How much money can a writer expect to make from selling their first script?

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  • How much money can a writer expect to make from selling their first script?

    Does anyone have any accurate information for how much money a new screenwriter, if they manage to sell their first not-low-budget script, can expect to make? Simply googling it results in wildly varying estimates, and the only threads I could find here are many years old and likely outdated.

    I worked as a civil engineer until May 2021, then quit (thanks to some income from Bitcoin and simply saving money) in order to focus on screenwriting full-time. Actually, from the first day of 2021 to the last, I was working on multiple drafts of my latest script full time (meaning 40 hours a week or more), which was quite insane while I was also at my day job full time. I also spent several months before this reading 4 books and several academic papers for research, mapping out an outline, etc. I'm now ready to start querying and entering it in contests and so on.

    I know just selling anything would be quite an achievement to be proud of, but ultimately, like anyone else, I'd like to earn enough money from writing to not have to go back to my day job when my savings run out around the end of this year. I saw some estimates on websites suggesting first-time writers might expect to earn $100k for their script, and even that is broken down to $20k for the first draft and $20k for each of four possible future drafts, if they're even wanted. So, assuming taxes only take 20% (probably overly optimistic) and your agent/manager gets 10%, you'd be left with $14,400 for your first draft, which seems... well, unfathomable. And of course, that doesn't include any retirement plan, health insurance, or paid vacation/sick days. At my last day job, I was making about $6k per month after taxes, and with retirement/insurance/vacation, it'd be around $8k per month. So the idea that I would earn the same amount of money for a script I spent well over a year on as I would make in less than 2 months at my day job is dismaying, to say the least. If I'm ever going to be able to afford to live in Los Angeles, I need to make at least double what I made at my day job... not less than 1/6 as much.

    Anyway, I'm really praying the information I've found so far is inaccurate, particularly the part about only receiving 1/5 of the overall agreed-to amount for your first draft. Does anyone have any reliable, accurate information? Is there perhaps a database that lists all spec script sales and how much they sold for? Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.
    Last edited by RKOwens; 01-12-2022, 10:23 AM. Reason: typo, additional info

  • #2
    A lot of jobs aren't spec sales; they're being hired to rewrite a script. So instead of 100k, you might make half that (or less) for a draft.

    But yeah, 100k is probably about right (if not a little high) for a first time full script fee with a signatory studio. If you write an indie movie, you'll make a lot less. For example, Hallmark movies probably pay 50-60k.

    If just agent or manger, 10%. If both, 20%. Can go to 25 with lawyer.

    Taxes - 30 to 40% based on total earnings.

    So 100k, 20% commissions, 30% taxes... 56k total in salary, and hopefully it doesn't take more than a year to do it.

    You only get residuals if the movie is made and released, and you're the credited writer, which takes a long time and is a long shot. Most scripts aren't made, and a lot of people rewrite scripts and don't get credit.

    The studio pays into health insurance and a pension for you, again, if it's a studio that has a deal with the writer's guild.

    And time moves slowwwwly with features. If you're just starting querying and entering contests now, the fastest you could sell it (which isn't how most money is earned) would probably be... six or nine months? More likely, if you have success, it will be that people like it enough to let you pitch on other projects, and then it's probably a year or more before you land your first job. And that would be a super fast, super impressive debut.

    FWIW, 40 hours a week for a full year should yield more than one script if you're trying to break in. You never know what is going to catch people's interest. You have all your eggs in one basket - can you go another year to write another script with no income? And even then, if the next one does will, it's months and months or year before you see money from it.

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    • #3
      The other math is even established, "working" screenwriters with decades-long track records never sell 99% of the things they write on spec. It's just the nature of the beast. And the rare situation where a new writer does bring a hot spec to market (1) it's almost never the very first thing they've ever written; and (2) it it does sell, that's usually just a first step in the path to actually quitting their day job. Marathon, not a sprint, as they say

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      • #4
        Thanks for the insight. Glad to hear studios pay into retirement and health insurance, and that screenwriters might receive royalties. What about the info I read about the writer only getting paid 20% of the agreed-upon total sum for the first draft, and then only getting another 20% for each subsequent draft the studio asks you to write? Is that accurate?

        Also, is anyone aware of a website tracking all spec script sales and how much they go for?

        FYI, I know a year for a script is a long time, but this was a long (nearly three hours) and I did multiple re-writes and revisions and proofreadings, etc. It's also not by any means the first script I've ever written (I'm 36 and have been writing and sending them out since I was 18, but took about a 10 year break in between focusing on an engineering career). I agree though that I need to start spending less time for each.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by RKOwens View Post
          Thanks for the insight. Glad to hear studios pay into retirement and health insurance, and that screenwriters might receive royalties. What about the info I read about the writer only getting paid 20% of the agreed-upon total sum for the first draft, and then only getting another 20% for each subsequent draft the studio asks you to write? Is that accurate?

          Also, is anyone aware of a website tracking all spec script sales and how much they go for?

          FYI, I know a year for a script is a long time, but this was a long (nearly three hours) and I did multiple re-writes and revisions and proofreadings, etc. It's also not by any means the first script I've ever written (I'm 36 and have been writing and sending them out since I was 18, but took about a 10 year break in between focusing on an engineering career). I agree though that I need to start spending less time for each.
          And just to be clear, the studios are generally paying into the health plan you receive through the union (WGA), which is a pretty good plan FWIW.

          Vacation time doesn't really work exist in the feature world and for TV, it's typically just major holidays you get off.

          Jeff really hit the nail on the head with all his advice, but I wanted to double down on one of the good points he made - that a lot of jobs aren't spec sales.
          Being a working writer is really a numbers game. You're constantly trying to cobble together as much work as you possibly can. It's only a handful of top top top screenwriters who are able to make a living off one or two jobs a year. In addition to rewrite jobs which are a big source of income, you'll also be jockeying for OWA's (open writing assignments, which is essentially pitching for the right to develop a company's existing idea or IP).

          As you continue working on your features I wouldn't discount TV. A lot of writer's dabble in both worlds as a way to (slightly) increase their odds of getting work. Maybe step back now and work on an original pilot so you have a TV sample?

          The others are right, working full time on writing for a year should have produced more than one screenplay. But there's no point in beating yourself up over that now. Instead, really try to think of it as a learning experience. Looking back, how could you have managed your schedule and creative process differently so that you ended the year with three scripts instead of one?


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          • #6
            Features are a nightmare. There is a fraction of the development money there once was and it ain’t going to you. (Or me) Buyers want packages. You are likely to not see real money until principal photography or some other significant event as you progress to production. What’s the silver lining? I guess that if you clear all of those hurdles of packaging and finding a buyer/financing then you are close to having a movie. And then you can start thinking about getting real money when the thing gets made and you likely had a purchase price (% with floor/ceiling) baked into the option agreement.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Satriales View Post
              Features are a nightmare. There is a fraction of the development money there once was and it ain’t going to you. (Or me) Buyers want packages. You are likely to not see real money until principal photography or some other significant event as you progress to production. What’s the silver lining? I guess that if you clear all of those hurdles of packaging and finding a buyer/financing then you are close to having a movie. And then you can start thinking about getting real money when the thing gets made and you likely had a purchase price (% with floor/ceiling) baked into the option agreement.
              Thanks. Can you elaborate a bit on what you mean by "Buyers want packages" though?

              Also, concerning option agreements, the way I understand this is that the writer can sign a deal saying the studio has 5 years (or whatever) to film the script, and if they don't, the writer regains full rights to the script. Correct? This sounds more ideal to me since of course most scripts never get made, but any idea how much money a writer can expect to make from optioning a script? And is it any easier optioning a script rather than fully selling it?

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              • #8
                I'm sure Satriales will jump in soon, but packaged projects can mean there is a director attached, a star attached, and/or producer/production company attached which gives the material that much more value. Thus if Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts is attached to your project or Martin Scorsese wants to direct, then you have an infinitely better chance of selling it, as I'm sure you can imagine.

                Don't option your script to anyone for five years. That's too long, unless they are paying you boat loads of money -- even then I wouldn't, per se. A regular option should be for 12 to maybe 18 months. Though I would even suggest avoiding he latter. Then in many cases, there is a clause that will state the producer or production company has the right to renew the option for say and additional 12 months for an option fee, which is usually the same amount paid the first time. If you are dealing with WGA signatory companies that are reputable, you could be talking thousands of dollars. Companies I've worked for have paid anywhere from say $2,000 to $7,000 to option a script for a year or so, out of their own pockets.

                I've optioned my scripts and friends have optioned their scripts for very little (me) to thousands & thousands of dollars (them) for "short" periods of time (a year or so at a time.)

                And to some degree, yes. People would much rather option your material for a much smaller sum of money than try to pay you thousands to tens of thousands of dollars for it. You should try to get somewhere around 3% of the film's anticipate budget for anyone to buy your script. This should include a floor price (the least amount you will accept) and a ceiling price (the highest amount), regardless of how much the budget balloons due to above the line costs and even some BTL costs.

                Not to state the overly obvious, but options mean less to much less money, but then you generally get your script back. (Do be careful about what notes of theirs you do or do not get to keep.) If someone buys it, then that's pretty much it. But as you allude to, if you are dealing with is a WGA signatory, then after about 5 years or so you can buy it back; but that will cost you what was paid to you for the script plus possibly some additional fees. There is also the smaller chance they could put it in turnaround then someone new comes along pays what was paid to you to buy it and also any development money spent above and beyond that cost. That can, of course, get pricey in certain situations.

                As a side note, and though I'm just a small fish in very large pond, I've always allowed writers to keep any changes they've made based on my notes. But that's only because I try to be a good guy about it. Others are not always so "easy going about it," thus be careful.

                I'm sure others can chime in with their experiences, knowledge, etc. but hopefully the above can help in some fashion.
                Will
                Done Deal Pro
                www.donedealpro.com

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                • #9
                  If you sell a script (or are hired to write one) it’s often a two or three step deal - the majority for the first rewrite, and smaller pieces for the rewrites.

                  options are a tiny piece of money for them to control a script for x years. Like 10k? It’s not a way to make a living.

                  here’s how spec sales are usually structured: they option they script for a small amount, then most of the money is for the one or two or three guaranteed rewrites you do. They don’t actually buy the script until it is basically in production.

                  the main page of this website maintains great records of spec sales.

                  But I think what people are trying to stress is: there is a 99.99 percent chance you’re not going to sell this script. It’s not a realistic plan to make money. The best case scenario is that you use it to find other work. Crunching numbers for a spec sale is like starting a thread wondering if you should take your lottery winnings spread out over time or in one lump sum.

                  I’ve been doing this for 25 years, probably taken out a dozen specs, and sold two when I first took them out. I’ve sold a few others later, when I developed relationships and people asked what else I had. And I think I’m considered a guy who’s had a lot of luck with specs.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
                    If you sell a script (or are hired to write one) it’s often a two or three step deal - the majority for the first rewrite, and smaller pieces for the rewrites.

                    options are a tiny piece of money for them to control a script for x years. Like 10k? It’s not a way to make a living.

                    here’s how spec sales are usually structured: they option they script for a small amount, then most of the money is for the one or two or three guaranteed rewrites you do. They don’t actually buy the script until it is basically in production.

                    the main page of this website maintains great records of spec sales.

                    But I think what people are trying to stress is: there is a 99.99 percent chance you’re not going to sell this script. It’s not a realistic plan to make money. The best case scenario is that you use it to find other work. Crunching numbers for a spec sale is like starting a thread wondering if you should take your lottery winnings spread out over time or in one lump sum.

                    I’ve been doing this for 25 years, probably taken out a dozen specs, and sold two when I first took them out. I’ve sold a few others later, when I developed relationships and people asked what else I had. And I think I’m considered a guy who’s had a lot of luck with specs.
                    This is exactly right. Also, you need to take into consideration (unfortunately) the cost to make your film. The budget. The higher the budget, the bigger the film, the less people to sell to. If it's a very high budget, the people who can buy it you can count on your hands. I've also been doing this for two decades. I've had a dozen or more specs go out and a few got optioned and not made, 2 got sold and not made, and 2 were sold and made. 4 specs sold in 2+ decades. You can't make a living as a screenwriter selling specs. It's not a thing. Using your spec as a writing sample (as Jeff said) is what can jump start a career, but it's a very long process. There is no instant gratification in screenwriting. Breaking in can take years. The average is about a decade. It took me 12 years from writing my first script to my first produced film, which was a write for hire. 95% of my income comes from write for hire jobs. You get these to start by having an amazing spec, written in a great voice. You get your script out there and seen, unfortunately, the way producers want them. Querying your script to managers and producers, entering it into the Nicholl and making the Finals, networking your ass off where you can. Film Festivals are good places to network. And... start writing a new one now. I wish you good luck. Worrying about how much you'll make off a spec is putting the cart way before the horse.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by RKOwens View Post
                      TAlso, is anyone aware of a website tracking all spec script sales and how much they go for?
                      It's also not by any means the first script I've ever written (I'm 36 and have been writing and sending them out since I was 18, but took about a 10 year break in between focusing on an engineering career).
                      I've heard your situation before and I have a simple answer. It is based on the "Elevator pitch" scenario.

                      You get on an elevator with Steven Spielberg. What do you pitch him?

                      Everyone is familiar with Spielberg's resume, from "E.T." to "Jurassic Park" to "Schindler's List" (and "Jaws"). If you're going to be a professional writer, by this time, you should have.... HOW to write a feature movie that fits into this particular moment in Spielberg's career.

                      Does he go back to "Schindler's List" mode with a serious story set in modern Israel?

                      Do you have anything as compelling as "cloning dinosaurs for a theme park"?

                      Alan Ball ran into Spielberg in a parking lot, a few days after Spielberg had read "American Beauty." Spielberg asked, "Why haven't I heard of you?" Ball had been the head writer on "Cybill" and "American Beauty" was his personal fantasy about quitting that job.

                      Every writer on a TV series wants to move into features.

                      A pitch - not for YOUR great idea, but for the movie you think Spielberg should be producing through his offices at Universal Studios.... do you understand what a Spielberg movie is? There's a time limit here of about three minutes.

                      (2) I'm seeing a lot of writers who know about screenwriting and nothing else. You got into crypto-currency, great. Mary Martin wrote and starred in a Broadway musical that became "The Sound of Music." 'Grease" "West Side Story." I don't see any market for musicals. Same for Westerns. Steven Spielberg wanted to direct a James Bond movie, made "Indiana Jones" with George Lucas instead, and now the spy craze is down to Austin Powers and Tom Cruise (epic guest appearance as well as Mission:Impossible.) People are dreading the next actor to play James Bond. There have been 36 Godzilla movies. Does anybody want to see Godzilla fight a robot the same size and shape? There might be room for one more super-hero franchise, but that door could close before you find an agent. So, we go back to Spielberg and the Overpowering Original Concept that everyone else will copy for the next decade. That's really the only place I see for a writer without representation or a contest win.
                      Last edited by VoltarReturns; 01-12-2022, 09:22 PM.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by RKOwens View Post
                        Thanks for the insight. Glad to hear studios pay into retirement and health insurance, and that screenwriters might receive royalties. What about the info I read about the writer only getting paid 20% of the agreed-upon total sum for the first draft, and then only getting another 20% for each subsequent draft the studio asks you to write? Is that accurate?

                        Also, is anyone aware of a website tracking all spec script sales and how much they go for?
                        I wouldn't suggest thinking in terms of 20% of this or that. As Jeff and EdF noted above there are frequently steps in deals made for scripts so the company or studio doesn't have to pay so much out right away.

                        In terms of the amount spec scripts are selling for, of course, our main site has been tracking script deals, spec sales, options, etc. for over 24 years now. There are almost 37,000 deals in our database to date. But the days of announcing what was/or how much was paid for spec sales is mostly long gone. That all pretty much moved on after the 2008 writers' strike and studios, etc. realized they didn't really need to be shelling out all the money they used to.

                        First, what a writer is paid is technically private info. It's a legal contract. Though, if a great deal is paid for a script, people love to brag about to "up" the writer's quote, sound like players, and so on thus a general amount is noted: six figures, high six figures, and so on. Never the exact amount in almost every, if not every, case. But you're not going to be able to really work off that, which is why again, I noted the 3% rule/guideline above, for what you could *possibly* be paid for your script, if someone even out right buys it. Not suggesting you or others don't know this, but don't get ahead of yourself thinking something is going to sell. It's so rare nowadays, it's not even funny. So rare.

                        You shouldn't let yourself get cheated, but at the same time, if someone wants to option or better yet buy your script(s), you should feel pretty lucky. But (try to) get a rep to help you navigate& negotiate the deal points, before you sign anything -- an entertainment lawyer at the least.
                        Will
                        Done Deal Pro
                        www.donedealpro.com

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                        • #13
                          Question: "HOW MUCH CAN A WRITER EXPECT TO MAKE?"

                          Real Answer: ZERO POINT ZERO DOLLARS.

                          That's the sad truth. And that's for your career.



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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Done Deal Pro View Post

                            , our main site has been tracking script deals, spec sales, options, etc. for over 24 years now. There are almost 37,000 deals t.
                            Think of it like this. The studios spent decades buying scripts with Great Characters. They've got 37,000. All they have to do is change the lead from a guy to a woman. Why would they buy yours?

                            Are you offering them anything they didn't buy 15 years ago?

                            Because crypto-currency probably isn't in their vault? Self-driving electric cars.

                            The things we want to see on a movie screen... pretty much haven't changed since "Jaws." British school children recognize "Harry Potter" as a variation of Merlin and Robin Hood. Practice thinking in terms of "What Would Spielberg BUY?"

                            Spielberg makes movies for his children now. Same way he made "E.T."

                            Elevator Pitch: "Old Seinfeld." Instead of re-casting "Magnum P.I" and "SWAT," let Jerry Seinfeld sit in a makeup chair and turn into an older version of his character in the original series. Then, Jerry plays the son of the original character, without makeup.

                            ok, maybe Veep is the closest we’re going to get to Old Seinfeld.
                            Last edited by VoltarReturns; 01-13-2022, 05:28 AM.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by VoltarReturns View Post

                              Think of it like this. The studios spent decades buying scripts with Great Characters. They've got 37,000. All they have to do is change the lead from a guy to a woman. Why would they buy yours?

                              Are you offering them anything they didn't buy 15 years ago?

                              Because crypto-currency probably isn't in their vault? Self-driving electric cars.

                              The things we want to see on a movie screen... pretty much haven't changed since "Jaws." British school children recognize "Harry Potter" as a variation of Merlin and Robin Hood. Practice thinking in terms of "What Would Spielberg BUY?"

                              Spielberg makes movies for his children now. Same way he made "E.T."

                              Elevator Pitch: "Old Seinfeld." Instead of re-casting "Magnum P.I" and "SWAT," let Jerry Seinfeld sit in a makeup chair and turn into an older version of his character in the original series. Then, Jerry plays the son of the original character, without makeup.

                              ok, maybe Veep is the closest we’re going to get to Old Seinfeld.
                              LordVoltar. Hi ! I’m thinking some folks on DD have, and are, working with producers on feature scripts. Granted, dunno if any are ‘studio’ related entities. But the mere fact that active producers are expending their capital—time— tells me that perhaps the bulk of those 37k backlog of scripts were misses. Mistakes in judgement. Hopes with no substance. My guess is that a plethora of folks that pulled the trigger on those script acquisitions are no longer in the industry. Some are brilliant, but fatally dated.

                              I doubt that studios—most are a different iteration of their former selves- invest resources in mining through the ‘vault’ that holds those musty works. And so, like in any creative enterprise, execs look for FRESH, bright, shiny, properties to promote. Fresh being the operative word. DOB they can move along the chain as “original”, since most genres are derivative. That’s why hope springs eternal. A jaded eye… fresh new eyes to the industry at agencies and production co.’s—still ON THE HUNT. Like writers, this is their chosen game. Knives out!

                              The cache ‘in da vault’ that is recent, and has the most perceived value may match up to what a new exec sees in a new script that came into his orbit. Hire that writer to put his magic to it.

                              99.99%. Wow. Makes me feel good to have beaten those odds. Once. But it took a decade. 😂 So I don’t feel THAT good about it.

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