those who get that kind of work. (Though the WGA minimum for a polish is in the $12,000 range when I last checked.) And it could also be a page one rewrite where a studio or production company likes a basic concept of a script the bought, but it needs a complete overhaul before it goes into production.
Staff Writers on network on cable TV shows
Residuals Backend money that comes from things like DVD sales and when a feature plays on TV. Jerry Seinfeld has made hundreds of millions of dollars as the co-creator of Seinfeld which has made an estimated $3 billon in syndication. So if you really want to make a killing as a writer the gold at the end of the rainbow is having a hit TV show.
Closing thought: “There’s more to life than a little money, you know?…Don’t you know that?”
Sheriff Marge Gunderson in Fargo
Written by Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
Scott W. Smith is the author of Screenwriting with Brass Knuckles
[…] When people think of how much professional football players make the tend to focus on the big numbers. Brett Farve’s $20 million dollar one year contract with the Minnesota Vikings. Payton Manning’s $99.2 million seven year contract with the Indianapolis Colts.. But the truth is most rookies in the NFL earn around $300,000 per year. […] Original Source… […]
I recently decided I would like to become a writer for television. I was doing a some internet research and came across this article. Pretty depressing but as an avid TV watcher who is always thinking of how much better a show would be if the characters did this or said that, imagining a different scenario if I didn’t like the one the writers of the show filmed, I think this is something I would be great at. I’ve seen a few different articles on the path to my newly discovered dream – Take screenwriting classes but options for those in Indianapolis, slim to none – looking into some online options (not quite ready to relocate). Write a script for a current TV show but then they say don’t do that because show runners can read them – it’s fanfic??? Not looking to quit my day job or anything but do you have any advice or books I can read, classes I should take to help out? Thanks!
Hello Stacia,
No one really decides to be a doctor and overnight be doing surgeries, but for some reason that seems to be the case with people who want to be writers. Perhaps because we start reading and writing and telling stories at a young age some seem to think it would be a fun and easy way to make money writing stories.
But the truth is it’s hard work. The best thing you can do to become a writer is write everyday. Start with a goal of 500 words, and then work your way up to 1,000 words a day. Be more focused on writing that amount everyday than you are watching TV, working out, or going out with friends.
Know that it may take you years to get paid for anything you write, but be encouraged that you can finish a TV script in a month or two, or a feature script in 3 or 4 months if you write everyday.
If you want a book read try Blake Snyder’s books “Save the Cat” and “Save the Cat Goes to the Movies.” Want to take classes from home look at UCLA or Scott Myers is now doing an online class. But read a few screenwriting blogs for a little direction–but focus on writing everyday.
Also, pick a favorite film or two and watch them over and over again asking yourself questions about story and structure. Why did they do this, what did they do that? Find the screenplay and break it down.
Write stories about Indiana that show you have a fresh voice that can’t be found in Hollywood. I was in Chicago over the weekend and John Mellencamp was performing there. If a kid from Seymour, IN can make it big, maybe you can to.
wow!
Reading all this makes a person wonder is it realy worth it?
I realy thought that you get paid a bit more then 180 000.00! No seriously! I am smashed! And dont you get a % of the profit made at the box office? No?
Nee my drome is verpleter!
Janet Davids
Janet–This post is by far the most viewed post I’ve ever written. And I wrote it because if your sole purpose to write is to get rich and famous as a screenwriter, I figured someone should shine a light on that aspect.
One reason you don’t hear this perspective a lot is there is a good deal of money to be made off of people wanting to be screenwriters.
But I just read about a screenwriter who bought a million dollar house in L.A. so success does happen. Just not as often as some people believe.
P.S. That millon dollar house in L.A. was a two-bedroom.
[…] Related post: How Much Do Screenwriters Make? […]
I would just like to add that buying a $1 million dollar house in most areas of LA is like buying a $100k house in the midwest.
That said, most people in entertainment will still never be able to afford one. If you’re okay with the possibility that your future will be living with roommates in well into adulthood, never owning a house or traveling the country, having all of your friends in several tax brackets ahead of you, then you’re getting into a realistic mindset for a writer. It’s not why successful writers write, even the ones that do eventually get the house, family, etc.
Most writers never sell anything. Most of the ones that do never sell something that gets made. Most of those that do don’t continue selling material for the rest of their careers. If you still want to write after hearing things like this, congratulations, you may just be passionate and hard working enough to accomplish something!
Great comments Steve. Sounds like you have the inside track. Every film school should pass your three paragraphs out to every student on the first day of classes. That should weed a few out quickly and save them a lot of money and heartache.
And maybe the remaining will follow Edward Burns words, “Don’t compete with Hollywood.” Keep writing and see where it leads…
Hi my name is Sade Greene and I am an aspiring dramatic writer. I just wanted to comment on the fact that although I really like your blog I must say that I disagree with the comment that Steve made about focusing on the possible negative aspects of becoming a screenwriter. I feel that thinking this way only leads to a self defeating attitude and giving in to an already morally ailing culture fixated on amassing fortunes and accumulating material objects. Any career that is worthwhile comes with a great deal of hard work whether it is being a doctor, lawyer or engineer. Careers considered very lucrative and “easier” to break into such as becoming a financial analyst requires that you have a natural ability for numbers and equations and the connections to gain a position at a prestigious firm such as Goldman Sachs. I know a person who has their own engineering business and while they are very financially stable they are not millionaires. It is very difficult, especially now in our American society to attain that level or wealth whether or not you choose to be a screenwriter. The main focus should be on planning smart when navigating through your career path. The figures you mentioned for selling your screenplay could very well be used to invest or set aside to start your own company. I for one want screenwriting to an aspect of my career aspirations in the film industry. While practicing writing dialogue and spec scripts, I am planning on going back to graduate school to get an MFA and MBA. I hear that Tisch NYU has a dual MFA/MBA program but I do not mind taking them one at a time if I am not accepted into this program. I would like to focus on the distribution aspect of the film industry and concentrate on having a career in that while I write spec scripts since I have always had a busy schedule and managed to write because writing is something that I love to do. I apologize if this response has a defiant twinge to it but I will not allow myself to buy into negative thinking. Just as will Smith said, “I will keep running on this treadmill and the only way I will get off this treadmill before the next person is if I die and they have to drag me off.”
@Sade—Thanks for the detailed reply. Let me simply say that understanding business is one of the key things that every filmmaker needs to know. Read any recent interviews of Edward Burns and Kevin Smith and you’ll discover that they are pretty business savvy on top of being screenwriters. That’s actually why I started the blog e-filmmaking.com (short for Entreprenurial Filmmaking).
Well this has been totally disconcerting. Why are the most imaginitive, intelligent and humanitarian professionals be so consistently undercompensated in this country? I understand not rewarding the loafing, underachieving weed-head who will never develop the wherewithall to leave mom’s house, but a successful writer is not even remotely in such a league. I guess it gets right down to integrity. In order to make it financially a person must be willing to compromise honesty. The more treacherous, the more prosperous. A really stupid evil person is making ten times more than I am.
@Joshua—Another way to look at it is the most talented, imaginative, intelligent screenwriters in this country (Aaron Sorkin, David Koepp, Steve Zaillian, etc.) are extremely well paid.
Well spoken. Great information Scott! I’m a songwriter, now embarking on screenwriting for film. Having done several small roles in major films with intent on rubbing shoulders, my network in the industry continues to grow and I’d be honored to add you to that network. How can we keep in touch? E-mail (CamJovan@aim.com)
I publish the movie scripts I write and submit my work in film festivals I select through http://www.withoutabox.com There is no other joy than for me to write my script world of entertainment. Success is mine as a writer/producer/director at Mount Harrison Pictures Studios! I only live ONCE! That is how I think no matter how long the road to INDIE & HOLLYWOOD STUDIO filmmaking is I am in this Industry for Life!!!
Raymond—That’s the spirit. I know some pro screenwriters didn’t care for the studio deal Amazon did last year, but writers did get payouts from $25,000 to a million dollars. (More than many pro screenwriters made in 2011.)
The fact is there are many avenues to take these days to get your work produced. The good news for writers and filmmakers these days is you don’t just have to move to LA and starve.
I’ve been writing for television for 12 years of uninterrupted employment (on different shows). I work in hour long dramas. My first year on staff, I earned $69,000. Currently, I make about $1.2 million/yr (including residuals). My average salary over that time has been @ $550,000/yr.
@Anonymous. Congrats on your success. It would be interesting to see how the income numbers of working feature writers stack up against working TV writers over a 10 year period. I appreciate you taking the time to comment, but I’m not sure you brought anything to the discussion. This post is by far the most viewed post I’ve ever written and I’d like it to be as helpful and accutate as possible.
Your comment only reinforces what was written—some writers can make a lot of money. It’s like QB Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints saying, “My new contract comes with a $37 million signing bonus.” That doesn’t negate that most NFL players make far less. (The minimum for rookies in 2012 is under $400,000 and I’ve read where $770,000 is the median NFL salary.) And less than 1% of high school players ever play in the NFL.
I’d love to interview you and hear of your path to success. Actually, I’m open to interviewing any successful screenwriters. Especially the old -timers who’ve seen it all. (info@scottwsmith.com)
How come writers never get big credits on movies? My guess is that they write a script then a director ‘makes it their own’ and changes it, and then orders a re-write by the original writer or others. The story could become vastly different from how it started, therefore the writer is not entitled to any credit.
I want to do something cool. A genaric statement I know, but It’s the truth. I want the stereotypical writers life, to quaff my hair back, live in a quiet, content household. I want to be able to support a family and gleam a little excitement out of what I do for a living. I’m 15, and I love writing. People say I’m good but I’m not entirelly sure, plus I live in Canada, which complicates things and confuses me even more. Here’s the thing, I’m not sure I want to work in the whole LA enviroment. I don’t need the money, as long as I can live comfortably I’m happy, but I want my work to be seen, and enjoyed by people who don’t really give a squirrel what my name is. Anyway my question is if you could start at my age what would you do? How can I prepare myself so that I can become the writer I aspire to be? Classes, websites, articles, books, tell me to f*** off. Anything helps, what would you have done when you were young to help you on your career path? Please help, if you have the time. Thanks.
Hey Jackson, Great email. Fifteen is the perfect age to jump into all of this. I’ll do a whole post on this later, but in short buy/borrow a camera, learn how to edit (Final Cut/AVID/Premiere via http://www.lynda.com), write some short scripts (1-5 minutes), and start making films & short videos and upload them to You Tube. Pick a handful of movies you like and watch them over and over until you understand why they work. Call or email anyone who works in production in your area and tell them you want to be a production assistant when you’re not in school and learn everything you can from them about production. Explore what you like to do and what you are good at skill wise. Build a list of people whose work you like and who you’d like to work with and write them a sincere letter and see where it leads. (Start with writer/director James Cameron—he’s from Canada.) Keep a record of everyone you contact. Network, network, network. Have a great attitude and be a person who people want to work with on projects. Get some like minded friends and make one short video a week. Doesn’t have to be perfect, it doesn’t even have to be good, it just has to get done. (Make it about your favorite toy when you were 8-years-old, an essay about the weather, or a scene from “Stand by Me.”) Do that everyday and by the time you’re 18 you will have made over 100 videos and I bet on a pretty solid career path. And lastly, print out on paper the Milton Glazer quote “Art is Work”—and tape it to your bedroom wall.
Hi that 15 J D, and Scott Smith, what a great blog! Even though my English is so poor, I still read every word on this page! I want to let that 15 J D know writing is difficult. Please do not think that you can always stay at your comforable home to write many good stories. You need to go out to know and understand this society and the world. You may need to work a few different jobs before you can write your first story. My husband, who knows so many things about movies like a movie dictionary, can not even finish one page writing by himself. I am a new immigrant in this country. I think most of Americans are so lucky for they can express their minds without worrying being sent to jail. I am from a country where people have to be very careful for what they write and say in public. I wrote for news paper a few years there but things were not good and there were too much worries and limits. Finally I came to America. I could not write very well in English. However, I still have the dream that one day I will write stories in English with the helps from Americans. I wish my husband could help me, but first of all I will have to train him to know his own country. He is such a family guy! Except his work, he only likes to stay home watching TV. Sports and movies are his favors. So the result is he can only help me change the wrong grammar about “in, on, of, at, etc…” in my writings. My point is if you J D really wants to write great stories, a lot of stories, you may need to know this world first. Reading is No.1. Please read as much as you can. Second, go to college to have enough education. Third, find jobs and make friends. Please do not think if you write, you will only deal with language. You need to know basic knowledge about math, science, social issues, political issues, different cultures, psychology and some skills such as how to use computers and cameras. The most important thing is “never lose yourself”. The first thing I learned was astronomy as a elementary kid. I can not really say those astronomy words in English because for now I only know them in my first language. However, when I feel lost, I can still go out at night to look at those stars. They never change. They look just like I looked at them as a kid. And they are my home in my heart. Keep your home in your heart and you can go anywhere in the world without lost. Writing sometimes is looking for the way to go home in your heart. Life is difficult, so do writing. You will know nothing is easy in this world. No matter what you do in the future, please do it in the right way and good way and please try to enjoy it, even in the dark time. If you do love someting, try to make it your career, not just your hobby. And always remember do not lose yourself and enjoy working hard for what you love!
Do you think I can still write, Scott, in English, my second language?
Sorry about any links not working. This post is over three years old, but a popular one so I’ll find some time to update it soon. Thanks for the note.
Hello! I just wanted to say I totally get what you’re saying. I am 30 (I know…) and embarking on what will hopefully be a successful screenwriting career. I’m going to school to learn the craft, incidentally moving to Van Nuys within the coming months (which was actually a separate decision unrelated to my career aspirations and more to do with my romantic ones, but nevertheless serendipitous.) and this is not a decision I’m making lightly. This is information aspiring screenwriters need to know. I am aware it can be grueling, somewhat thankless work, but I’ve been writing since I could put two words together and I am passionate about film (and, okay, I live on disability so I have at least that to fall back on while I’m in school and in future if I’m not yet selling any scripts) so I figure why not give it a go? My point is, I’m going into it knowing it’s going to be an uphill battle. I have no illusions of making millions of dollars and being a big star. I just think it would be neat to see a film I wrote the script for on the big screen (MAYBE starring Tom Hiddleston or Benedict Cumberbatch if the universe is feeling especially generous) and just be able to go, “Pssst! I wrote this movie. Cool, huh?”
Also, many people who go into screenwriting because they read this person got so many millions for their script and so did that person fail to realize more often than not if someone is getting that much money it is because they’re directing also. You mentioned M. Night Shymalan’s script for “Unbreakable” and then you have Joss Whedon’s “Avengers”. They made big money because they were also directing.
Believe me, I am terrified of failure. I’m starting late in the game as it is (but I was living in a bad situation and only recently got out of it so I’m a little behind in everything, sadly) but my heart tells me this is what I’m meant to do and your article actually encouraged me more because I know my head is in the right place, so here’s hoping. ^.^
[…] attention, car en réalité, la majorité des scénaristes ne travaillent simplement pas. La WGA notait, en 2011, que 46% des scénaristes en fonction n’avaient pas travaillé l’année […]
Hi Scott, Thank you for the insights you have offered on this open forum. I found this very encouraging. Despite the low averaging pay for screenwriters, I find it important to think continually think “Yeah, but I’m better than all other writers throughout history.” This of course is not true, but every writer is going to have a unique style that could captivate the world one day if the stars align. I am currently almost done with a six episode pilot comedy that I hope to pitch within the next couple months. I have read a few books by Richard Walter who is the head of the screenwriting program at UCLA. I would highly recommend “Screenwriting: The Art, Craft and Business of Film and Television” for anybody who enjoyed this post and would like to dive into the ins and outs of the industry a little further. It is equally encouraging as it is discouraging, but a great guide for the process ahead for aspiring screenwriters. Even though it would be amazing to see my television show produced one day, the chances are very unlikely. Mr. Walter continually reminds his readers that for every fifty scripts purchased, only a couple are actually produced. That is pretty cool in my opinion, because it translates that there is money to be made, even if fame is elusive. I will say that I have thouroughly enjoyed the last year and a half of writing, and that it is extremely rewarding to know that I have gaving something my all. It will be an interesting process trying to nail down an agent, and I look forward to being rejected many many times before any sort of success comes my way. Thanks again for all the links and maintaining this thing for so long!
Hey, Scott:
I noticed you haven’t posted in a couple of months so hopefully you’re still monitoring posts.
I’m not interesting in being a screenwriter, but I have a full-length fiction novel (suspense/thriller) I’d like to have turned into a screenplay, and I’m wondering if you could offer any advice on what to look for in a screenwriter?
There are a ton of them out there so I’m sure that finding talent isn’t going to be an issue, but the problem is what do I do with the screenplay after it’s completed? How do I market it and to whom?
Also, do you have any suggestions on finding a good agent who can get a manuscript in front of the big publishers? I wrote it seven years ago and I’ve had nothing but amazingly positive feedback on it from a lot of different people who are not all related to me (a lot from Goodreads), so although it’s not the next great American novel, it’s definitely as good or better than a lot of the stuff out there that’s being published today.
I don’t want to shamelessly self-promote on here, so if you’re interested in having a look email me at zzstake@yahoo.com and I’ll direct you to the book.
Thanks – Ken
hey ken learn how to write first
Hello Scot,
thank you so much for this interesting blog!
I started recently write my own fantasy story too, which I have in mind for last two years. At first I writing it in my own language, because in English I would be very slow.
I planning to polish my story maybe for another couple years, until I am one hundred percent sure that it will be more then good enough to show it to someone else.
First time I came up with an idea to make up my own fantasy story when I saw documentary about J.K.Rowling, that it took her 7 years until she finished the first story about Harry Potter. So since then for last two years almost every night before sleep I used to fantasize about my own fantasy story and so far I developed very strong plot with many strong characters and each one with strong big background story.
So now finally couple months ago I started writing it down.
I read your blog very carefully and now thanks to you I have much clearer picture in my head what I can expect from this script writing business. But I still put lot of hope to my story and I am gonna try even harder to polish my story to perfection.
When I was growing up, back in my country, so it was very difficult for me with my drunken violent father and only escape from reality I found in TV. It was so bad at home that time, that as a child I slowly developed eating disorder (and I am a guy!!!) …it graduated very slowly and then when I reached 19 I managed to have a “skeleton near to death” look…but during my childhood thanks to TV and my own fantasy world I managed to go through everything …and now as an adult I have a very hard low paid job in a foreign country, but finally very healthy and happy as never before :), and I really think that I still have that big rich fantasy world from my childhood which always helped me go through the hard times…and I am sure this could help me with my writing…..but my only worry is, that even after I finish my story and I manage to translate it to English so it never will be good enough for English people to read it, because I don’t have right English writing skills…even for English born people it is difficult to wright as writers do their stories, so for me it gonna be even more difficult to achieve in the future that kind of level of writing skills in English, even though soon I am gonna do script writing course….so I worry a lot, that in the future when I show my story to someone English so they won’t care how good is my story, because they only gonna see, that it’s not written in a professional way in English language.
I really hope that in the future when I finish polishing and writing my fantasy story, that I manage to sell it for a good money so I can buy myself a small flat in Britain, then I could rent it out and I won’t have to work so hard in a low paid jobs anymore.
So I wonder, can my English writing skills block my chances to sell my story, even though I will polish the story to perfection?
Thank you so much again for your blog 🙂
Take care