Can anyone lend advice on how to pitch a screenplay? ?

Question

I am writing my first screenplay but besides copyrighting it, I don't know what the next step is. any suggestions would be wonderful.

Answer 1

Before you think about pitching, you need to think about rewriting. Writing is Rewriting. Say it over and over. Anytime you hear that a first draft of a script was purchased, someone is lying. Now writers may claim it's their first draft, but it's not. John Waters has said in interviews that he's claimed scripts were his first draft when they were his sixth or seventh.

http://www.moviemaker.com/directing/arti...

Before you (your agent) send out your script, you need to make sure it's formatted correctly and you've followed all the *rules*. Here are some webpages:

http://www.creativescreenwriting.com/spf...

http://www.scriptologist.com/Magazine/Fo...

http://www.oscars.org/nicholl/format.htm...

Why? Because readers are fussy. They get paid very little to read scripts so if they open a script and something is off, they may toss it aside, it tells them if the writer doesn't know the basics, the story is likely going to be s*cky. They'll also check the last page, and if that page number is too high, that's a problem. Make sure that the first time your script is read by a reader, it's really ready to be. They keep lists and share them with other readers.

Can you tell your story in one sentence? Try making it a cause & effect sentence. When...... , Then....... You'll need to be able to tell your story in a sentence to pitch, because unless you're a well known screenwriter, that's about all the time you'll get.

Pitching advice:

http://www.filmmakers.com/news/screenwri...

http://www.scriptologist.com/Magazine/In...

The big screenwriting convention in LA is coming up in November, it's definitely worth attending. Lots of great learning opportunities. There are also pitching opportunities there, but most experienced screenwriters I know haven't thought they were the best way to go.  http://www.screenwritingexpo.com/index.h...

In case you aren't aware, you can register your  (US) copyright online now, so much faster and easier. Remember, ideas CANNOT be registered or copyrighted, so don't tell people about your script before it's been protected. Enough people are going to come up with similar ideas/scripts on their own. Seriously, many movies have lawsuits filed stating that the writer plagiarized their script and often it's just two people with the same idea around the same time.

Good luck!