In this episode I answer three of the most common questions that I get from screenwriters.
- Screenplay formatting issues.
- Whether or not I recommend contest and pitch fest.
- How to sell your screenplay when you don’t have any credits and don’t know anybody in the industry.
The podcast is available in iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher (for Android users), the Windows Marketplace, and the Blackberry store or you can simply listen to it or watch it right from my blog.
Click here to read a transcript of this episode.
Links mentioned in the show:
To get my free guide, “How to Sell Your Screenplay in 5 Weeks” go here: https://www.sellingyourscreenplay.com/guide/
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Hi Ashley,
Thanx for the “pod”. Nice stuff.
Thank you.
Good info but the volume was VERY low!
Alex;
I’ve tried to adjust the audio volume and make it cleaner and louder. Please let me know if you’re still having this issue.
Very helpful in general! Please try to adjust the audio volume. I had my computer up at max volume and could barely hear you. Look forward to watching more
Kimberly;
I’ve tried to adjust the audio volume and make it cleaner and louder. Please let me know if you’re still having this issue.
Thank you
Learn everytime I read or listen to you.
Also I agree and I have always personaly said, ‘There is no substitute for hard work” there’s no better way to give yourself a chance to succed than following that advice for eveybody and every endeavor.
Penn
Hi Ashley, I’m a big fan of your website and e-letters. You always provide excellent info and present it quite well. As a sold Hollywood screenwriter, I appreciate you reaching out to new and vet writers alike, and always find something to learn from your straight-shooting approach. As you’re moving now into podcasts (great idea by the way!), I do have some simple suggestions that may help. Realize that a simple podcast is still a production and you should treat it as such. I don’t mean go crazy with graphics or any special effects, your down-home approach is fine, but it looks like your held up in a bedroom with empty shelves behind you and the lighting isn’t that great. There are some simple things you can do to make the podcast look more enticing and bring more confidence to your viewers. They are as follows: #1. Why not create a writer’s space for your podcast, instead of empty shelves in some bedroom somewhere, put some books on screenwriting up there that you believe are good, like “Hero With A Thousand Faces”, etc. Also, throw up a poster or two depicting movies you like. #2 What about putting up a one-liner on the wall for writers and change it up each week, perhaps asking your viewers to give you suggestions and giving each contributor a little thank you each show. #3. White is not a great colour for any broadcast and for haven sakes comb your hair. I know I sound like your mother, but I believe that what you are doing is excellent and I do think you are reaching out and helping other writers. I hope that my suggests are helpful, I mean no disrespect. I love what you are doing and I think many others do to. Thank you for all your work for the spirit of writing and good stories. Keep your chin up. You are making a difference.
Lars
All good suggestions. And I’ve started to implement many of them. Yes these first few podcasts were pretty basic and bare bones. I’m a big believer in getting out there and doing and learning as you go. So hopefully you’ll watch as I get better at this. But anyway, if you look at the next episode I think you’ll notice a good number of your suggestions implemented, so thank you.
ASM,
Thanks so much. Persistence… you can’t tell me that too much… and the lesson about six months writing, now six months marketing the script is so true… thanks for that…
Maybe it was my computer… but the volume on the podcast seemed to be a little low…
Only other suggestion… maybe add a graphic or two…
In a previous lesson you used some graphics to show us how to register our scripts (WGA/Library of Congress); that was really effective (imho). Maybe you could add a bullet point or two to get your points across in the lessons.
Thanks for the podcast and thanks for the inspiration.
On a sour note… I read a review of of a film you were attached to that appeared in the NY Times (couple months ago)… the review was less than flattering… how did you handle that… do you even read the review… did you think the criticism was valid… perhaps on a future podcast you could discuss the value of producer’s notes and how to use them to make one’s script even better.
Thanks again for the podcast and much love,
Brian
PS. On a personal note: a while back I got a scathing review by a local theatre critic on my staging of an opera… what the crit said was rewardingly painful and valuable for my development as a stage director… yeah I was humbled, but also, enlightened.
So I contacted the critic and opened up a line of dialogue… I guess it helped… because his next review was much more positive… I like to think that I had improved as a director… anyway… some food for thought.
Brian;
Thank you for your kind words.
That’s a great idea about opening up a conversation with the critic. It is a great way to improve, but also it’s much harder to bash someone when there is a real person that you’re bashing. Now that he knows you, it’s not just a nameless writer.