Read 'How can I sell my idea for a screenplay?' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

I get questions like this so I thought I’d post a reply for everyone to see:

“I am not a scriptwriter but I have some good ideas for movies. How can I go about selling the idea?”

First check out these posts:

Selling a screenplay pitch or treatment

How to hire a screenwriter to write your life story or great movie idea

As a rule, there is not a huge market for “great ideas” from people outside the industry. Great ideas are literally a dime a dozen. What’s very rare is a great idea that’s written into a well executed screenplay.

I’ve gotten this question so often that I figured I might as well just go ahead and give my advice about how one should try and do this even thought I highly recommend in the two posts above that you not try this, because the odds of success are nearly zero. But it is Hollywood and anything can happen…

What you’re going to want to do is come up with a solid treatment. To do this simply turn on a tape recorded and tell your story in as much detail as possible. Then take that recording and transcribe it (or pay someone to transcribe it) into a word document. Then edit it (or pay someone to edit it) down into a readable interesting document that clearly describes your story. Hopefully this document will be between 1 and 10 pages. This is a screenplay treatment. You can, and should register this with the Library of Congress and the WGA. See my post on protecting your work.

Now that you have a treatment you should write up a solid log line and query letter and start making submissions as described in my How to Sell Your Screenplay (in a nutshell).

It’s really that simple. But keep in mind that most agents and managers are going to have zero interest in an idea” person so I wouldn’t bother even trying to submit to them and I would go straight to producers. If a good producer reads an idea they like, they might option your treatment from you and pay a screenwriter to turn it into a script. Selling a well executed screenplay based on a great idea is a long shot and I would say selling a treatment, even one based on a great idea, is even more of a long shot so please understand that as you begin this long journey.

Read 'Can you evaluate the first 20 pages of my screenplay?' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

I got this questions recently:

“I’ve written 20 pages of a screenplay. Would someone accept just twenty pages? I just want someone to read what I’ve got and tell me if I have an idea, or if my concept is garbage. If it’s trash, I want to bag it so I can start thinking of something new rather than waste my time on a bad idea.”

You’ve got to finish your script before you can do anything. “Great ideas” are literally dime a dozen so it really does not matter if your concept is any good at this stage. What is worth gold in Hollywood is a solid idea that’s well executed. The only way to know if a script is well executed is to write a complete draft. If you keep jumping from projects to projects before finishing one you’ll end up with lots of unfinished projects. So my advice it to find an idea that you’re passionate about and write a complete draft. Then once you’re done with that draft find another idea your’re passionate about and write a complete draft of that, too. If you have passion for your story then it’s an idea worth writing, don’t worry about what other people say. The main point to all this writing is to get better at your craft. It’s unlikely that you’re first script (or second or third) is going to be well executed so it honestly doesn’t matter if the idea is any good either. Just put in the time and do the work and write your ideas into complete scripts.

I can tell you this about your idea, if it’s not worth it to you to write the entire screenplay, then it’s probably not an idea worth pursing. You don’t need an expert or industry insider to tell you that.

Read 'Hiring a service to polish my script' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

I got this question recently:

“I have a busy life like everyone else that I know. I have written the dialog and scenes for a screenplay but there are many nuances to doing it right so that a reader will not toss it onto the ‘later’ pile. I’m not planning on doing this as a career so I don’t want to take the time and extreme effort to learn the craft. Is there any service that will ‘do the work’ that is not just a proofing service?”

You should check out this blog post: “How to hire a screenwriter to write your life story or great movie idea“.

The quick answer is “no,” there really is not an easy way to do what you’re talking about. Most services that you might find who are willing to do this are most likely not going to do a very good job and simply waste your time and money.

But ultimately it’s really a matter of how much time and money you want to spend to see your creative vision realized. If you’re willing to hire a good writer and pay them a legitimate sum of money then it is possible. How much you have to pay them will depend on the writer and will also depend on how polished what you have is. A competent writer will probably cost you in the neighborhood of $50 – $100 per hour.

My guess is that most people who pose this sort of question, however, don’t want to spend a lot of money or time. They think they’ve simply got a brilliant idea for a film and want to try and get it made. In my experience novice writers greatly overvalue their ideas. “Great” ideas are a dime a dozen. But what’s not a dime a dozen is a great idea woven into a well executed script. So if you think your idea is brilliant but you don’t want to do any work or spend any money to bring the script to market then, no, there really isn’t any chance that you’ll have any success. No competent writer will write your idea on spec and if you don’t pay a real wage you’ll end up simply wasting time and what money you do spend (see my post mentioned above).

Read 'Should I write my idea as a feature film or television show' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

I got this question recently:

Just to set the scene, I am a very new writer into the film industry with no contacts as I’m sure is the same situation with many other writers. I believe I have a very interesting and unique storyline, which either way could be shortened into a feature film but also easily adapted into a series. I personally prefer a series as I believe it can become a very complex story while maintaining the key interests of today’s audiences. For example, it has the characteristics of a current very successful series but with a very different storyline.

What I would like to know is, in terms of success stories, the chance of it ‘making it’ and what producers are looking for, what would be better to write, a feature film or a television series?

First, read my post about creating your own television show,
How to create an original television series (breaking into television writing).

If you’re sure your idea would work best as a television show then my advice is to put it on the back burner until you’ve established yourself either as a television writer or a feature film writer. Once you’ve done that, you’ll have contacts and experience and getting an original show off the ground may be possible. But as a novice it’s probably not possible.

So with that said, you need to come up with other ideas. If all of your ideas are original ideas then turn them work on ones that will work as a feature film. While it’s very difficult to sell a feature film script for anyone, especially novices, it is possible. I wouldn’t try and squeeze an idea that you feel should be a television series into a 2 hour movie. Just move on to your next idea.

One important point that many beginners don’t realize is that a career as a screenwriter isn’t about one great idea. It’s about consistently coming up with great ideas and being able to consistently execute those ideas. Many wanna-be writers fall in love with their one “brilliant” idea (which usually isn’t half as great as they think it is) and they spend years working on it. My advice is to write it up – quickly – and then move on to another idea… and another… and another. And by your fourth or fifth or maybe even sixth script you might actually write something that’s pretty decent.

Read 'How to hire a screenwriter to write your life story or great movie idea' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

I see people on job forums and bulletin boards like Craig’s List looking to hire a screenwriter to turn their life story or other “great” idea into a screenplay.

If you’re thinking about posting such an ad please reconsider.  If you’re a writer thinking about responding to such a post you should do so with extreme caution.  It’s usually a lose-lose situation for everyone involved.

If you’re looking to hire a screenwriter to write your “great” idea or life story think about what type of screenwriter you’re liable to attract.  Whenever people hear I’m a screenwriter they always want to pitch me their “great” idea.  I’ve heard dozens if not hundreds of people’s “great” ideas and “incredible” life stories.  So far I’ve never heard a single one that was so compelling that I was even remotely interested in writing it for them.  Now that’s not to say that they were all terrible ideas, far from it, many of the ideas people have pitched to me are great ideas and they would make a great movie.  However, I have more than enough of my own “great” ideas, so many in fact that I’ll never get around to writing them all.  So why would I write someone else’s great idea?  I would say most writers probably feel the same way I do.  People don’t become screenwriters because they love the craft of screenwriting but have no ideas.  It’s the other way around.  People have ideas they want to share so they learn the craft.  In other words, I seriously doubt that there are many good writers out there just waiting for your great idea.

What’s even worse is that quite often when I see these ads the person who wants their life story or “great” idea turned into a screenplay is often offering nothing more than deferred pay.  Again, think this through a little bit.  How many good screenwriters are going to be willing to write your “great” idea or life story into a screenplay for no upfront money?  There is exactly zero.  And even if there are one or two quality writers out there who might be willing to write your story for you the chances that you’re going to find them through an ad on Craig’s List is virtually zero.  Unless you’re really careful you’re quite likely to do your story more harm than good.

Here’s why:

If you’re only offering deferred pay, once the script is written you’re officially tied to that writer pretty much forever.  Since you’re not likely to find a good writer willing to help you the chances are very good that the screenplay that you end up with won’t come close to meeting your expectations.  So now you’ve actually taken a step back.  Your “great” idea is now encumbered by a writer who expects to get paid when the movie gets made but the screenplay is unsalable.

If you have some money to offer the screenwriter upfront at least you can cut your ties to the original screenwriter anytime you want if they end up producing a terrible draft of your story.  While you’ll be out some money at least you’ll still have your “great” idea and can take it elsewhere.

If you’ve got the money and still want to pay someone to write your idea I would say you should contact the WGA and hire a reputable screenwriter and pay them WGA wages.  For a feature film this is going to be in the neighborhood of $60K.  If your budget is only around $5,000 (which many out of work writers might be willing to work for) you may or may not be able to find a quality writer.  I’m doubtful you will.  The bottom line is that the more you can afford to pay the choosier you can be.  If you can prove that the movie will get made (i.e. you have the money to produce it) this might make a struggling writer be willing to work for less than normal since having a produced credit is worth more than just the money you’re paying them.

Even if you have the money to pay a reasonable writer’s fee I highly recommend that you save your money.  Let’s assume you have some money to pay a writer and you get really lucky and find the perfect writer for your project and end up with a great script.  Then what?  What are the chances that you’ll actually get your script produced?  The chances are pretty slim.  If you have the money to actually produce the movie (at a minimum well over $100K), then maybe it’s worth doing – realizing of course that you will probably not recoup your investment as independent movies are a horrible investment.  If you don’t have the money to produce your movie realize that getting your movie made is going to be a long hard struggle no matter how great your script and idea are so be prepared for it and don’t bother paying a writer if you’re not ready for a struggle that’s going to span years if not decades.

From the writer’s perspective it’s a horrible proposition, too.

I have no problem optioning one of my scripts (often for free) to a producer with no credits and little chance of actually turning the script into a movie because there’s very little downside to me as the writer.  I have lots of script sitting on my shelf so if someone wants to go out and try and raise money to produce one of them that’s great for me.  If the producer doesn’t end up making the movie I get my script back unencumbered by the producer.  If you write someone else’s “great idea” or life story you’ve essentially written something that will always be tied to the other person.  As a writer that’s a horrible position to be in.  If you option your own scripts you can decide how much money to accept, you can decide what re-writes you’re willing to make for free – you’re in charge of the project.  Suppose the person with the “great” idea doesn’t want a potential investor/producer to make changes?  You’re stuck and so is your script.  The original person who you write the script for can really throw a wedge into things and they’re won’t be much you can do about it.  It’s not unlike any writing collaboration, except for the fact that when you collaborate with a friend you already know them and you have a certain level of trust with that person, but when you collaborate with someone you met through a Craig’s List ad you never know how your personalities are going to mesh down the road.  Now if the person is willing to pay you some upfront fees to write that’s another story – then it’s just a matter of deciding if it’s worth your time to work on the project.

Here’s my recommendation if you have a “great” idea and want to get it turned into a screenplay but have no money to offer.  Sit down and tell your story to a close friend and tape record your re-telling of the story.  Take the recording and type it up into a Word Document.  Edit it as best you can.  Maybe get a friend to read it over and do some additional editing, too. 

When you’re done you’ll have a screenplay treatment.  It doesn’t matter how long it is as long as it tells your story with a beginning, middle and end.  Then go out and either try and sell your treatment (using all methods found on this site about how to sell a screenplay) or go out and start trying to raise the money for your project, including some of the budget to hire a screenwriter.  Neither of these options is going to be easy but I think they are better options then gambling on a writer and having your story idea possibly destroyed.  No one in the World is going to have the passion for your project that you have and that passion will shine through even if all you have is a half-backed treatment.  If your idea really is “great” I think you’re chances of finding a seasoned producer who’s willing to pony up some money so you guys can hire a quality writer are much better than you finding a writer yourself.