The Four Most Popular Ways New Screenwriters Make a Sale.
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So, you’ve finally finished a script you’re proud of. Congrats. But are you now trying to figure out how to sell this script? In this post, we’re going to take a look at the very best four options to help you do just that.
We’re not saying that selling scripts is “easy.” There are no guarantees attached to any of the steps in this post. But if you apply yourself rigorously to each of them and don’t give up, selling a movie script should become that much easier.
Option 1: Get a manager, not an agent.
Agents have become something of an enigma because of the Catch-22 situation that your script won’t be read unless you have an agent, but you can’t get an agent until you sell a screenplay.
Getting an agent has become a kind of holy grail among aspiring screenwriters. But this approach is all wrong. In reality, agents only exist so that a deal can be made and between you, the screenwriter, and a producer, production company, or studio.
An agent’s job is to make deals happen. Most of the time, this is only going to happen when a screenplay is seen as commercially strong and marketable. Since screenplay agents only get 10 percent of whatever deals they put in place, they will only make any money if the deal is big enough.
Screenwriting agents only make enough money to have a career on mid to high-level deals. Doing a deal on a script sale of $100,000 is lucrative as long as they do a lot of them. Most agents will only represent screenplays and writers if they find a script they can quickly sell.
Stop chasing agents. Start chasing managers.
Screenwriting managers, however, are a different entity altogether. The good ones will help you become a better writer. They’ll help develop your scripts, offer feedback, work with you, build your network, and name drop you around town, etc.
Option 2: Seek out producers and execs.
Another smart option when it comes to selling scripts is to find a producer. If you can get your script into the hands of one, they may want to get involved with raising money.
A development executive (also called creative executive) will often be approached by a producer with a script, and it is then their job to persuade the studio to back it. However, because they work so closely with screenplays and help develop them, they’re well worth targeting also.
How to contact producers and execs
Where do you find producers and execs who you may be able to sell your script? There was a time when searching for them used to be done using hard copies of the Hollywood Representation Directory and Hollywood Creative Directory. This has been rendered obsolete by the internet.
The best way to find people is by signing up to IMDb Pro. It costs $20 a month (or $150 a year.) But you do get a free trial to test it out. Once you have subscribed, you’ll have access to the contact details of all of the production companies, studios, and execs in Hollywood.
The idea then is to seek out those who work on similar projects to your own, to whom you may be able to sell your script. Keep in mind what genres best describe your script and target like-minded people.
If you have a tremendous music-based drama screenplay, for example, check out who financed and developed Sing Street and Whiplash and focus your queries on them.
Option 3: Selling scripts through networking.
If you want to learn how to sell a screenplay, you also need to learn how to network. It’s just a part of the business that every aspiring screenwriter needs to do, no matter how unappealing it may seem at first.
While a screenwriting manager may be able to open doors for you, you’re also going to have to create your own opportunities. This means getting out there and meeting people.
Start by creating a list of everyone you know who’s somehow connected to the industry. Or, at best, someone you know who knows someone connected to someone in the industry. Option 4: Use online marketplaces
As well as going the more traditional route when it comes to selling your screenplay, the websites below can help you sell scripts online.
The Blacklist.
If you want to know how to sell your screenplay online, the Blacklist is as good a place as any to start. The site began as a survey in 2005 when Franklin Leonard surveyed around 100 hundred film industry development execs about their favorite scripts from that year that had not been made.
Now screenwriters are able (for a fee) to upload their scripts to their database and monitor the volume of interest it receives from industry executives. As we said, a great starting point in figuring out how to sell a screenplay online. Check out the Blacklist >>
Wo Accelerator
A newer player, WoAccelerator, is a curated, invite-only marketplace for producers and screenwriters. The major difference between this platform and others is that it operates as a writer studio and accelerator, meaning it’s free for screenwriters — however they accept less than 1% of applicants to the program.
The screenwriters that do get accepted into the program are pretty much guaranteed that their script will be listed on the marketplace. The program is free for screenwriters, which is an added bonus.
If you just want to submit your script to the marketplace without going through the program, there is another option.
Take a Course
You can take one of the offered “option ready” script courses. These are taught by working screenwriters who have either option, sold, or have films currently in production, so you know you are not just getting theory only.
Just Submit.
When you submit your script for free to the marketplace, your script is given a raw internal score. If your screenplay scores in the 90th — 95th percentile of scripts submitted, it will be listed on the marketplace and seen by producers.
IMDb Pro.
Signing up to this site has become an industry-standard procedure for any writer wanting to know how to sell a screenplay.
It costs $20 a month (or $150 a year) to do so, and then you’ll have full access to a vast database of managers, producers, execs, and actors who you may be able to interest with a query letter or phone call in your script. Check out IMDb Pro >>
InkTip
Over 200 films have been made by producers from scripts and writers found on InkTip. They average 30 films produced each year, in addition to helping countless writers find representation or options on their script.
They also work with a mix of independent producers and larger companies, including ABC, HBO Films, ICM, and 20th Century Fox. Check out InkTip >>
As you probably know, no one has a definitive answer on how to sell a screenplay. Every professional writer has a different angle on selling scripts and a different story of how they broke in. But the options in this post will hopefully set you off in the right direction.
