What’s the difference between an ‘optioned’ script and a ‘bought’ script?

I am a screenwriting student and have been reading several books on making it as a screenwriter. One concept I keep coming across is the difference between “optioning” a screenplay and simply buying the life rights. The latter sounds like there would be some money involved, whereas optioning just gives you first dibs on the script, right?

What’s optioning?

So what’s the deal?

When screenwriters option their screenplays, they give the rights of their screenplays to a producer for a specific time. The producer can revise the script as many times as mentioned in the option. There are advantages of optioning if you know how to use optioning in your career correctly.

And if a screenwriter options the script, how do they make any money off of it in the meantime?

Well, let me chime in here to see if I can help clarify. An option agreement simply gives the purchaser the option to buy the script. A purchase agreement transfers the rights and title of the writing from the seller to the purchaser. When a screenwriter options the script, they sell their professional services as a screenwriter for a given period in exchange for money upfront (most screenwriters get paid anywhere from $1 to $500 per option — but it depends on the project).

On the other hand, screenwriters who option their screenplays to studios and production companies are generally not paid anything upfront — they’re giving the script away for free and hoping that a studio or production company will eventually buy it. However, on WoAccelerator and Blacklist, you get money and then give the script.

What’s Selling then?

A screenwriter will typically get more money upfront if they are selling their screenplays “in perpetuity” — that means that the screenwriter will continue to receive payments for as long as the movie is being made and the screenwriter has their name attached to it.

So as you can see, there’s a bit of a difference between optioning and selling screenplays. Optioning generally means that the screenwriter is giving away their professional services in exchange for some up-front money, whereas selling screenplays generally means that the screenwriter is giving away their scripts in exchange for a percentage of the production budget. However, both optioning and selling screenplays can lead to additional money down the line if and when the screenwriter’s script gets bought by a well-known producer.

So there you have it! If you want to learn more about screenwriting, keep visiting, the literature here gets updated regularly to provide answers to each of your questions.

Happy screenwriting!