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Do you have a great script that is waiting to be discovered? If you have the perfect idea for the next big movie, start writing! It’s a myth that Hollywood is impossible to break into. What gets one query letter noticed from a hundred is not that it was outrageous, but that it followed the rules. What gets one script bought is not who you know, but that you wrote it well. Learn what agents, managers, and development executives really want to see, and you can be on your way to the career you have always wanted.
Use the proper channels. Research agents, managers, and production companies before you ever send a query. Many do not accept unsolicited mail or calls of any kind, and will never even read your fantastic idea. Others are looking for new writers, and want your ideas. Some, like Zide Perry Entertainment, even take loglines over the Internet. Check out their website at InZide.com for invaluable links and tips on breaking in to writing.
Be prepared. Only established writers can expect to be able to sell an idea with a verbal pitch or logline. Have your best writing ready in a completed, copyrighted script before you request a meeting or send a query. Take whatever local classes and seminars are available to you. Top screenwriting professionals travel all over the world to teach at conferences, so you may not even have to leave your city to get top notch coaching. Script consultants are also available who can help you get your script into selling condition. Even if you cannot find a consultant in your area, they will usually work by mail, e-mail, and phone. Just be sure to get their credentials and references so that you know you are working with a seasoned professional.
Have a great logline and outline ready. A logline is a one or two sentence description of your story designed to grab the attention of the reader. One of the biggest mistakes in a logline or outline is to be too vague or leave out details for the sake of surprises. Industry executives read fifteen to forty scripts a week and receive several hundred each month. They need all of the information about your story that could make it attractive to them. If someone responds well to your logline and asks for more information without a script, send an outline. A story outline is not standard outline format, but a one to two page story synopsis that includes all of the highlights, major twists and turns, and conclusion.
Think blockbuster. When you are first starting out, the best way to get Hollywood’s attention with your story is to tell a tale that will sell. Think about the genre you are writing in, and then write it with the biggest stars available in mind. Think formula. The people you are writing to want to know that you know the rules of storytelling. They do not want to stifle your creativity, but screenwriting is a form, like a sonnet or a novel. Learn the form, and express your creativity through your writing style. Have fresh dialog and unforgettable moments that a producer will want to see up on the screen, but do not try to turn the romantic comedy on its head.
Use your resources. Read screenwriting books. Read the industry trades Variety and Hollywood Reporter so that you know who is buying what. Find out from every person you know whom he or she knows who works in filmmaking. If you can get one reference who will recommend that someone read your script, you can get into hundreds of doors that would otherwise have been closed to you. Remember this: producers, agents, and managers alike need you to survive. They are more than eager to find great writers. It is up to you to show them that you know the rules and that you can write. Write a great script and Hollywood will beat a path to your door.
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