How to Make Money Scriptwriting

by Julian Friedmann

Many books deal with how to write better scripts, but this is the only one to tackle the business side of being a professional writer.Written by a leading literary agent, this is an indispensable insider's guide to the development process - from the original idea right through to production - it provides the reader with an easy-to-read handbook

• Identifying what audiences want and understanding their emotional needs
• Developing successful ideas for film and television drama
• Writing more effective treatments and step outlines
• Improving one's ability to pitch ideas and scripts
• Surviving 'development hell'
• Handling meetings to get what you want out of them
• Negotiating and understanding contracts
• Protecting ideas, treatments and scripts
• Establishing copyright for writers

Includes 'An A-Z of law and contracts and deal memos' and 'The Writers' Guild Minimum Terms Agreement'.

Genres: Writing

219 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 1995

Reviews

[N · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has the most ridiculously untrue tag line: "A guerrilla guide for selling to producers, script editors and agents in the film and TV industry." Friedmann advocates sending manuscripts to agents, taking screenwriting courses, reading the trade papers, sending out spec scripts to TV execs. Ummm. Isn't that the conventional way to break into the industry? There's nothing remotely "guerrilla" about this book. It's not even a guide, really. Its style more closely recalls a long, slightly rambling lecture from a dude who is occasionally insightful but more often just boring.

In short: it's just another book about how to be a screenwriter -- and, once you've honed your craft and knocked down doors in the industry, you might be able to make some money at it. That much is true, I suppose.