Are you an emerging screenwriter and wondering what comes with the territory of launching a screenwriting career? Writing the screenplay is the obvious first step, but here are a few tips for having a solid career. Today’s screenwriters don’t necessarily have to fly to L.A. and knock on the doors of production studios just to get their scripts noticed. Actually, definitely don’t do that! Though living in major entertainment cities can give you a strong advantage, there are more options you can explore if you want to get your foot in the door. For example, platforms like Discord, Twitter, and online writer groups can connect you to people in the industry without having to leave your computer screen.
The media, too, has become more heavily democratized. According to Maryville University’s analysis of the future of media, most major industries, including entertainment, are moving toward digital technology. More viewers too are choosing video streaming platforms. As writers, we have heard time and time again to just get out there and shoot your script. That isn’t always an option for everyone, but many filmmakers have found that shooting their script is the best way to get their work noticed. Services like YouTube, Vimeo, and DailyMotion have made it more accessible for newbie filmmakers to get their work noticed. For our horror fans out there, finding your horror short on ALTER or Omeleto’s YouTube channel can really get your horror short film noticed.
However, just because there are more options to start out doesn’t mean everyone will make it. To find success in the world of filmmaking, here are a few things that could be helpful.
Find Platforms For Your Work
Once you’ve built a strong body of work, you need to get your projects out to the right people. Very few production companies will accept unsolicited pitches or entire screenplays from unknown writers, so screenwriters will find their best resources in screenwriting competitions and writer databases. The platform ScreenCraft often hosts genre-specific competitions, where winners gain access to industry connections and feedback. The infamous screenwriter website The Blacklist offers evaluation services that help newbie writers get their scripts in the hands of industry professionals. The Blacklist is a platform for film and TV writers to showcase their screenplays for industry members and get their work evaluated by professional readers.
And of course, there’s us at The Killer Shorts Contest. Winners of our horror short script competition will get circulation among industry managers, producers, agents, and development executives. Killer Shorts also sets up career consultation meetings with Coverfly’s writing development team, often resulting in meetings with our alumni and lit managers. To find out more about career consultations, check out our article here.
We’ve also talked about Coverfly’s services in a previous article. Coverfly is an online platform that connects emerging screenwriters with industry professionals. On the platform, writers can create a profile making their scripts discoverable by tracking their screenwriting accomplishments and competition wins. Filmmakers often browse Coverfly’s database to find rising talent and projects with promise.
Expand Your Network
Skill and a solid portfolio can launch your career, but connections can take it further. As a screenwriter, it’s important that you build strong professional relationships with people in the industry. When you have a good professional network, it could offer a leg up in getting your work noticed. On top of that, there’s a lot you can learn from fellow writers and filmmakers. Industry veterans can use their experience to provide insightful career tips. They can also point you to helpful resources, classes, and opportunities. More than anything, having a solid network of writers and filmmakers in your corner, can make something as lonely as writing, a collaborative and communicative experience.
As mentioned above, there are many places where you can network. You can connect with fellow scriptwriters at our Script Hive Discord server, which is a community of screenwriters that have access to a database of thousands of screenplays for tv shows and films.
Twitter is not for everyone, but it can definitely be a great resource for meeting like-minded creatives. On Twitter, you can follow top screenwriting accounts, such as ScreenwritingJobs, ScriptPipeline, and The Script Lab. Many screenwriting accounts will tweet about resources you can use, competitions you can join, or open job opportunities. Some accounts even start hashtags. You can tweet questions about writing on these hashtags to get advice from other screenwriters, allowing you to build more industry connections. This often leads to some interesting, yes interesting, discourse on screenwriting Twitter. There are also a lot of ways to connect with fellow writers at festivals and competitions.
Be Persistent
Launching a screenwriting career can take a while and requires a lot of persistence. Keep chugging ahead. Once you start submitting your scripts to producers and competitions, know that you’re going to get rejected. A lot. Don’t let that convince you that your ideas are bad. Rejection could mean a thousand different things: It could mean some ideas need tweaking. It could mean that you’re reaching out to the wrong people. It could mean that you reached out at the wrong time. Perhaps you entered the market when the competition was stiff, and the ideas of your competitors simply stood out more.
The point is to not get discouraged. Poet Maya Angelou famously said, “Rejection can simply mean redirection.” When you get rejected, try to determine why. If you agree with the feedback, use it to improve your work. If you don’t, push through until you get useful responses. Writers that don’t develop the resilience they need to move ahead will never see progress.
Check out our article How A Horror Short Screenplay Compeititon Inspired Me to Write Again. You never know what will spark that new idea or bring inspiration to your writing, but the important thing to remember is not to give up.
Learn To Take Feedback
Building that network of writers and industry professionals is essential and really comes into play here. Though it’s hard to receive criticism, listening is necessary. Fresh eyes, free of self-bias, can identify where your story falls short. And since your own point of view is limited to what you know, you can turn to feedback to expand your ideas. Accepting feedback isn’t about pleasing everyone, but rather, understanding how future readers might respond to your work, and fine-tuning it, so it can successfully deliver its own promises. If you’re not flexible enough to make changes, you might not produce the best version of your work.
Our post entitled Three Questions to Help Writers Deal with Feedback outlined what you need to ask to find the most valuable information from criticism: who is the reader, why this note, and what led them there? Knowing who your reader is can tell you how valuable their feedback is. For example, if you’re writing a film about prison, a former convict’s criticism can help improve your story’s realism. On the other hand, asking critics why they gave a particular note can help you determine whether their critiques are relevant. And finally, asking what led them to their note can help you determine what readers think your work is trying to achieve.
Final Thoughts
Though the world of film is becoming less exclusive, screenwriters still need to put in the work to make it big. To survive today’s competitive filmmaking landscape, aspiring screenwriters will find submitting their work to platforms and competitions, that can connect them to industry professionals, is a great way in getting noticed. To gain an edge, they can also build their networks through competitions and social media. Then, by staying persistent and accepting feedback gracefully, they can improve the quality of their work. Following these steps can bring screenwriters closer to getting their scripts made.
Stay tuned for the Season 3 Winner announcement on April 25th!
Killer Shorts on Instagram.
Killer Shorts on Twitter.
