Can you please submit my script to the producers in your network?&#8221; I get that question a lot. I used to reply a bit snarkily, I must admit. &#8220;Can you please get me entered into the Olympic 400 meter relay or get me Superbowl tickets?&#8221; Yeah, it&#8217;s kinda like that with some screenwriters.
So&#8230; I developed a viable plan for these people, a plan that would allow them to submit their work to the producers they are looking to reach. Let me share that plan with you, if I may.
Of course, you have to make sure your screenplay is the best it can be before submitting it to producers. There are a number of ways to do so, but let me suggest a process that might work for you.
I&#8217;m assuming you&#8217;ve not only written your script, but you&#8217;ve written and rewritten it ad nauseam, polishing it to the best quality you can achieve. If you&#8217;re not sure, give it another polish. Producers are harsh and looking for a reason to toss your screenplay into the PASS PILE.
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Screenwriting Contests
Once you&#8217;ve done your best to make your script the best it can be, I would like you to consider <a href="https://www.networkisa.org/contest" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">screenwriting competitions</a>. Why? Why not just submit your screenplay to the industry, since you&#8217;ve made it so good with all that writing and rewriting? Because chances are that your best is still not good enough. Yet. To find out whether your best IS good enough, you should submit your script to five good screenwriting competitions; competitions that also offer feedback. Better yet, get professional-grade feedback before you submit to a contest.
&#8220;But that costs money!&#8221;
I&#8217;m taking a few deep breaths here before responding. Okay, I think my blood pressure is low enough now. Yes, it costs money. And? What&#8217;s your point? How much would it cost you to take four years of college creative writing courses? Right. A lot more than it will cost you to submit your scripts to these competitions. How much money did you spend last month eating at restaurants? Buying junk food? On your cable TV bill? On new clothing? Right. Well, your willingness to spend money on your writing is an indication of how much you care about &#8220;making it&#8221; as a screenwriter. Only you can decide just how much you do care about that. Think of it as an investment in your screenwriting career.
Look&#8230; submit a sub-par script to the industry and they&#8217;ll remember it AND you. Forever. And not in a good way. I used to be a development exec and I know that they track every submission made to them. Submit a weak script and you will thereafter be known as a weak screenwriter and chances are that they will not accept any further submissions from you.
Got it? Good. Because your career as a screenwriter may depend on your getting it.
&#8220;THEN what do I do?&#8221;
You start your next screenplay while you wait.
Now, let&#8217;s skip ahead to the next obvious question: &#8220;How do I know when to submit a script to the industry, instead of to all these lame contests?&#8221; When your script consistently makes at LEAST the semi-finals of these lame screenwriting contests. Preferably the finals. Also, no matter how your script does in those competitions, especially if it does poorly, take a look at the feedback you get. Your script&#8217;s placement and the feedback you get will tell you where you are in your career. In other words, these two things will tell you how far you are from being able to safely submit your script to the industry. How much work you put into applying that feedback and learning from it, will tell you, again, just how much you care about your writing career. Some feedback is a matter of the reader&#8217;s taste. Take it or leave it. Take notice of the notes that point out concerns with clarity, logic, structure, character interactions and overall theme. Do you have something significant to say? Why are you the best person to say it?
Okay. So finally, maybe immediately and maybe after a few more years of work, you have a script that is consistently ringing the bell, placing in and winning these big competitions. Now what? Now you go online to find production companies that produce YOUR kind of films. Films that are like your screenplay in terms of genre and/or feel. Some websites will include the producers&#8217; email addresses and phone numbers, as well as the kinds of films they produce.
Now you have a (hopefully) worthwhile screenplay, and you have the contact info of the people best suited to judge your script&#8217;s commercial viability, and best situated to purchase and produce it. Now what?
<img class="wp-image-25207 alignright" src="https://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/yannik-mika-GjFbKfI874o-unsplash-1024x680.jpg" alt="" width="437" height="290" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/yannik-mika-GjFbKfI874o-unsplash-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/yannik-mika-GjFbKfI874o-unsplash-150x100.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/yannik-mika-GjFbKfI874o-unsplash-250x166.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/yannik-mika-GjFbKfI874o-unsplash-768x510.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 437px) 100vw, 437px" />
Query Letter
You need a logline and a pitch letter. Oh &#8212; and a synopsis.
What&#8217;s a logline? A one- or two-sentence description of your script, a description so exciting that it makes producers wet themselves in anticipation of reading your masterpiece. You can Google &#8220;how to write a great logline.&#8221;
What&#8217;s a synopsis? It&#8217;s a ONE-page description of your story. Again, Google &#8220;great screenplay synopses.&#8221;
A pitch letter is basically this (although I suggest you also Google &#8220;screenplay pitch letter&#8221; for good examples): &#8220;Dear &#8211;: Based on your previous film productions, I would like to pitch my screenplay &#8220;Brilliant Screenplay&#8221; to you. What is the best way of doing so? Thank you for your time and attention.&#8221;
If the producer requests your logline, synopsis and/or screenplay, send it to them with a very nice &#8220;thank you&#8221; note.
Now here&#8217;s the important part: if, as is usually the case, the producer rejects your script, write them back and thank them GENUINELY for taking time out of their busy day to read your material. You may be submitting to these people again. Don&#8217;t argue with them. Don&#8217;t be defensive. Or arrogant. Don&#8217;t demean them. Don&#8217;t be an a##hole. Accept that they have the right (and the experience) to like or not like your script, and that chances are they&#8217;re right. When I was a development exec, I covered more than 5,000 scripts. I knew story. I knew what worked and what didn&#8217;t. So do most development people. They&#8217;re reading your script for free and they don&#8217;t even KNOW you. They&#8217;re spending two to three HOURS of their day to read your work for FREE in the hopes they will find a gem. Keep that in mind.
How long should you wait before following up on your submission? Ask the producer upfront. When you submit your script, ask them politely how long you should wait before following up with them. Then wait that long and check up &#8212; politely. Don&#8217;t bug them; don&#8217;t disrespect them. They have your career in their hands. It might take up to six months or longer.
Oh, and one more thing &#8212; while waiting for the producer(s) to get back to you, start your next screenplay, and make it even better than the one the producer&#8217;s considering. If they pass on your screenplay but like your writing voice they may ask you if you have anything else. Your answer had better not be &#8220;nothing.&#8221;
Yes, this is perhaps a bit simplistic and barebones, but if you use this process (or hopefully an even better one that you find or create) you will shortcut the process of getting your script produced. But be aware: no matter what, the odds of getting your script produced are low. Very, very low. And even if you get a script produced, the chances of making significant money or fame from it: nearly as low as getting it sold. My last produced film made me $3,000. That same year I made nearly a quarter of a million dollars from doing writing assignments. That&#8217;s about par for the course, I&#8217;m afraid. It&#8217;s damnably hard to get spec scripts produced, and damnably hard to make money from them. That&#8217;s the reality of the film industry. Don&#8217;t let it discourage you, but also don&#8217;t ignore that reality. You may end up sacrificing a lot in your attempt to &#8220;make it&#8221; in the film industry. Knowing the odds of success will help you make the right decision about whether to pursue or abandon your quest. My sincere best wishes to you all in that endeavor.

Can You Please Submit My Screenplay To The Producers In Your Network?

by Rob Tobin
Screenwriting is both an art and a craft. By that, I mean that it is something you have to do from the heart (and soul) and from the mind (and reason). It requires passion, but also discipline and knowledge. So what? Well&#8230; so if you want to be most effective as a screenwriter (both commercially and artistically), it might be worth your while to study your craft before you practice your art.
One of the major screenwriting elements that affects both the craft and art of your screenwriting, is the complementary duality of objective and subjective storylines.
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<h3>Objective Storyline</h3>
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The objective storyline can be described as the physical storyline. The hero does this, and then this, and then that. The opponent reacts this way, and then that way, and then that way. This scene occurs, this action occurs, this event occurs. A description of how you get up in the morning, have a shower, shave, get dressed and ready for work can be thought of as an objective storyline. We don&#8217;t really care that much about you, don&#8217;t know much about you, we&#8217;re just&#8230; observing the actions you take on the outer of objective level; the level of objects rather than subjects.
Now that doesn&#8217;t mean that the objective storyline has no story, or that you can&#8217;t write a script that has only the objective storyline. Raiders of the Lost Ark is a great example of a script that is told almost exclusively on the objective level. It has a great story, great humor, dialogue and (most importantly) great action. Bond movies are another great example; stories that take place on the outer level, not necessarily on the personal level. These movies work because the action is so brilliantly done that it makes it unnecessary to have a subjective storyline.
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<div id="attachment_24823" style="width: 695px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-24823" class=" wp-image-24823" src="https://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/iu-9-1024x683.jpeg" alt="Creative Screenwriting Magazine" width="685" height="457" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/iu-9-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/iu-9-150x100.jpeg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/iu-9-250x167.jpeg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/iu-9-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/iu-9.jpeg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 685px) 100vw, 685px" />Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in Raiders Of The Lost Ark</div>
A good way to identify the objective storyline is to look at a film that has both an objective and subjective storyline. Let&#8217;s take an Oscar-winning film, an oldie but goldie: Rocky. The objective storyline is simply this: will Rocky win the championship? Everything that goes into answering that question is on the objective level. Will Rocky train hard enough, learn enough from his coach, punch hard enough and often enough to win the fight?
The objective storyline consists of the ACTIONS Rocky takes; his growth as a FIGHTER.
Could you have told Rocky with ONLY an objective storyline? Absolutely. And I&#8217;m sure it would still have been a fascinating film, with great fight sequences, good dialogue, great objective tension, good physical jeopardy, and interesting characters. I posit that it was a far better film for also having a strong subjective storyline, but then, again, Raiders was also a great film and it occurred almost exclusively on the objective level.
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<h3>Subjective Storyline</h3>
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Okay, so let&#8217;s look at the subjective storyline. What was the subjective storyline in Rocky? It was the story of PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION. The story of Rocky&#8217;s growth as a PERSON as opposed to his growth as a fighter. So, the questions on this level might be &#8220;Will Rocky overcome his insecurity and become a better person, find love and forge a successful romantic relationship and find happiness?&#8221;
Here are a few interesting things about the objective vs. subjective storyline issue. First, it is very difficult to write a screenplay with only a subjective storyline. I&#8217;m sure it can be done by a screenwriter who is brilliant enough. It HAS in fact been done, but is usually seen in art house films, stream of consciousness stories, and sketches, as opposed to actual stories. Again, I&#8217;m sure a truly brilliant writer can write an artistically and commercially successful film using only a subjective storyline.
Here is how I see it: Imagine a hero, sitting on a rock, staring out to sea on an overcast day. She is experiencing an existential personal conflict, which she internalizes, fighting that conflict within herself rather than in the outside world, by herself rather than with or against others.
What do we see, on the screen? A hero, sitting on a rock, staring out to sea on an overcast day.
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<div id="attachment_24824" style="width: 629px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-24824" class="wp-image-24824" src="https://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/iu-2-4-1024x576.jpeg" alt="Creative Screenwriting Magazine" width="619" height="348" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/iu-2-4-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/iu-2-4-150x84.jpeg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/iu-2-4-250x141.jpeg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/iu-2-4-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/iu-2-4.jpeg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 619px) 100vw, 619px" />Adrian Pennino (Talia Shire) and Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone)</div>
Now, of course, you can cheat by doing flashbacks and flash-forwards, and bringing characters into the fray in other ways, without actually moving the hero from the rock or giving her a single word or action to perform. But that is just another way of adding an objective storyline, proving my point that it is extremely difficult to write a script that has only a subjective storyline.
Another thing about subjective and objective storylines: they work better together, supporting each other, magnifying each other, enriching each other.
So, a man has an addiction of some sort. He meets a lover who rejects him because of his addiction. He uses that as a motivation to overcome his addiction. He goes into rehab, takes anti-addiction drugs, and finally overcomes his addiction, allowing him to win his lover back. These are the physical actions he takes in order to accomplish his goal.
Okay. This is an objective story that might work if your actions are interesting enough. But let&#8217;s say that I&#8217;m right and it would help the story to add a subjective storyline. So, let&#8217;s start with the hero&#8217;s external flaw: his addiction. Now the objective storyline deals with what the hero has to do to overcome his physical addiction. The subjective storyline will deal with what he has to do in order to overcome the underlying CAUSES of his addiction, the INTERNAL flaw. It will deal with what he has to do to overcome that internal flaw, not just the addiction that is really only an external manifestation of the hero&#8217;s REAL flaw.
So let&#8217;s say the hero had a traumatic experience in his past. It could be something he experienced as a child – abuse, perhaps, or maybe the loss of a parent or sibling. It could be more recent: he was driving a car, lost control, and killed someone. In despair and guilt, he turned to drugs to dull the pain.
The subjective storyline will follow the hero as he confronts his guilt and despair and finds a way, with the passive or active help of the ally and with the opposition of the opponent, to overcome that guilt and despair and to use that newfound inner strength to overcome his addiction on the objective storyline. Just as Rocky used his subjective storyline to overcome his insecurities in order to find the courage and conviction to go the distance against Apollo Creed. In fact, it is often true that the hero cannot succeed on the objective level UNTIL she or he succeeds on the subjective level.
The subjective vs. objective storyline issue is just one example of how it can help your writing to understand the principles, elements, and techniques of storytelling. That does NOT mean you have to make use or all or even ANY of these techniques or principles.
Consider storytelling to be somewhat like housebuilding. You can build a geodesic dome that essentially has no roof or walls, and no internal supports or walls. It takes the principles of conventional housebuilding and throws them out the window.
Or consider Picasso&#8217;s work. He flouts a lot of artistic conventions. But consider this as well: knowing how to build a conventional house can only help you in your desire to transcend the conventional, even if only to help you know WHAT you&#8217;re transcending, so that you can better guess what the consequences and results will be, and to be able to duplicate it.
One last point in this regard: Picasso&#8217;s father, Jose Ruiz y Blasco, was a painter and an art teacher. He specialized in still-lifes, landscapes, and images of doves and pigeons. As an artist, Picasso was as different from his father as you can get, but here&#8217;s the really interesting thing: Blasco taught his son Pablo everything there was to know about conventional artistic techniques. I believe that it was BECAUSE Picasso knew the conventions that he knew how to break them in the most efficient way; he could guess what the results would be of breaking those rules, and how to anticipate, and deal with the consequences of his artistic iconoclasm so that it looked intentional and brilliant rather than accidental and incompetent.
Learn your craft. If you&#8217;re like me, you&#8217;ll use that knowledge to inform and Perform your art. If you&#8217;re far more talented than I am, you&#8217;ll use that knowledge to transcend the conventional. Either way, you can use knowledge of your craft to create a commercially and artistically successful career and to channel your passion in an effective way.

Can You Please Submit My Screenplay To The Producers In Your...

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