Tips to Market Your Screenplay To The Right Places
Pro Tip: Start with a logline
If you are an aspiring writer, the very first thought you will come across is that I want to sell my screenplay. After all it is every writer’s dream to see their work on the screen. However, after writing your screenplay you will realize that it is not easy. You may look for screenplay agents accepting submissions and screenwriting managers but there are other ways in which you can market yourself.
Apply in screenplay contests:
It is good to send your screenplay to contests. However, do not be haphazard. Take your time, revise your script and send a good version. Having a good product will raise your chances of being selected. Moreover, do not rush into sending your script to any contest before you have done your research about it. Some contests can be specific and your script may not fit the genre. Hence, sending your script will not benefit you. Try to look for many contests, not one. This will help you from being demotivated as even if you receive rejections, you will be able to hold onto hope.
Do not let rejections hold you back:
There are hardly any people in the world who have not faced rejection. Channel any rejection to motivate you to try harder but you can also use your rejection to create a good impression on the company or contest rejecting your script. If there is no feedback or comments present in the rejection email then you can write back to them and ask for a few notes on your script. You will have to gather it though, that will this company be willing to respond to give you notes or will they just consider it extra work and ignore you? So, be mindful of that that asking for feedback is not an extra work for them. However, sometimes people may actually like that you asked for a feedback. This helps them to analyse that you are willing to commit to this career and improve. If you do get feedback and notes in your rejection email then, work on it. Use it to further improve your screenplay. The people judging the screenplays have read many screenplays and they are well aware about what makes it to the screen. Therefore, their advice can be helpful in improving your screenplay while also assessing if it is useful to keep improving this screenplay or start writing another one.
By this time, you might be thinking, is it hard to sell a screenplay? The answer is yes but there are many ways you can reach people who may be willing to buy your screenplay.
Use the internet:
Rather than screenplay contests there are other means on the internet that you can use to search for the right people who can buy your script. For instance, you can use IMDBPro to look for successful films and their production companies. You can also look for the writers and see who manages them. The email address of these companies will most probably be present there. Hence, you can then try to email those companies with your script or synopsis. It will be more suitable to look for movies who are like your script or lie in the same genre, then it is possible that the same company of producers or writers will be willing to accept your script. However, what if the email address of a perfect producer or manager is not available. Then, you will have to put your searching skills to use. It is not difficult to find out the production company behind the movie and it is also mostly mentioned. You can go to the company website and then search for the right person to email on the Staff section or you can try looking for the company email on the Contact Us section.
Keep applying regularly:
This is a tough thing to do but keep applying despite the rejections. Make a spreadsheet of all the contacts and people you have reached out. You can add the date of submission and notes if you heard back from someone. Regularly keep applying to all these places and to help motivate yourself, try highlighting your acceptances or any good feedback you heard from anyone.
Relax and go with the flow:
If you have sent a few queries then relax, you have done a good job. Now, you need to take a break and respond whenever you get script requests. Do not get nervous or demotivated by not having any answers. You should celebrate the script requests you get.
Remember that one script does not define your script writing career. It is just a start but one thing you can benefit from is by marketing yourself the right way to the right people. So use these tips to send your script to the right people.
