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Here is a simple truth about building your screenwriting career: If you’ve never gotten your screenplay rejected, you’re not doing nearly enough to get your screenplay out there. As a screenwriter trying to go from aspirant to professional, your single most important job is getting your screenplay read by industry… read more →

What is the deal? If you’re over 35, are you as good as dead? Do you really absolutely have to pick a genre? And is the spec market really dead? There are some rumors that seem to have become truths out there, while other realities have been written about again… read more →

f you’ve been asked to send your screenplay to someone, be it through an industry contact, a networking effort or a pitch event, congratulations! Getting your screenplay requested is always a great moment. Considering that your #1 job as an aspiring writer is getting your script read, getting your script… read more →

I first met writer/director TJ Mino a few years ago in a Seattle seminar I was teaching about the business of screenwriting. Two years and an award-winning short film later, TJ packed up his stuff, and, without any real friends or connections, made the move to Los Angeles. Shortly after… read more →

A prominent literary manager recently told me that he still reads queries. If they don’t come in late at night, in which case he rarely bothers. Or when he’s driving. Or early in the morning. Or when he’s at lunch. But when he’s at his desk, and not too busy…… read more →

Readers of my blog first became familiar with Marissa Jo Cerar in January 2013, after her spec screenplayConversion was named to 2012’s The Black List. Following her placement, Marissa was generous enough to do an interview with me, sharing with my readers the insights, experiences and lessons that had brought her to that… read more →

Many years ago, shortly after I took over ScriptShark, I came across a script whose writers swore to me was going to be the next big Hollywood hit. The problem? The screenplay was written – as the scribes proudly told me – for what they called the Paul Newman generation.… read more →

There are writers out there who HATE career advice. Don’t ask me why, but they do. I don’t mean all writers, but more than one have come out and proclaimed before me and anyone else who would listen, that advice, input and guidance can only be destructive: I don’t see movies… read more →

One of the best things you can be doing for yourself as a writer is read other screenplays getting traction and getting produced in the industry marketplace. As your screenplay emerges into the space, it will inevitably be compared to other successful works out there. What better way to prepare… read more →

With pilots due to be delivered in the next month and May Upfronts to be announced shortly thereafter, I am getting the same question from almost everyone I come across: How do I get staffed on a TV show? With the fall season looming, it’s natural to assume that many… read more →