Hi fellow Screenwriters,
I have a question regarding paid screenwriting work.
Maybe many of you know the site like Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, etc. for freelancer writers.
Most of the work there is about content writing, book, essays, articles, etc. Now, I don’t mind that work, but I prefer screenwriting.
I am looking for more paid screenwriting job. I can develop a screenplay from a concept or treatment, reformat, and write scripts for commercials.
Does anyone here know is there any Upwork sort of site for freelancer screenwriting that I should explore?
Any suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks in advance.
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There's no short cut.
I made my living as a "freelance" Screenwriter for hire in Hollywood. An Agent might get you some work, and a Producer might give you some work, but nobody looks at websites looking for Writers. Scripts yes, Writer's no.
It comes down to this: Everybody-- 20,000 people in LA alone-- says they can do what you say you can do-- so what? Why should I hire one unproven person off the net over another when I can hire some guy who has the heart to knock on doors and make phone calls and send out queries and chase the dragon, instead of waiting for it to be brought to his feet.
FYI: As a Writer for hire a typical assignment is not to write a screenplay. It's something like, "I need you to purge a featured character from this script you've never seen without changing the story and I need it next week," or "Script's great, dialogue sucks. Can you punch it up by Friday?"
An assignment Screenwriter writes what he's told to write. My ability to get that type of work largely depended on my ability to mimic the source material, which is a TV Writer skill, not a Screenwriter thing.
I’ve seen screenplays on Upwork, but they’re not worth the effort. The clients pay peanuts and/or have an unrealistic expectation of what a screenplay is (e.g. “Please take my 800,000-word self-published novel that I swear is the next Harry Potter and turn it into a screenplay that compromises none of the plot, dialogue or characters I slaved over.”) If you just want money for screenwriting, work a separate job, save up several thou then take a break and pay yourself to write. I did that not long ago and it was a blast.
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I'll say it again; Nobody in Hollywood hires off a resume or webpage. This is a person to person, eyeball to eyeball business.
Make money offering script consultation. Start at $20 per script, build a network, work your pay to 3-digit checks.
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Guru is a site I looked at years ago. You get offers like “I have a great idea and $500”.
Time is your only asset. Invest it in improving craft. Which normally means writing specs. When they are great, start send them around. They sell or become a sample.
Thank you all for your various thoughts. Stephen- yes, that's accurate abt screenplay on upwork. Peanuts! Doug- sure, a point noted. Dan- that's a good idea. Craig- Sure, I will have a look on guru and advice taken --- So, all in all, after reading all the responses, I think what I sort of felt was right. For screenwriting(not spec but paid)-There won't be a site like upwork. I was searching and couldn't see anything concrete- I had a doubt just in case there is some website and I don't know about it. Asking here and getting these answers reassured me that I didn't miss any specific website.
Thanks a lot, again!