Screenwriting : Selling a Horror Script - and Others. by Lauran Childs

What's a decent price? I know one horror company paying $1500 (buyout).

Have you tried pitching to execs/producers here on Stage32? There appear to be quite a few looking for great horror stories. Here is the link if you are interested:

https://www.stage32.com/scriptservices/pitch-sessions

Best fortunes in your creative endeavors, Lauran!

Keep in mind that people buying screenplays aren’t really buying the story as much as they’re buying the storyteller. How would you describe the ways in which, as a collaborator and craftsperson, you are worth the price you’re asking?

Thank you for your replies. Dan - I'm thinking WGA minimum to start with. Bill - at $35 a time? Be serious. Stephen - I could describe my talents in glowing terms, but when querying that's not what people are asking for, is it? It's hard enough to get anyone to look at a logline never mind script, so I keep information I send to a minimum.

Best wishes in your quest Lauran. The majority of the folk you'll encounter on open public forums are basically amature/wannabe/dreamers and talkers - hobbyests. But there are a few working members scattered throughout - most are involved with their own projects There are pay to play 'pitch fests' that may (often not) be worthwhile here on S32. Since your drive seems to be selling your script in the professional film business world; then the professional world is where you ought to concentrate your efforts. Might I suggest that you run your scripts through a few of the very top tier festivals/contests; let a few reputable 'script doctors' give you some feedback; perhaps engage a Manager. It's a long hard trail for sure but it's your career - is it worth the time, effort and money to you?

Thanks for your reply Doug. I've invested a huge amount into my writing already and I feel it's definitely time I started getting paid what I'm worth. And I can really write. The festivals mostly look like scams to me - like the pitch fests, and I don't have the time or inclination for either. I don't see the point of a script doctor - my scripts are ready to be filmed. Yes I think a manager is a good idea, but just like agents and producers, they seem pretty much impossible to get through to. Almost everyone who I've approached say they don't accept submissions unless I know somebody. I don't. I'm really fed up sending out enquiries and getting zilch back. Lastly yes, mostly people here don't seem too serious. Best.

Lauran,

That's pretty sad how you feel about most people here. Every writer here that I have personally spoken with and communicated with via email - over 100 - are pretty serious about their endeavors. And they have all been frustrated at points, too. And even the working professionals in other areas that I interact with here - directors, editors, actors, composers, producers, cinematographers - had struggle points, too.

And please don't fall into that trap and think that festivals and pitching seems "scammy" to you. All you have to do is look at the "Success Stories" pages and you will see how many writers got their first big breaks.

I can understand that you may be disappointed in how difficult it is to sell a script. It's not one of the easiest endeavors in the world to succeed at. I hope you will kinda regroup, and will reconsider pitching (and reputable contests). This is an endeavor where you are competing against brilliant professionals - the best of the best of the best - and there are thousands of them in just the WGA ranks. Like it or not, there are only a few ways to get decision-makers to notice unknown writers who have little or no industry relationships, and pitching and winning/placing in reputable contests are pretty much the best ways for that type of writer to get there.

And just to add an additional insight - at one of my first pitch sessions, I noticed the sign-in sheet on the exec's table, saw how many names were on the list, and said "wow...I have a lot of competition here today." And he replied, "that's not your competition - the 20 scripts on my desk from pros are your competition."

Best fortunes to you in your creative endeavors, Lauran!

MiLa Media is a UK based production company looking for low budget horror. They have an open submission policy and will review your script in about 8 weeks. Here is your link.

https://www.mila-media.com/faq

Thanks Bill. Well, generally I don't agree with you. In my mind the 'success stories' that I've read here are generally about people who have been somewhat successful in getting attention. So, given what you'd said, I went back to that section and went looking for anything that looked remotely 'successful' to me. After a while I saw someone claimed they had been 'employed' for a movie. For no pay. That's not employment. Then I saw a woman whose movie had premiered at Cannes. Great. But there was still no suggestion to me that she'd actually got paid. That's the problem with 'success stories' here. Generally they appear to have no correlation with getting paid. You're suggesting I 'regroup' and sign up to get expoited in festivals and pitch fests. No. I am a writer and artist and have had a lifetime of people trying to get me to work for them for free. Plus I'm a woman too - so that means even more free work is expected. Just look at any country's GNP. With all due respect Bill, I think it would be way more appropriate for YOU to regroup.

Bill 2 - Another writer on here recently said it well - Why sign up for a pitch fest? These people - those being pitched to - are already, best case scenario, going to be taking an cut of your money? Why give them extra? Are they really doing so bad they have to scalp ambitious writers? I was shocked on here recently when In was approached by what appeared to be a very successful entertainment lawyer and producer. That was for a nano-second. He wanted my phone number so one of his staff could pitch me for the services he could sell me. No offer of help with getting my movies produced. Not the only waste-of-time person in here, like the person who in the jobs section who offers a PAID job of writing a script. When it gets down to the crunch they offer $900 to $1000 for 3 months work. Seriously.

I' m sure I'm not the only person in here who is tired of having their time wasted.

MiLa - great to hear from you, Thank you for replying. I really like the impression I got of your movies. Particularly given comments above, can you offer some idea of what you pay for scripts? Transparency in this business would be so useful.

Lauran,

I'm sorry you feel that way, but are you sure you looked in the "Success Stories" section here? I just looked at it, and the first person is developing a show with a top producer. The second person got contracted to write a script. The third person got signed by a top manager and a top agent. I stopped there.

Some writers like the one you mentioned who are down on pitching/contests/coverage have some real "sour-grape" attitudes towards this business. I'm not saying that's you, Lauran, but some surely do. While getting a top agent and manager might not include up-front pay....dang....that writer just really scored, and has just ascended another step up the ladder. Some top agent and some top manager just felt that "I believe in this person." Next to getting paid for writing....dang....that's as good as it gets.

And like I said earlier, if anyone here thinks they are really a great writer, and puts themselves "out there" with their really great stuff...we're competing with the pros: the-best-of-the-best-of-the-best. There are a lot of great writers "out there". And even if you're a great writer with a great story, and think it's marketable, you need to have the right story at the right time in front of the right person at the right time.

I've been it an "almost sold" situation many times. I have been contracted to write a script that has been "almost greenlighted" many times. I'm ultimately always competing against someone whose story beat mine because their story was more right at that time for that decision-maker than my story was. It sucks, it's discouraging, and it could make a lot of people eventually give up. It does make a lot of people eventually give up, actually. Oh well....that's a few or a dozen or a hundred or a thousand less writers in the competition, right? And I don't say that in a mean-spirited way, but in a realistic way.

So I'm sorry to read your comments, and hope that you weren't looking at the right "Success Story" section, and I wish you the best with your creative endeavors, Lauran.

I must agree with you Bill. In the nut shell, You can't have an attitude in this business. Time, patience

and perserverance is the name of the game. You must take this like a hobby and not a job. There are

thousands of people trying to enter in this business, but only a handful will make it. My advice, Lauran,

relax, chill and keep writing

You can get a lottery ticket at your local gas station.

Lauran:

I'm not a representative of MiLa Media. I'm recommending them as someone I've submitted material to and that has an open door submission policy. Not a lot of companies do. Best of luck with your submission.

Lauran, I doubt that many festivals/contest are out & out scams (a few likely are); there really are only a handful that are truly worthy when it comes to career assistance. I think pretty much can be said about the pay-to-pitch process. I deal with a couple small boutique agencies and they quite often send their interns to hear pitches as a training exercise - so you're not talking with the highly skilled decision makers. but it's still a valuable learning experience that may garner a few connections. You go win at the Nichol, Sundance, TIFF, Austen or one of the other top tier competitions and you'll have Agents lined up at your door. You go girl!

Thanks Philip, that’s exactly the sort of thing I was looking for!

Thanks Doug! You too!

Lauran. A follow up on what Phillip said. I don’t normally query production companies because I have an Agent, but someone told me about MiLa Media so I submitted one of my screenplays to them on my own.

They respond by saying, “We really appreciated your talents. We enjoyed your script and found it to have some very strong elements. However, after much deliberation with our team of reviewers and additional members of our team, your script wasn’t quite what we were looking for in our MiLa Dark slate at this time. We are however, still reviewing it to be considered for different Divisions within Mila Media. We invite you to submit future projects with us. Your name has been placed in our permanent contributors list, and in the future please mention that you have submitted to us before. This will ensure that our senior team reviews any of your future submissions in a timely manner. We look forward to working with you in the future!” I don’t know much about them, but I thought that was a nice response so yes, you might want to give them a try..

Thanks Dan! Yes I just tried to submit, the info is not going through, hopefully we can sort it out.

Lauran. You are welcome and wish you luck!

Lauran: You're most welcome. I'm always glad to help if I Can.

I don't think you should speak for anyone else when you say that most people on here are not serious about their writing. It's an uphill battle for all of us but you just have to be aggressive, confident and have a great attitude.

Hi Bill- just saw your post from 7 days ago - yes I was looking at the right section and I guess between when I looked and you looked the stories had improved substantially. Excellent! And thank you for sharing your experience, I really resonated with it, except I haven’t got as far as you have yet. Lately I have been in touch with some encouraging producers - by contacting them directly, and it’s an ongoing thing - and yes it would be so disappointing to get a last minute ‘no’ to something you thought was a done deal. I hope to not go through that! All the best.

Hi Lauran,

Well...glad you're feeling better about it all, and best wishes to you!

Zina - Sister Delong sounds so interesting! I do tarot card readings myself.

Bill - thank you, you too!

you can always check https://www.networkisa.org/writinggigs

Thanks Heather - I joined ISA for a while but they tend to be low paid gigs, if at all.