Jobs for screenwriters (with a bachelors)?

[drc]

Hey all,

Other than writing spec scripts and trying to get them purchased, what jobs are available for people with a bachelors degree in screenwriting and a portfolio of scripts? What kind of pay can be expected for an entry-level position?

I ultimately want to write scripts for independent films that I will direct myself, but would like to have a decent job that is related to screenwriting and/or film making.


I appreciate the help.

 

[directorik]

I would think that the school where you got your degree
would have answered this question. Am I wrong in that
assumption? Did the school not offer employment suggestions?

A degree is irrelevant when it comes to entertainment writing
jobs. Staff writers and writers assistants (an entry level job)
don't need a degree - they need contacts and several, excellent,
finished scripts. You say you have those so I suggest looking
into TV when staffing season rolls around.

In film production there are "reader" gigs. They are difficult to
get and don't pay well, but they can be good jobs if you can get
one. You will need your "sepc" coverage to show to get that gig,
too.

There really isn't an "entry-level" position for writers except in
TV. Most writers doing the spec thing are waiters and bartenders
- not writers.

 

[drc]

I would think that the school where you got your degree
would have answered this question. Am I wrong in that
assumption? Did the school not offer employment suggestions?

A degree is irrelevant when it comes to entertainment writing
jobs. Staff writers and writers assistants (an entry level job)
don't need a degree - they need contacts and several, excellent,
finished scripts. You say you have those so I suggest looking
into TV when staffing season rolls around.

In film production there are "reader" gigs. They are difficult to
get and don't pay well, but they can be good jobs if you can get
one. You will need your "sepc" coverage to show to get that gig,
too.

There really isn't an "entry-level" position for writers except in
TV. Most writers doing the spec thing are waiters and bartenders
- not writers.

Thanks for the helpful response.

I haven't completed my formal education yet, I have about 3 years left to complete my bachelors.

I was asking because being a screenwriter for specs seems kind of "hit or miss" you know? I don't mean to sound pessimistic or doubtful. But I'm used to careers where there is a logical PATH to take.

With spec screenwriting, which is what I want to do, I feel like success is not entirely in my hands, which makes me uncomfortable. I understand that those who make it, work hard and are persistent, but I'm sure a lot of people work hard but never make it.

 

[barnaclelapse]

I would think that the school where you got your degree
would have answered this question. Am I wrong in that
assumption? Did the school not offer employment suggestions?

A degree is irrelevant when it comes to entertainment writing
jobs. Staff writers and writers assistants (an entry level job)
don't need a degree - they need contacts and several, excellent,
finished scripts. You say you have those so I suggest looking
into TV when staffing season rolls around.

In film production there are "reader" gigs. They are difficult to
get and don't pay well, but they can be good jobs if you can get
one. You will need your "sepc" coverage to show to get that gig,
too.

There really isn't an "entry-level" position for writers except in
TV. Most writers doing the spec thing are waiters and bartenders
- not writers.

Very true.

I should probably still go to college for something, but it's nice to know that as a writer I still have a good enough chance (well as good as it's ever gonna get) in the field.

 

[directorik]

Not only is writing scripts on "spec" hit or miss, selling your first script
means selling your second is hit or miss. At no point in the career of a
screen writer is success in your hands - it will always be in the hands
of others. That's why many writers become producers. There is nothing
logical about this business. There are many hard working, talented writers
(and actors and directors and editors and cinematographers...) who never
make it.

This isn't pessimistic or doubtful - this is just the reality of the business.
For every success story we read about there are 20 failure stories we don't
read about.

But writing on spec is really the only way to go. There is no "entry level"
screenwriting job that will have a logical path to full screenwriter. You
write many scripts and you take the "hit or miss" path until you finally hit.
Then you might get a few more assignments but you also might start on
the "hit or miss" path once again - sometimes for many years until you
hit again.

My advice is to learn the business end of this business. Most schools do NOT
teach you how to get a job. You have three years to push your teachers to
advice you on that, very important, aspect of this business.

What are you getting your degree in?

 

[drc]

Not only is writing scripts on "spec" hit or miss, selling your first script
means selling your second is hit or miss. At no point in the career of a
screen writer is success in your hands - it will always be in the hands
of others. That's why many writers become producers. There is nothing
logical about this business. There are many hard working, talented writers
(and actors and directors and editors and cinematographers...) who never
make it.

This isn't pessimistic or doubtful - this is just the reality of the business.
For every success story we read about there are 20 failure stories we don't
read about.

But writing on spec is really the only way to go. There is no "entry level"
screenwriting job that will have a logical path to full screenwriter. You
write many scripts and you take the "hit or miss" path until you finally hit.
Then you might get a few more assignments but you also might start on
the "hit or miss" path once again - sometimes for many years until you
hit again.

My advice is to learn the business end of this business. Most schools do NOT
teach you how to get a job. You have three years to push your teachers to
advice you on that, very important, aspect of this business.

What are you getting your degree in?

Thanks so much for the insight.

I'm getting a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Film, with a concentration on screenwriting.

 

[VPTurner]

No amount of formal education will help you if you can't write. And if you can write, no amount of formal education will matter. Just focus on creating characters and stories that people want to see and will pay good money to see. Don't focus on straight to video indie flicks unless you have a steady paying day job. It will get you experience, but it won't put food on the table.

I tried the starving artist bit when I was twenty (I'm 42 now). Wrote a script. Went nowhere. But I made some friends and got enough validation from agents and industry professionals that I could write, just chose the wrong story. Then I got tired of being hungry and focused on a steady paycheck. Made a career in the computer industry (specializing in video and computer graphics, so I still have a foot in the industry in a round about sort of way). And now that I'm comfortable with food in the kitchen and a roof over my head, I'm focusing on the writing again.

Not saying my path will be your path. Just saying that you should have a backup plan (or rich parents).

 

[superamazing]

You know, you should visit Wordplayer.com. It's a series of articles by Terry Russio, who wrote the screenplays for Aladdin, Shrek and Pirates of the Caribbean, about how to break into Hollywood.

In fact, the articles are so insightful and interesting that I think anyone, not just screenwriters, would benefit from reading them.

 

[JMJohnson]

Director Rik gives some very good advice but I don't know if he's saying it clearly enough -being a writer is not enough. One thing people will say to you when you're working in the industry is, "everyone writes," and it's true. I'm a producer working in reality TV -far from where I started or wanted to be but I've got good scripts and I'm getting some attention. Sooner or later I will be selling them.

I suggest you find a position you like that is somewhere in the project flow and work it from the beginning. Being a PA does in fact get you places eventually but you need to have skills besides filling out forms or getting coffee. I've known a plenty of people that never went to film school who are still PAs in their late 30s and they don't care -they're living with their girlfriend in the valley in a house with a pool why would they care?

Think this way, if you like editing then be a post PA. Then later be a post supervisor and along the way learn to edit, meanwhile keep writing. But then when you're an editor making some good money, take some of that wonderful time between gigs and sell the shit out of your script.

If you look on IMDB there are plenty of lifers (some are even pretty young) out there who have done everything under the sun and you could be one of them.

Unless you are a bartender who's got a band and an awesome script that Harvey Weinstein wants to pay you millions to direct, just get to work like the world doesn't owe you anything.

-JJ