Screenwriting : Pro or Amateur by Luciano Mello

Great article, Luciano Mello! The quality of the writing and resume (paid jobs and/or sold scripts) make someone pro in my opinion.

Thank you, Maurice Vaughan, I agree with you .

You're welcome, Luciano Mello. I think the main thing is the quality of the writing. I followed you on Medium.

Luciani, My answer to your question is: "Look at ALL the Film Courage videos there are, for 'starters,' and you have your answer. Are you pro enough to do that?!

I still suck at screenwriting, you probably don't, but are just not there yet. Forget words like "pro" and "amateur", just become the best screenwriter you can!! Don't look for complex psychological excuses Do the work! If you hate me now? Good! It gives you the fuel to get better!

Maurice is a pro because he gets paid and has had thnigs produced.

Thanks, Jon Shallit. They're micro-budget indie films. I've ghostwritten some big projects that are in pre-production and post, but I can't talk about them. That's one reason I've been focusing on writing and pitching spec scripts.

Maurice, you make a living at it. How many on here do that? Almost no one. And soon, you will have your name on the "ghost written" projects as a writer.

Thanks, Jon Shallit. I heard ghostwriters can get credit. I need to look into it.

I do t think it matters how good your script is if it’s sitting on the shelf. A Pro gets paid for the work they produce or else they are still considered an amateur… in my book anyway. But who am I?

A professional writer is one who can drink a bottle of whisky, smoke a carton of cigarettes and eat several large pizzas - in a hot bath - before the water gets cold - and still not get the keyboard wet.

@Rutger Oosterhoff, why would I hate you? You actually almost said what I discussed in my article. If you haven’t read it yet, I invite you to check the link in the post. I think you’ll see I'm very much aligned in our perspective.Thank you for your comment.

@David Taylor That’s brilliant, and honestly, it might be the most accurate definition I’ve heard so far.

If you can survive that kind of creative process and still deliver pages, you’re definitely a pro!

@Arthur McCoy - You are Arthur McCoy, a talented screenwriter from Minneapolis, USA, and I agree with you. That’s exactly what I talk about in my article. Check out the link in the post when you have a moment. Thanks for the comment!

I wouldn't get caught up in the titles, but to me pro implies you're paid for your work. That doesn't mean a pro is better than an amateur from a level of writing standard. It just means they have been discovered and have managed to sell their work. That said, anyone who has ever completed a screenplay is a screenwriter in my book, and I'm proud to know them if they have.

1) I used to refer to myself a semi-professional screenwriter. I would make a couple hundred or couple thousand a year doing it, but obviously not enough to pay much more than a couple bills or meals. PLUS, none of my stuff was getting made. In 2020, that changed and I've had a couple projects get made AND I've been paid enough to be debt free. So now I call myself a professional screenwriter. BUT, I think I'm still probably just "semi-pro" until I don't need a day job and screenwriting becomes my primary source of income.

2) Your statement of "No one writes a script just to store it away — every script is written to be filmed." is totally false! I know plenty of hobbyists who write scripts for funsies and have no intention of trying to get them made.

3) I would 100% say that those screenwriters who have not made any money and have not gotten any professional interest in their material are amateur.

Travis Seppala, I didn’t know people were writing screenplays just for fun. That’s actually fascinating. So they write a screenplay and show it to others to read like a book, or they just write for fun and don’t show it to anyone? I’m glad to know people are writing just for fun. I’d love to read one of those scripts.

To me, pro means you have been paid but I agree with Patrick, it's not about how good you are, it's just weather you have been paid.

Luciano Mello A little of both -- some are brave enough to show those hobby scripts to a few friends (I've been asked by several to read and tell them what I think -- sometimes I will sometimes I won't, depending on the friendship and how willing I am to make them mad at me lol)... others write and then never show it to anyone, simply proud that they've written it.

I have a few scripts I've written myself that I know will NEVER see the light of day. I obviously usually write with the intent and hope of selling and getting something made... but every now and then I'll write something that's basically just for funsies with no intention of getting it out into the world.

The term professional stems from profession. If you're getting paid for your occupation, you are a professional. By definition, an amateur is someone who does the same thing but doesn't get paid.

None of this has anything to do with quality of writing and/or conduct. You can have professionals who act like amateurs and and amateurs who write like professionals.

Sadly, amateur has become a derogatory term, which makes it sound worse than it is. On the flip side, professional sounds better than it does too. There's plenty of pros getting $1,500 a script and $1 options.

It's also not so black and white, and all relative. I'm, without doubt, a professional screenwriter, but only within the low-budget remit. At a studio level, I'm a complete nobody.

How our egos cope with this all is up to us. We attach far too much career success to talent. Some of the most talented artists out there are starving.

Beautifully put, CJ Walley .

I agree with you, this is exactly what I wrote in my article, the link is in the post if you want to check it out. I'm posting here too https://lucianomello11.medium.com/pro-or-amateur-what-really-defines-a-professional-screenwriter-94510f4c48e6