Home Columns

Four Things to do After You Type Fade Out
by Lenore Wright

Your script may be finished, but your work as a screenwriter is far from over. Now you must devise a marketing strategy for your script. Even if you have an agent or manager working with you, as an unproduced writer you must act as your own promoter.

Marketing a spec script is an awesome endeavor -- even for established screenwriters. Here are four doable tasks to launch your marketing adventure. The order in which you do these things is not as important as the fact you make a start.

1. Protect Your Script.

Whether you are a Writers Guild member or not, register your script with Guild when you finish it. The Guild makes it easy for you, you can now do it ONLINE => http://www.wga.org (Click on Script Registration in the left TOC.)

You established your copyright when you put your story on paper, but registering it with the Guild establishes the date of creation. Down the road, if someone questions your claim to creation, the Guild and their legal staff will back you up -- even if you're not a member.

If you change the script significantly later on, you can reregister it. Establishing the date of creation for your original draft of the script is more important that registering each creative tweak you do later on.

2. Target Script Contests that Feature Feedback.

I'm a great advocate of script contests as a legitimate way for unproduced writers to make inroads toward a professional screenwriting career. If you win or place highly in a respected competition, you gain lots more than prize money or free software packages. Many contests guarantee meetings with film professionals, submissions to established agents, public script readings or feedback from contest judges and other film professionals. Some contests even offer a production opportunity for your script.

Focus on contests that feature individual feedback on your script. This site => http://www.moviebytes.com offers the best contest list on the Web. They publish a separate list of contests that offer feedback. While checking out the feedback contests, read the Contest Report Cards from other writers who have entered the same competitions you are considering.

For a tutorial on researching and evaluating script contests => http://www.breakingin.net/choosey.htm.

3. Create a Bulletproof Logline for Your Script.

A logline is a short teaser that introduces your script to agents, producers and readers. Creating an irresistible logline is one of your jobs as the screenwriter. If you can't promote your movie in a sentence or two or three, marketing your script will be very difficult. Loglines help sell movies. That's how producers and agents find new scripts. Here's a typical conversation agents and producers have every day:

AGENT: I just read a great script --
PRODUCER: What was it about?
AGENT: Good question.

Your logline must answer this vital question succinctly and winningly. For a mini-tutorial on writing dynamic loglines => Copyright © 2002 Lenore Wright

Kick start your imagination, ignite your creativity, and begin your journey towards becoming an outstanding writer. Grab a copy of WEEKLY WRITES: 52 Weeks of Writing Bliss! from Amazon.com and receive 2 free e-books to encourage and nurture the writer in you. You'll also receive Write Memories, a journaling workbook available for free only to WEEKLY WRITES book owners. And finally, as a WEEKLY WRITES book owner, you'll have free access to e-mail courses such as JOYFUL WRITES: Celebrate Your Life through Writing For excerpts, reviews and what you need to do to receive the 2 free e-books, Write Memories and sign up for free e-mail courses, just head on to the Weekly Writes Book Official Site. (Clicking on the link will open a new window.)