In terms of selling a screenplay, reaching out to production companies can be a surprisingly effective strategy in terms of how to sell a script. It is one strategy that is often overlooked because, to be honest, most people do not know where to start. A copy of the Hollywood Screenwriting Directory would be particularly helpful in this endeavor, because if you have the latest edition of it, it is filled with up-to-date listings for production companies in New York and California, which are a great place to start when selling a screenplay, and what the best ways to contact them are.
Here are several important things to keep in mind if you are going to use this strategy to sell a script:
Research the company before you call it – make sure that the production companies you are calling have a history of making the kinds of films that you want to make. Know who you’re dealing with, and who you’re selling a screenplay to before you even pick up the phone.
Get your pitch out as quickly as possible – contrary to popular belief, a writer’s greatest foe is not writer’s block, it’s the words “We don’t accept unsolicited materials.” You need to try and pitch them the idea before they can tell you that.
Do not give up – this, again, is a pretty self-explanatory one. If you stick around for even a small duration of time in this business, you are going to hear a lot of no’s – that just comes with the territory. However, eventually, if your pitch and screenplay really have something to them, someone will want to work with you.
Keep an even keel – remember, the person who answers the phone is just an employee at a larger company and is a person who is just doing their job. If you come off as pushy, manic, or overly excited, you’re going to scare them off and end up right back where you started.
Pay attention to how they respond – no matter how the pitch goes, whether good or bad, there is always something to be gleamed from the experience. It is important that you take notes (or at least mental ones) and try and figure out why your pitch was received the way that it was.
In short, there is a lot of variation in using this particular method, and it is somewhat time consuming, but it is never a bad place to start, so keep that in mind as you move throughout the process.
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