Confused Canadian

I recommend a book called The Script is Finished, Now What Do I Do? by K. Callan. She's had a great deal of experience in Hollywood as an actress and writer of advice books.

http://www.scriptsales.com/BkRvwScriptFinished.html


I also recommend Alex Epstein's Crafty Screenwriting. An early version is online:

http://www.teako170.com/faq.html#spelling


If this is your first script, it probably has too many flaws to meet professional standards. It's not impossible to sell a first script, but it isn't very likely.

If you've got enough hustle and salesmanship, you can get read by important people fairly quickly. If these people see bad dialogue, weak plotting, poorly drawn characters, inept format etc., they will chuck your script and never deal with you again.

Your growth process as a screenwriter could be accelerated if you come to the craft from some other genre of writing or performance, where you had to learn the basics of plot, dialogue, and characterization. Perhaps you've been a successful playwright or popular fiction writer. Perhaps you've written feature articles for national magazines. You may have reviewed hundreds of films for a major newspaper, or performed as an actor in everything from Shakespeare to August Wilson. Maybe you've been on the road doing killer stand up for years, and you're ready to move into features in a big way. You could have written and drawn a daily comic strip that's become the favorite of the young and the hip.

If you haven't had experiences like this, your chances of writing a saleable script on your first try are slim. Much more common is the bright, talented writer who keeps at it for years, writing five or ten scripts, getting feedback, joining workshops, learning about acting and filmmaking, finally arriving at a point where her work can inspire the enthusiasm of experienced film people.

This doesn't have to be you. Some people do break through right away. The risk you run, if you aren't golden, and let's face it, most of us aren't, is that you waste good contacts on bad work.

You should at least seek out the opinions of some experienced people, not your friends or family members, who can evaluate your work with some objectivity. Have you had a reading with skilled actors, or attempted to shoot a few scenes on video?

http://www.craftyscreenwriting.com/FAQ.html

page down to this part:

Q. How do I get an agent? Why do I need one?
A. If you're a screenwriter, the Writer's Guild of America (WGA) will send you a list of agents that indicates which ones take unsolicited manuscripts. "Unsolicited" is a misnomer. You should never send a script to someone who didn't ask for it. "Unsolicited" means they don't know you and the script wasn't sent or recommended to them by someone they know. When a script is going to a producer, "unsolicited" usually means you're not represented by an agent or lawyer. Send a stamped, self-addressed envelope (a "SASE") and a buck to the WGA at 7000 West 3rd Street, Los Angeles CA 90048. Even better, check out the same list online.
In Canada, try the WGC (Writer's Guild of Canada), if you want a Canadian agent. American agents will, if they think they can make a buck off them, represent Canadians (or Australians, or elves for that matter) but it is hard to get through to them if you are not in Los Angeles or New York.

Click to expand...

You can get an idea of how good your script is by joining a writers' group and getting critiques there, or posting the first ten or so pages on various message boards, including this one, donedeal, and twoadverbs.
There are also online classes available. UCLA extension is highly recommended, though expensive, and there are cheaper options. I don't know much about the Canadian scene, but there have to be good classes and other opportunities in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

It isn't so much a question of being blacklisted as it is the fact that decision makers are usually too busy, and under too much pressure, to give a newcomer more than one shot.

If they do like your script, one of the first things they ask is, What else have you got? They're looking for steady performers for their stables, not one trick ponies.

If you are sure that your script is great, you can enter it into contests. If it's really good, it will probably at least place in a major contest. You can also enter into contests that offer feedback for a fee.

If you don't mind paying fees, the Montreal based author of Crafty Screenwriting will give you his professional evaluation for a hefty charge. The advice of an experienced writer, showrunner, and development exec like Epstein isn't going to come cheap. He's just the type of person who would be making the final decision on your script in Hollywood, though, so maybe it's worth it.

http://www.craftyscreenwriting.com/screenplay.html



A cheaper option is Scott the Reader's $60 notes offer. He's an experienced Hollywood reader, that is, one of the first people in the acquisition chain to evaluate a new script. If the script doesn't meet the approval of him or someone like him, it probably won't go any farther.


http://sixtybucknotes.blogspot.com/


Of course, you don't have to sit on your script. You can take your mind off of it by starting another one. It doesn't have to be feature script. It could be a TV spec, a TV pilot, a short play, a script for a ten minute short film.

FD allows you to remove the continued's. Check the help section of the program.

For format questions, check out these online guides.

http://www.screenwriting.info/
http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/contents.htm
http://www.oscars.org/nicholl/script.pdf
http://lib1.store.vip.sc5.yahoo.com/lib/screenstyle/formatarticle.pdfhttp://lib1.store.vip.sc5.yahoo.com...rmatarticle.pdf/

Also, Riley's The Hollywood Standard. The author headed up the script processing dept. at Warners. This guide is supposed to be the last word on format.

http://www.mwp.com/books/writing/hollywoodstandard.php4

(cole and haag, and trottier, are good too, but if you want the most up to date, go with Riley)

If you've got FD, you can use it to work through the examples in each one of the books and websites. By the time you're done, you should know format backwards and forwards. This is the goal. To know it so well that you don't have to think about it.

In Final Draft, select Document then Mores and Continueds -- you can untick the Bottom of page, Top of next page continueds so they don't show. That what you mean?

There's a recent interesting thread titled "The Futility of Pursuing an Agent" over on Done Deal, maybe worth looking at if you haven't already seen it:

http://scriptsales.com/boards/showthread.php?t=15194

odocoileus, interesting links and thoughts, thanks.

-Derek
-> * <- Click on this magic star to be transported to my website. Ruby slippers optional.
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What I offer you is freedom; freedom from Arthur's tyrannical dream; fredom from Arthur's tyrannical law; freedom from Arthur's tyrannical God.

confused Canadian

there are several Canadian production companies that can ONLY work with Canadian writers. you have an advantage that you should not overlook. there are places you can find these companies: moviebytes, ink (what's that place?...guys?), creative screenwriting's weekly producers query notice, etc...

good luck

http://www.inktip.com/ ?


agree with the Goddess that the Canadian angle is worth checking out. You can do a lot of networking and get a lot of help right in your backyard.