Rather than spending all your energy trying to find an agent who you think can “launch your career,” focus on getting a literary manager instead. If you want to break into Hollywood, then seeking out screenwriting agents may be a necessary step in doing so.
Most managers will even help you get an agent-but only, of course, if they think the agent will know how to sell your screenplay. They’ll help develop your scripts, offer feedback, work with you, build your network, name drop you around town, etc. They will-the good ones, that is-help you become a better writer. Screenwriting managers, however, are a different entity altogether. Stop chasing agents, start chasing managers. And most will only represent screenplays and writers if they find a script they can easily sell. Doing a deal on a script sale of $100,000 is lucrative as long as they do a lot of them.
Screenwriting agents only make enough money to have a career on mid to high level deals. And 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. But this approach is all wrong. In reality, agents only exist so that a deal can be made and processed between you the screenwriter, and a producer, production company or studio.Īn agent’s job is to make deals happen. How to sell a screenplay strategy #1: Try to get a manager not an agent.Īgents 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.Īnd somehow getting an agent has become a kind of holy grail among aspiring screenwriters.
So without further ado, here are the six best options regarding how to sell a movie script that you should know about. Once you have a portfolio together that’s received a glowing review from a friend in the industry, or a “Recommend” grade from a script coverage service, the real work when of selling scripts begins… You can read more about how to get together a portfolio in our post on How to Become a Screenwriter: A Pro’s Guide to Unlocking Your Career. Complete with synopsis and query letters, ready to go. Once you know how, get together a portfolio including at least two stellar screenplays. To get the maximum benefit out of this post, remember that you should first be writing screenplays that sell. The ONE THING you need before learning how to sell a script in Hollywood. But if you apply yourself rigorously to each of them (for as long as it takes) selling a movie script should become that much easier. We’re not saying that selling scripts is “easy.” There are no guarantees attached to any of the steps in this post. But are you now trying to figure out how to sell a screenplay? In this post, we’re going to take a look at the very best six options to help you do just that. So, you’ve finally finished a script you’re proud of. 186 comments Want to know how to sell a screenplay in today’s tough market?.