That first offer

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  • That first offer

    I am still working my way through what I guess is the current issue of Creative Screenwriting (Vol. 13, No. 1). Ron Suppa tells an interesting story in his column "The Busine$$ of Screenwriting."

    Ron discusses the case of a writer who rushed into her first sale, which took about forty-eight hours from pitch to done deal. Unfortunately, the writer was then quickly eased out of the whole process, and the script, which had generated enormous heat, got lost in development hell and turnaround.

    The point of the article is that people reach for the money offered instead of taking time to think about the deal and to consider the personalities involved. Ron concludes with: "Have we rushed so fast for the money that we have lost sight of the long-term values of friendship, mutual interest, and shared creative goals? Take the time to get to know those to whom you are entrusting your work and your career."

    I am not myself trying to break into the tough world of professional screenwriting. But I will ask, on behalf of others: What is a new writer supposed to do when presented with an offer to buy that first script? It seems to me that the new guy is just stuck and will have to take the offer.

    Any thoughts?

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

  • #2
    Re: That first offer

    I, too read that article, CB, and I think the heart of the article was to
    make the screenwriter think outside of the lotto box. In any business, it's
    all about networking, putting yourself out there, the ol' meet/greet game.

    As writers we tend to hermit inside our little caves, quite an antisocial group
    at that. Find out who you're doing business with, that's just sound business
    advice.

    Charli

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    • #3
      Re: That first offer

      I agree, Boski. We could cash our checks and tilt a brew back together over deals like that.

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

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      • #4
        Re: That first offer

        Darn that text-wrap - I almost didn't see the $$.

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        • #5
          Re: That first offer

          If you insist on playing the straight man...

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          • #6
            Re: That first offer

            Hey! If he's the straight man, what does that make me?

            What a revoltin' development this is!

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

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            • #7
              Re: That first offer

              I read that article, but I think its main point was that the writer was ill-served by her agent. While the initial sale was quick, the agent apparently did nothing to further the writer's career after the sale was made. Maybe the writer only had that one hot script in her arsenal. I don't know.
              http://www.pjmcilvaine.com/

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              • #8
                Re: That first offer

                My first option was negotiated by my entertainment attorney with quite a few years experience in Hollywood. One cool thing she did, after negotiating the price (and she didn't settle for the first offer), was get them to add 10% on top of that to cover her fee!

                I naturally had to settle for a low price, but it was with a major player, so at least it looks good on my resume.

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