Anyone have first-hand experience with a ghost writer?

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Anyone have first-hand experience with a ghost writer?

    Thinking of biting the bullet, investing in myself and having a paid professional tackle my story. Long story short:

    I have a logline.

    I have a 29-page short story / treatment.

    I have a clearly-defined 3-Act structure with the requisite plot points

    I have well fleshed-out characters who go through their own story arcs and grow/change as a result of the events of the story.

    I leave one unresolved plot thread and conclude the story in a way that naturally lends itself to further exploration in sequel(s).

    My biggest issue?

    I'm not a professional writer. I've read lots of books and websites on the craft of screenwriting, along with countless screenplays. I understand grammar, spelling, etc. but at the end of the day my writing does not have the same flair as that of someone who writes professionally. My dialogue is terrible and on-the-nose. I feel like I have to be too direct with my dialogue or the screenplay will run too long.

    Since this is not my primary career ambition (I have two others career goals that are more pressing), I am considering having someone take a crack at this story, but I'm wary of shelling out close to $5000 and trusting blindly that I will get something that will be very close to sale-ready.

    Does anyone have any recommendations on good sites or writers? I would be looking for someone who specializes (or is strong in) the crime genre. My story is a neo-noir. Takes place in modern times and takes the reader/viewer on a journey into a seedy underworld rife with vice and moral bankruptcy. It also touches on psychological themes related to relationships, loss, depression, etc.

    The last person I ran my story by described it as, "dark, fast-paced, sexy" with a "badass main character." So if any of you have suggestions on someone who might thrive with this kind of material I'm open to recommendations.

  • #2
    Save Your Money

    $5000 will in all likelihood get you a 2nd or 3rd rate script. Back in the 90s when I was briefly at Roger Corman's company that was his script budget per film. Take a look at the Bloodfist series, which were successful for Concorde, and know that those were $5000 scripts in 1990 dollars.

    Pro writers are not going to be interested in earning less than 1/8th of Guild Minimum to write something they won't get credit or residuals on. Not to mention that they can't ghostwrite by Guild rule. Is it possible to find a talented pre-pro who could write you a good script? Maybe, but you'll have to read dozens of scripts to maybe find that writer.

    If screenwriting isn't your main interest, let it go. Follow your passion, whatever that is. If you're committed to filmmaking as a producer, then commit yourself to spending hundreds of hours of reading scripts to find that writer who is willing to work for what you can afford, but don't expect to get anything more than "Story By" credit.

    Filmmaking is a difficult, long-shot career that requires talent, luck, and hard work, usually for several years, before you see any results if ever. If you're driven to pursue anything else, do that.

    HTH,
    Last edited by KitchonaSteve; 03-04-2017, 08:56 AM. Reason: missing word
    Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.

    -Steve Trautmann
    3rd & Fairfax: The WGAW Podcast

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Anyone have first-hand experience with a ghost writer?

      Originally posted by DIABOLUS View Post
      Thinking of biting the bullet, investing in myself and having a paid professional tackle my story. Long story short:

      I have a logline.

      I have a 29-page short story / treatment.

      I have a clearly-defined 3-Act structure with the requisite plot points

      I have well fleshed-out characters who go through their own story arcs and grow/change as a result of the events of the story.

      I leave one unresolved plot thread and conclude the story in a way that naturally lends itself to further exploration in sequel(s).
      Everybody has this. It means nothing. Every script is a perfect, award-winning, box-office success when it is inside your head and none of the work is done. Writing is actually getting this inside your head onto a page. And that still doesn't mean anything. Winning a contest with that script also doesn't mean anything.

      You don't have anything. It's also why "producers" or "managers" run writers into the ground giving them "ideas" to write and develop and nothing ever comes of that, either. And those are people already in the business.

      My two cents: You have a great imagination, so do all of us here. To spend 5 grand for some other writer to write this is INSANE -- it will also probably suck if they're doing it for that -- and it will get you what you already have -- which is nothing.

      Don't do that.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Anyone have first-hand experience with a ghost writer?

        That's very disappointing to hear, but thanks for saving me $5000. I guess I'll keep hacking away at the screenplay... :/

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Save Your Money

          Originally posted by KitchonaSteve View Post
          If screenwriting isn't your main interest, let it go.

          Filmmaking is a difficult, long-shot career that requires talent, luck, and hard work, usually for several years, before you see any results, if ever. If you're driven to pursue anything else, do that.
          This is even a little understated, but great advice.
          NOTES / COVERAGE
          15,000+ Screenplays
          [email protected]

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Save Your Money

            Originally posted by EvilRbt View Post
            This is even a little understated, but great advice.
            My story is something that's been brewing in my head for the last fifteen years. I've been working on the screenplay itself for almost three years now, and have gone through probably fifteen drafts as the story undergoes polishing. I figure with all the time I've invested in it I may as well see something come out of it, so I don't mind if it takes a little longer.

            Worst case scenario, I'll publish it as a work of fiction and let someone purchase the rights to adapt it into a screenplay. One way or another it's getting made.

            Thanks for the the input, everyone.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Anyone have first-hand experience with a ghost writer?

              Barb Doyon. Have not used her ghostwriting services, but if you still want to pursue this avenue, here is some info:

              http://www.extremescreenwriting.com/Ghostwriting.html

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Anyone have first-hand experience with a ghost writer?

                Worst case scenario, I'll publish it as a work of fiction and let someone purchase the rights to adapt it into a screenplay. One way or another it's getting made.
                Diabolus,

                I will tell you that this is not likely to end well for you. I am reluctant to talk about this in public instead of sending you a message, but I will do it anyway.

                No matter how good the ghostwriter is, the chances that anyone will buy the script are poor, really poor.

                See, what may happen is that you will find someone who actually is a good writer and is willing to write the script for the $5K. If you really have all the materials for the story, then the script would not be all that hard to write, even if it needed some development by significant changes to characters and events to make it more saleable.

                But when it does not sell, you are not going to be happy. And the script may be good. But that does not mean that anyone is going to buy it, and even if someone picks it up on the cheap, that does not mean that it will ever make it to the screen.

                You really ought to try to write the screenplay yourself. If the dialogue is too much on the nose, then ignore that and just write the script and look at it when you are done and try to make it better. That would be your best approach to this project, which seems to be very important to you. (Well, having read your post again, I think you have already done that. But consider doing it again.)

                As for publishing the story as fiction, and expecting someone to buy the rights, that is unlikely. Fiction, by which I assume you mean a novel, is not easy to write. I will concede at the outset, to avoid a barrage of disputation from people here, that some good novelists can never do well with screenplays, because as writers they do not think cinematically. But, having stipulated to that circumstance, I will also say that a novel is a much tougher genre than a screenplay. A screenplay is like a song (music and lyrics). A novel is like a symphony, with many voices. And you still have to write dialogue that is not on the nose.

                However, I am impressed with your commitment to the project. You have obviously put a lot of time and work into it. Clearly, you believe in it.

                I will also send you a private message.

                "The fact that you have seen professionals write poorly is no reason for you to imitate them." - ComicBent.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Anyone have first-hand experience with a ghost writer?

                  Originally posted by DIABOLUS View Post
                  The last person I ran my story by described it as, "dark, fast-paced, sexy" with a "badass main character." So if any of you have suggestions on someone who might thrive with this kind of material I'm open to recommendations.
                  Who would the target audience be?

                  Maybe consider taking the most interesting and marketable scene and shoot it for $5k by using some talented up and coming filmmakers who's already done it before (great quality shorts on shoestring budgets).

                  Use the heat to gain interest in the script. If the concept is as good as you think it is and the general public loves it as much as you do -- maybe a studio or prod company will buy or have someone else write it.
                  One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

                  The Fiction Story Room

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Save Your Money

                    Originally posted by DIABOLUS View Post
                    Worst case scenario, I'll publish it as a work of fiction and let someone purchase the rights to adapt it into a screenplay. One way or another it's getting made.
                    Clearly the right choice. It is super, super easy to get a major publishing house interested in your novel, selling 500 thousand copies of it to rave reviews and public adoration, which will then motivate a major HW studio to spend a fortune buying the screen rights. Which is exactly why the term "struggling novelist" doesn't even actually exist.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Anyone have first-hand experience with a ghost writer?

                      If screenwriting isn't your primary career goal, what is? Are you hoping to direct? If so, it's probably easier and cheaper to option a script you like and then try to get it made.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Anyone have first-hand experience with a ghost writer?

                        Let's say you pay someone 5K to write it and somehow it did sell. In all likelihood, "sell" means a very low option amount - maybe even less than you paid your writer - which you'll probably have to split with the writer, because having only your name on the script would be a straight-up deception to the company optioning it. And even if you were able to sell it for more, it's not going to springboard you anywhere because you didn't write it. The company that optioned it is not going to give you a place at the table just for coming up with the concept - your role will be over, and all for half of an option payment. So be clear on what your goal is with this move. Money? A career as a screenwriter? Sounds like you're not interested in the latter, so be aware the money is likely not what you think it is. Spending 5K on a writer who will actually WORK for 5K in hopes that something brilliant comes out of it AND finds a buyer amidst the 1000s of other screenplays flying around is a high-risk, low reward investment.

                        I suggest continuing to write it yourself as a way to get better, and so you can keep whatever option money eventually comes from it, as well as the credit for having written it.
                        https://twitter.com/DavidCoggeshall
                        http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1548597/

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Anyone have first-hand experience with a ghost writer?

                          Also keep in mind that you'll need a clear legal arrangement with this writer, so you'll be paying for a lawyer too. If you decide to keep it "informal", you'll have no protection at all. The writer could take your 5K, deliver something you think is atrocious, and you'll have no recourse. Good luck trying to get them to do a bunch of free rewrites, especially since it won't help their career at all. Can't complain to the Guild, it won't be a guild project. Good luck taking them to court - you paid for a screenplay and got one. There's no guarantee you have to like it. The whole thing screams headache.
                          https://twitter.com/DavidCoggeshall
                          http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1548597/

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Anyone have first-hand experience with a ghost writer?

                            Originally posted by ProfessorChomp View Post
                            The writer could take your 5K, deliver something you think is atrocious, and you'll have no recourse.
                            But I'll still do it for $5K....

                            Comment

                            Working...
                            X