Bill Martell @wcmartell returned as our guest for an informative chat, sharing his insights and tips for navigating the industry and selling screenplays without an agent. He covered topics such as writing the right script, networking/building connections, and resources/tools for researching the business side of screenwriting.
Moderated by @SarahAlexis4.
Read the transcript below or on the Wakelet site. Enjoy!
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William Martell @wcmartell #Scriptchat Transcript - November 22, 2015
Tonight William Martell discussed the business side of screenwriting. Zac Sanford @zacsanford moderating.
@wcmartell Always love it when the guest arrives early. #scriptchat
I'm a native Californian - we're always early or on time. Damned transplants give the state a bad name with their tardiness! #scriptchat
It’s #SCRIPTCHAT O’CLOCK w guest @wcmartell on biz side of screenwriting. @zacsanford moderating. Chat here http://www.tchat.io/rooms/scriptchat …- @wcmartell My boss is notoriously late... It annoys the hell out of me. Then again, I'm also a native Californian. #scriptchat
- It's ScriptChat o'clock. Please welcome our guest @wcmartell, talking the business side of screenwriting. #scriptchat
- Best site to take part of #scriptchat is here: http://www.tchat.io/rooms/scriptchat …
- So before we dig in, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself @wcmartell. #scriptchat
- Hello everyone - usually I'm sitting in the back of the room making fun of the guest, so it's only fair to be on stage! #scriptchat
#scriptchat Welcome, @wcmartell!- I have had 19 films carelessly slapped onto celluloid, done a bunch of assignments that have yet to be made, 25 years in the biz #scriptchat
Scriptchat baby! #scriptchat- @wcmartell And, coming soon... fried lobster at H.SALT #scriptchat
@wcmartell Your books have been so helpful! Thank you for them! #scriptchat- Q @wcmartell -- How did you get your first break into the industry? #scriptchat
- Yes - my new Blue Book is on Breaking Into the biz and staying in. Assignments, meetings, selling, etc - stuff we'll talk about. #scriptchat
- Here's the thing, you are *always* breaking in. You sell a script and everyone wants to meet with you. Later they forget you. #scriptchat
Hey #scriptchat folks!- My *first* time breaking in was rewriting a screenplay for a drive in kung fu movie, NINJA BUSTERS for a friend. Led to nada! #scriptchat
Hey Bill - Where do you think writers should concentrate most of our effort? What's your best selling book and what should be? #scriptchat- Second time was a sale to a company with a deal @ Paramount. Script floated around town & landed there. #scriptchat
Gonna let everyone else ask the good questions #scriptchat- @blueneumann But you always have great questions... #scriptchat
- Focus on writing great screenplays that show you can write commercial material or showcase your amazing writing skills. #scriptchat
- Anyone following along, feel free to jump in with your questions for @wcmartell #scriptchat
- The wacky thing about that 2nd time breaking in was that the script found its own way to the buyer, because people loved it. #scriptchat
- #scriptchat @wcmartell That's inspiring! Your 2nd script excited people, and they responded.
- Proactive: So many things! Easy stuff: know what sold, know what was successful, know who buyers are. Read the trades (etc). #scriptchat
- @wcmartell Selective amnesia... #scriptchat
- @wcmartell Tracking Board is also a good one to subscribe to. #scriptchat
- @wcmartell What are your thoughts on writers who don't live near SoCal? Is moving a must? #scriptchat
- Proactive: Also make connections, whether you are in Hollywood or your hometown. #scriptchat
- Go to places where you might make a connection: Film fests, etc. Ages ago I went to San Fran Film Fest and met Robert Evans. #scriptchat
@wcmartell Q: You mentioned a script "Floating around" and being found by a buyer. How do you get a script to "Float around?" #scriptchat- I love watching when a script has some heat. When people all across the industry start spreading it around w/"you gotta read it" #scriptchat
- I did not have a script with me when I met Evans, a friend of mine did - and he read her screenplay! (well, had it covered) #scriptchat
- Heat: That's probably really how a script sells (or writer gets assignments) - the screenplay is a "must read". Not easy. #scriptchat
- #scriptchat @wcmartell Do you feel safe that your scripts won't be stolen, once copyrighted? Or do you know of cases where ideas were taken?
- @wcmartell Readers read A LOT... it's tough to write a script that becomes hot. I'd say less than 1% now of the specs. #scriptchat
- Floating around: I gave the screenplay to a local actress who moved to Hollywood. She got a job on a low budget film. (1) #scriptchat
- @SarahAlexis4 A lot has to do with reps floating scripts or "going wide"... But some contests have cache in the biz. #scriptchat
A little late for #scriptchat. Can't wait to hear what @wcmartell has to say.- Floating around: She gave the script to a crew member. Crew member read it and said: Better than this crappy film I'm working on #scriptchat
- @wcmartell The larger one’s network… the better! #scriptchat
- Floating around: Script was passed around town - each person trying to earn points by passing it up. Landed at a studio producer #scriptchat
#scriptchat Great Hitchcock picture. @wcmartell- @SarahAlexis4 A great voice, an interesting take/spin on the familiar, great characters, doesn't necessarily need to be comm. #scriptchat
- Scripts that float around are the kind of stuff people want to see made. That's the best I can do on that question. #scriptchat
Complete me: "A play isn't written, it is ______." #theatre #scriptchat #stage #hint #playwright #production #drama #dramatist
Hello all you happy people, sorry for being late. #scriptchat- Right: Your reps take a script out wide and everyone reads it, and it's a hit or not. This leads to meetings and assignments. #scriptchat
- @MarcBreindel You can't copyright an idea. Specific dialog yes, but not most plot ideas. #scriptchat
- What Zac said! #scriptchat
- #scriptchat @wcmartell What do you think about amazon studios accepting drama scripts?
- Has Amazon studios ever made anything from a submission? Producers produce. #scriptchat
- @wcmartell YES, Gortimer Gibbons Life On Normal Street was a submission. #scriptchat
- @wcmartell With Ted Hope over at Amazon, at least they're starting to make things, but not necessarily from submissions. #scriptchat
- Hope at Amazon is basically getting funding for the films he would make anyway (well, he said he quit once). #scriptchat
- #scriptchat They got spike's Chi-Raq. @wcmartell
- I think people like the idea of Amazon's open submissions, and I know people who have made money there. But they are the fluke. #scriptchat
- Q @wcmartell What do you feel is more important: talent or who you know? I know you need both, but... #scriptchat
- One thing we should all consider is having a TV pilot or two on hand, since that is the currently expanding market. #scriptchat
- Talent or who you know: I think talent will get people to know you. But there is no "vs." in screenwriting - it's everything. #scriptchat
- @wcmartell Some are a fluke. Others are a f... #scriptchat
- #scriptchat just saw man in the high castle on amazon. big investment on their behalf
- If you stick your screenplays in a drawer, no one will ever discover them. You have to get them out there. #scriptchat
- @jgsarantinos Yes, they really gambled on unknown talent like Philip K Dick and Ridley Scott. They came outta nowhere! #scriptchat
- THIS! RT @wcmartell: If you stick your screenplays in a drawer, no one will ever discover them. You have to get them out there. #scriptchat
- But if you get a bland script out there, nothing is going to happen. #scriptchat
Q: Have you done any TV work? Wasn't sure. #scriptchat
Work for Talent Campus submitted to mentor :) Biggest thing learned? How uncomplicated scripts / story can be. #scriptchat- @blueneumann @jgsarantinos Man in the High Castle has been in development for YEARS in many different forms. Still need to watch #scriptchat
- Here's the thing with Amazon - they are more likely to buy from a producer than for you or me. #scriptchat
- @wcmartell #scriptchat Hollywood is a full-contact sport! Guess we just play to win, and take our lumps.
- I have not done TV work (except MOWS) - but have pitched projects (through producers) that didn't get picked up. #scriptchat
- #scriptchat also saw Casual on Hulu. the line between cable and streamers is blurring
- @wcmartell i think they also want a package #scriptchat
- @wcmartell but if we've produced our own work - better chances? #scriptchat
- @wcmartell I'm surprised given all these actions shows everywhere. #scriptchat
- @wcmartell What made you want to write Secrets of Selling? #scriptchat
- W/O reps: query emails, networking, try to find someone to read the damned thing. #scriptchat
- @wcmartell What if one has PGA credentials? #scriptchat
- @wcmartell thank you! This gives me an excuse to write a TV pilot. Have one in mind. :) #scriptchat
- I was at a Final Draft managers panel a few days ago - one manager said he regularly reads equeries. #scriptchat
- #scriptchat and perserverence.
- @wcmartell His complete contact information please. lol ;) #scriptchat
- Some of the managers said they read the Blacklist 2.0's hot screenplays list, looking for interesting stuff. #scriptchat
- I want to get on the Blacklist just so I can READ the other stuff on the Black List. #scriptchat
- Equerying costs nothing - so don't worry about that one manager's contact info, just equery everyone! It's all a shot in dark! #scriptchat
- @blueneumann Is it you want to read the stuff from the actual list or the scripts that are submitted by people breaking in? #scriptchat
- @zacsanford2 the scripts #scriptchat
- @blueneumann Gotcha... I'm in there, but honestly, 99% of the stuff doesn't grab me. Even the higher rated stuff. #scriptchat
- Actual list is Blacklist 1.0, people trying to break in is the "how can we make $?", 2.0. And not all 2.0 are newbies. #scriptchat
- If you do go the equery route, just know you might receive some nasty emails, mainly be ignored, but might get some bites. #scriptchat
- Queries are a numbers game. And you need new scripts so you can keep querying. #scriptchat
- RT @wcmartell: Queries are a numbers game. And you need new scripts so you can keep querying. #scriptchat
- I think of queries as billboards - when you see a Coca-Cola billboard, you don't instantly buy a Coke. But you remember it. #scriptchat
- @blueneumann @wcmartell In general, yes. But I must chose between spec script or pilot. So much to write, so little time. #scriptchat
- Q @wcmartell So once you've broken in or made that first connection, how do you stay relevant? New Assts daily. New writers. etc #scriptchat
- If they keep seeing new screenplays from you in queries, they know you are a writer, not just 1 screenplay. #scriptchat
- To stay relevant - have new material. When your heat dies, write new screenplays and get it back! #scriptchat
- You want to have enough material that someone can ask "What else you got?" and you have something. #scriptchat
- @wcmartell That's a great way of looking at queries. #scriptchat
- Also you want to have a "master plan" for your career - not just "If I can just sell this one script". #scriptchat
- @wcmartell I can't tell you how many writers I've asked "what else do you have" and they have NOTHING. :( #scriptchat
- Where do you want to be *after* you sell that script or land that assignment? What is the big plan? #scriptchat
- #scriptchat @wcmartell How much value in focusing on particular genres or subjects? Can wide range appeal to producers?
- Good in the room: People want to work with people they enjoy hanging out with. As writers we are often nervous, shy, etc. #scriptchat
- #scriptchat If your goal is to sell just one script, then that is pretty BORING.
- Relax! Start with small talk (and this will give you clues to who that exec is) and when meeting is over, jot down clues! #scriptchat
- A meeting is not about a goal, it's about a relationship. #scriptchat
- If you take "this meeting can make or break my career" off the table, you are better in the room. #scriptchat
- Relationships are key in the biz. RT @wcmartell: A meeting is not about a goal, it's about a relationship. #scriptchat
- @wcmartell Helps to research the folks one is meeting with beforehand... #scriptchat
- Why you are in the room: A general meeting is just to get to know you, and for you to get to know them. But can lead to work. #scriptchat
- @dwacon But don't over research... Don't want to seem like a stalker. #scriptchat
- What Dwayne said: Know who you are meeting with and know the company and what they've done. Research! #scriptchat
- I think you don't want to be that crazed fan - that Chris Farley character from SNL "Remember that time you..." #scriptchat
- Just like when writing a screenplay, just because you've researched doesn't mean you have to use all of it in the meeting. #scriptchat
- By the way - once got an assignment because the writer they met with before me had not bathed and seemed hung over. So bathe. #scriptchat
- Q: Do you think budget when writing? Or potential producer/company slate? #scriptchat
- 12 minutes left with @wcmartell -- Talking about the business side of screenwriting. Get those questions in! #scriptchat
- One of the things I look at in the book is doing a drive by before the meeting to figure out parking, etc. #scriptchat
- @wcmartell Clean and Sober just got a new meeting. Thanks, Bill! #scriptchat
- Budget: A spec is usually a job application for an assignment, so it doesn't matter as much... but: (part 2) #scriptchat
- (part 2) If you can write a blockbuster script than can be shot inexpensively, that shows an understanding of the biz. #scriptchat
- @wcmartell Did that once. The next day… LA traffic was TANGO UNIFORM. I 2 hours early and arrived 90 minutes late. D-OHH! #scriptchat
- @wcmartell Is it true that the executives at the meetings are always late? #scriptchat
- Once we get to production, it's all about the most bang for the producer's buck. If you can deliver a big movie on budget... #scriptchat
- You will be cooling your heels in the waiting room for maybe a half hour! But if you arrive ten minutes late? They were ready. #scriptchat
- For assignments, you want to make sure you can write good material on a deadline. I always leave a couple days for a rewrite. #scriptchat
- To see all of @wcmartell's books, make sure you check out: http://smile.amazon.com/William-C.-Martell/e/B005TZ0HJA/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1 … #scriptchat
- Next Q? #scriptchat
- @wcmartell Has Skype become a bigger tool for pitching or quick meetings? #scriptchat
- C'mon and step up to the plate. RT @wcmartell: Next Q? #scriptchat
- I don't know about Skype, since I live here. But I have friends out of town who use it for meetings on assignments. #scriptchat
- @byChrisPhillips @wcmartell Using it more and more for meetings, but usually first meeting is preferred to be face-to-face. #scriptchat
- @wcmartell Would you say there is a constant desire for new writers? #scriptchat
- I think technology is a great thing for us - we can now interact with people online that would never return our phone calls. #scriptchat
- New writers are less expensive that experienced ones. "The rates have gone up." #scriptchat
- @wcmartell yeah, but you pay for that experience #scriptchat
- Had one Skype meeting which seemed pretty much a planned blow-off. In person meetings bear much fruit! #scriptchat
- All the time. @wcmartell nailed why. RT @supergloss: @wcmartell Would you say there is a constant desire for new writers? #scriptchat
- Night Everybody. #scriptchat
- Pitching your take: I try to find the most interesting version of the story, which still fits what I want to write. #scriptchat
- #scriptchat @wcmartell Thank you for sharing your experience & wisdom!
- Just FYI, there will be no chat next week so everyone can spend time with their families for the U.S. Holiday. #scriptchat
- @dwacon plus, in-room meetings might have actual fruit. #scriptchat
- No #scriptchat next week while we digest our turkey feast. Happy Thanksgiving!
- In the book I have some big name writer's weekly rate as an example of why they want new writers. #scriptchat
- @wcmartell Does rewriting ever get easier? #scriptchat
- On December 6th we'll be talkingThe ReWrite (Where the hell do I even start?) with @jeannevb moderating #scriptchat
- @wcmartell Shane Black? #scriptchat
- NEVER! Well, at least for me. RT @jcolinholmes: @wcmartell Does rewriting ever get easier? #scriptchat #scriptchat
- Books: When Hollywood buys a book (or other IP) they are buying the IP's audience (and recognition value). #scriptchat
- @wcmartell Did you put Tina Fey's in the book? Her quote is astronomical! (from what I've heard). #scriptchat
- I don't know if rewriting gets easier, but there's more of it. #scriptchat
- Thanks to @wcmartell for coming in and being a great guest this week. Make sure to give him a follow if you don't already. #scriptchat
- @SarahAlexis4 Any time. Hope you and the fam have a wonderful Thanksgiving. #scriptchat
- I think it was Simon Kinberg - $300,000 a week (times 52 is...) #scriptchat
- Thanks everyone - that breezed by! #scriptchat
- @wcmartell assuming he works 52 weeks a year writing #scriptchat
- @wcmartell thank you, William! Great info, as always! #scriptchat
- @blueneumann @wcmartell Probably doesn't work too many rewriting, but also makes big money producing. #scriptchat
- @wcmartell Great answers and insights, Bill. Thank you for taking the time to chat. :) #scriptchat
