Ten (10) Tips in Finding Credible Screenwriting Help or Jobs
Geno Scala
Exec. Director of Academy Awards; "The Script Mentor"; "Ghostwriter to the Stars"; Creator of "The 20 Day Screenplay";
Screenwriting Myth: "Screenwriting Consultants Are All the Same!"
One of the services we provide our network, gratis, is collecting and posting various paid screenwriting jobs and script search opportunities. Occasionally, we like to highlight the more “questionable” opportunities.
Recently, a company known only as “Eccentric Stories” promoted a screenwriting contest, among other things, and advertises that it provides “monthly winners of $500 cash" AND “guaranteed representation”.
Naturally, this claim piqued my interest, so I did some digging.
Their website advertises “Introductions to Agents, Producers and Executives”- seemingly every screenwriter’s dream- or nightmare, if you aren’t careful. Also, prominent in their first sentence of their home page is the claim;
“Take your Chance to be the NEXT Academy Award winner discovered by Eccentric Stories”
Now, I’m ALWAYS wary of any contest or writing service that boosts unsubstantiated claims of “Academy Award- level” success. If you have the chance to be the NEXT one, wouldn’t that imply there was a first one?
If so, who and what was the first one?
No such back-up claim exists, unfortunately.
Another sign of perhaps a not-too-legitimate service/contest, especially one that promotes a writing service, IS the level of writing skill demonstrated on the site itself. This site, for example, has every other word capitalized, and some bad grammar and punctuation issues. It looks to have been written by a fifteen-year-old girl, using her smart phone.
The biggest “red flag” on sites like these is the fact that there is absolutely nobody advertised as being associated with them- no site owners, no website managers, and no judges- nothing. In fact, when we reached out to them- several times- to discover who is involved in such a site, there has been no response to date. This fact alone should prevent most writers from submitting their money OR their IP projects (screenplays or manuscripts).
If I were a betting man, I’d bet that this is a website from outside of the United States, which means that even if your project is registered and copyrighted, you have no protection outside of the country. Chances are, you’d never know what would have happened to your project, but you’d probably not be compensated for someone else using it.
There are legitimate services out there that have fostered Academy Award-level material, nominees and, perhaps even a winner or two. In these cases, however, not only would they advertise it, but it would also be on their home page in big bold letters!
While we await any follow up information from them; we won’t be holding our breath; we would just like to bring these types of “services” to your attention. Keep a wary eye, check references, and ask questions. If nothing else, ask us. We’ll do what we can to get you’re the answers you need to make an informed decision.
A second “technique” some services promote is the “literary manager” hook.
This is a claim by a certain party indicating that they are accepting materials to be considered for “literary management”. As a screenwriter or a novelist, most of us look for these types of announcements and do not hesitate in responding to them, especially when presented by a known agency.
However, we discovered one such arrangement, whereby the submitted materials were forwarded to their “literary management consultant"- who was nothing more than a screenwriting consultant. If your submission didn’t pass muster (and I doubt any of them do first time around), don’t fret: for $50,000, and their help, this consultant will get your script to the point where they can guarantee representation!
Now, this is NOT wild speculation on our part, as we have the many email exchanges to support this. We were alerted to this scheme by readers of our "Debunking Screenwriting Myths" series right here on LinkedIn, and they thought something wasn’t right.
In fact, this writer felt “used" and "taken advantage of”.
They believed they had a concept that would be perfect for Oprah and her production company (Harpo Productions), and when they contacted them, they were told they needed to have agent representation to be considered.
They discovered a “talent agency”, who specialized in child actors, but were also promoting their new “literary management team”. The writers contacted the agency, who, in turn, passed them on to an “Andy Rodman - Script Broker”. Mr. Rodman has a website, and he claims NOT to be an agent...
...but can get your script to the place where they can “guarantee agent representation”.
Well, of course they can.
For $50,000.
(for the record, for $100,000, I can get Roger Corman to direct your movie).
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Well, these writers contacted Mr. Rodman, and they shared their story about Harpo Productions having interest in their concept, and needing representation. Mr. Rodman then made all sorts of claims of being in regular contact with Harpo about this concept. One of his emails even included the following:
“FADE OUT P. 131—Just finished. Wow! You should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize! Let's make an offer to this Brit to buy his script AS IS and employ someone (perhaps myself and my partner, in order to keep the outlay reasonable), and turn it into a workable, viable, produce-able movie! Anyway, we would be happy and proud to represent him through our agency.”
Here are TEN (10) TIPS to help find a potential- and credible- lead when you’re searching for screenwriting help, a screenwriting job or considering submitting to a script search.
1.???? CONSIDER THE SOURCE: Several jobs offered come through Craigslist job listings. Now, we’re all aware of the lack of “security checks” that occur through Craigslist, but don’t let that preclude you from considering some of these opportunities. If the client is anonymous, but requests only a logline or a letter of interest, it’s probably okay to respond; you’re not giving away too much. If said anonymous client requests a screenplay, I wouldn’t. Instead, I might send a letter introducing myself, telling them I have a screenplay that could suit their needs, and let them respond. At least, now, you’ll have an email and probably a bit more information on them. ?
2.???? CHECK FOR A SALES GIMMICK: If the lead comes from a source that encourages you to buy additional job leads- AVOID! These are money grabs, and the jobs they are “teasing” you with are old, outdated, or non-paying jobs only. The job “newsletters” are only in business to rip you off, providing you with information readily available- for FREE- on line. Their goal is to rope you in with the tease of “NEW JOBS”, as if the jobs came to them specifically. Ninety-nine percent of the time, this is NOT the case. One such newsletter was found to be plagiarizing the ads, cutting and pasting the ads into their newsletter, selling the contact information, and claiming it to be their client. Fortunately, we exposed them and those ads for what they are- stolen ads- and posted the stolen ads with the actual lead throughout our group network. Now, this same “newsletter” re-arranges the wording in the ad to hide the fact that they were lifted from other jobs sites. We’ve exposed that technique to all as well.
If they ask for payment for additional contact information, as in an annual membership- AVOID AT ALL COST. We have many people in our network that fell for this scam, paid for the newsletter promising only PAID job leads, and soon found out the leads were the same ones they found online. They requested a refund, never received it, and never got another newsletter. Now, newsletters are providing up to five free job listings, but you must PAY for additional leads and the contact information. These are just scams. Stay away.?
3.???? CONSIDER THE CLIENT’S GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION: There are clients seeking screenplays, but are based in Singapore or India, etc., you may want to reconsider sending your screenplay at all. The laws protecting I.P.’s are different in other countries, and there is virtually nothing stopping a director or producer in a foreign land from taking your script and making a film without you ever knowing about it. Something to think about…
4.???? TELEPHONE, ZOOM OR SKYPE WITH CLIENT/CONSULTANT: Most scams are perpetrated through email exchanges. It’s easy to portray yourself as one thing when slumped over a keyboard. It’s a different thing altogether when you can see them through ZOOM (request a VIDEO conference), or a telephone (FaceTime, or just a call). It’s still easy to con someone over the telephone, but sometimes the dishonesty in the person’s voice, or the hesitancy in answering direct questions comes through the voice.?
5.???? DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE: There are times the client reveals their contact information through the ad, either by name, or a website or email address. Research them. If they don’t have a website, and no credits through IMdb, chances are they’re not going to pay you $10,000 for a first draft of a horror script.
6.???? WITH JOBS, GET (PARTIAL) PAY UP FRONT: You should consider that a producer advertising through Craigslist or Mandy is taking a risk as well, albeit not as large of one as you. If you are a writer with some decent experience- you have produced projects, have been paid for writing in the past, maybe even won some substantial contests and such- you should never write for free. If they tell you an amount, they are willing to pay, request 50% up front, and 50% upon acceptance of the final draft. If you get burned, you’ll only be burned for half of the amount promised.
7.???? OSCARS, EMMYS, AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS: If an ad mentions anything about having the potential to win any of the more famous industry awards, like the Academy Awards or Emmys, you might want to avoid responding. These people are not living in the real world. Could it happen? Sure, but it’s not likely that a film that started with a Craigslist ad looking for a screenwriter for $500 will ever garner enough accolades and attention to warrant one of these awards.
8.???? BACK-END AGREEMENTS: This is a matter of choice, but should you respond to an ad with this as their “payment”, you will end up working for free. Them’s the facts. If you don’t care, then don’t let it stop you.
9.???? CONSIDER TAKING THAT LEAP OF FAITH: You may only want to work for pay- that is the goal for a working writer- but sometimes the opportunity is just too interesting to pass up. They may not be able to pay you for a certain job, but if they have plans to enter many film festivals and you feel it is a great concept that resonates, you may want to be a part of it. Some of my best collaborations or most important people in my network have come from opportunities where the job itself offered nothing in return. I am working on a paid writing assignment now that was landed after providing some free services to the client in the past.
10.? THERE ARE REAL NUT JOBS OUT THERE: You don’t really know who might be on the other end of that ad, so always be respectful, but I once responded to what sounded like a great opportunity for work with an industry “player” out of Palm Springs/Indio area. We chatted…until he requested that I prove MYSELF by buying him tickets to Universal Studios, where he apparently planned to leap off the tram and track down an A-list actor on one of the sets. I hung up- but here’s the rub: he STILL places that same ad on Craigslist!
?You might have to kiss a lot of frogs, as they say, but keep in mind: you are always in control. If you are not comfortable in the arrangement for a particular assignment, you can change it, or pull out altogether.
?WRITER'S BIO: Mr. Scala spent 24-plus years in the Hollywood community and was the Executive Director for the?72nd Annual Academy Awards,?as well as The Soul Train Awards,?The Grammys,?The Blockbuster Video Awards Show?and?The Saturn Awards Show. With three produced features- "Assassin 33 A.D.",?"Black Easter"?and?"The Tombs" (all are currently available on Amazon Prime and Tubi), Geno is working on a project scheduled to be filmed Spring '24 - starring Liam Hemsworth and Samuel L. Jackson - and continues to mentor over 550 new writers and authors.
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Freelance Writer - screenplay/short & long form story; author; copy and ghostwriting; coverage; and script competition reader
7 个月Really helpful advice, thanks very much, Geno.
Published Author, Spiritual Artist and Poet
7 个月Always such great information.