Breaking & Entering: 5 Ways to Become A Successful Screenwriter by Not Writing

Conventional wisdom maintains that the path to a successful writing career is honing your skills and improving your scripts by writing, writing, and rewriting. Apply your ass to the seat.

Conventional wisdom suggests that query letters can launch your career. Write a great one and keep sending it out there. It’s a number game.

Conventional wisdom says that getting recognition in contests and on screenwriting rating websites will get reps to reach out to you. The price of admission is worth it.

I’m all for conventional wisdom – when it works. I’ve offered up plenty in my years of blogging about screenwriting and my ScriptMag column. But there are extremely effective ways of advancing your career that you might be overlooking.

Ask anyone who has ever worked in the industry and I bet this will be one of their top ways of advancing their careers. Why are execs, producers, agents, and managers constantly meeting – breakfast, lunch, and drinks? To obtain and exchange information.

The business is about buying and selling. What do people want? What do they need? What stories resonate with them? The more you know, the more effective you will be.

This reminds me of a famous marketing story.

And that is why we in the industry are always trying to figure out, where are the hungry people and what are they hungry for?

What is the studio mandate? What genre does the producer love? What is the director’s secret passion project? What role does the famous actor want to play or genre that they want to work in? Who is hungry for what you have to offer?

You don’t need an expense account to find out what people want. Because they say it all the time. You just have to look in the right places.

Lots of writers rely on IMDbPro to contact people in the industry who might be interested in their projects. 

If you look beyond that, there is an endless wealth of knowledge there for the taking. 

The secret is in knowing how to read the page. In an individual's entry, the left-hand column includes contact information and representation. The right side lists: “Frequently credited with,” meaning people they work with a lot, who they probably want to work with again. In between is this:

There is valuable information in each category, although not all apply to every situation. But if you’re looking for the inside scoop, head straight to the News. They’ve consolidated every news organization’s mention of that individual’s name, with partial articles, and links to read the full piece in reverse chronological order. That is where the treasure is buried.

Look for articles announcing a new hire or a new studio deal. Read through and you will discover an obligatory quote from someone at the top. Invariably this is: “We are so thrilled to have Jane Doe or The Production Company join our ranks.” Then they will talk about why, including their career highlights, which reveals a lot about their past and what they are known for – their track record. Then they will say that they are confident the Jane Doe/The Prod Co will… bring them what they are hungry for. Boom!

I did this for a writer friend recently who had a project being read at a production company that per industry scoop had just made a new studio deal. The gracious quote from the President of Production said exactly what they hoped that the company would add to fill the gaps in their slate and thus fulfill their current mandate, i.e. need.

Read articles about projects that are being greenlit, as those are often chock full of info about how it came together – the active industry players – and why creatives chose to come on board, which reveals stories, genres, and topics they are passionate about. While this project may have filled that specific need, it might reveal a general hunger for the types of projects they want to do.

IMDbPro offers a FREE 30-day trial. If you’re pinching pennies, save it for when you have a project that is absolutely ready for the marketplace. Subscriptions are currently $19.99 a month, or $150 per year. A basic subscription requires existing IMDb credits. Subscribe or nab your free trial when the time is right here.

They even have a phone app! Stuck waiting for an appointment, stuck on your script, need a five-minute writing break? Replace your daily Wordle and dedicate that time to reading industry news.

Deadline is one of the top sources for industry news. They offer a wide range of FREE newsletters delivered straight to your inbox. 

If you sign up for everything you will be inundated, so pick and choose as to what will be the most valuable to you. Choose “Events” to receive invites to film and TV screenings with Q&A sessions. Not in LA? No worries! There are podcasts and videos available on their YouTube channel. 

I like the Deadline’s “Morning Rush,” and try and to devote time each morning to read and learn what companies and buyers want. I download and save any articles that mention what people are hungry for that matches my projects in development.

The Hollywood Reporter also offers free e-newsletters. Sign up here. 

Again, if you subscribe to all of them you will be buried in more information than a human can consume. They offer screenings and Q&As under “THR Presents.” They also have a YouTube channel where you can catch up on not only news and interviews, but Roundtables with directors, producers, writers, and on topics such as animation. 

What you’re looking for is exactly what industry pros are looking for at meetings and meals – discovering what others want so you can send it if you have it, keep it in mind when you’re thinking about what to spec so that your burger will attract hungry customers, and learn their taste.

I have a computer folder called “Industry Scoop,” filled with articles including new job announcements for people I know, articles on companies I might want to partner or package with, and buyers that might be a fit for my projects.

Being informed pays off!

Bonus: The WGA Foundation Newsletter

“You'll get the latest interviews with today's top screen and TV writers and gain invaluable insight into their work, plus a calendar of upcoming WGAW screen and TV writing-related events.” Subscribe here.

In case you missed a panel discussion, or are not in the LA area to see it live, catch their YouTube channel, plus find loads more informative content. 

Make it part of your routine to read a newsletter each weekday, catch a podcast weekly, and watch a panel video each month. Your industry insights will increase exponentially.

The world is flat, and the algorithm is in charge. If you’re spending all your social media time in online screenwriting groups, you’re doing it wrong.

I am certain that this will not be a popular opinion. I acknowledge that there are some industry pros in some groups who graciously share their experience and offer valuable advice. Many participants are eager to be helpful, and offer good advice. However, I have seen too many posts where a new writer was seeking information or feedback that rapidly devolved into lengthy debates, shaming over typos, grammar, and punctuation, in the question itself (yes, it counts, but it is just a Facebook post). Suggestions on how they themselves would write a logline or scene, “Just do it my way,” versus constructive criticism. Of course, there is contradictory advice. As well as heated disputes over the intricacies of formatting. And chastising people for breaking the rules, such as posting “First Page Fridays” not on Friday, when in this flat world it might actually be Friday where the poster is.

These groups can be a great source of support and building connections with other writers. But don’t get drawn in when it starts to spiral. It can become a time suck, and I’m hoping you will use your time wisely when you’re not busy writing. Since you’re on social media already, get busy creating your presence as a screenwriter!

The Challenge: Switch up your addiction to social media as an effective distraction/procrastination device. Instead, imagine your profile on all platforms as having the power to introduce you to the industry, prove that you are a writer working to advance your career, and convey your sensibility.

Maybe you don’t believe that social media can advance your career. Take a look at column “The #1 Secret to Getting Read and Getting Ahead,” on the making of the Netflix film, Trees of Peace that sprang from an Instagram post, which convinced the producer the first-time writer-director was a storyteller.

No excuses. My 13-year-old nephew has been making short films for years, has an IMDb profile, and credits. He has a Substack where he articulately reviews films and television, and YouTube Channels for his podcast and his vlog. Currently, he is shooting a documentary on homelessness as part of his Bar Mitzvah project. He has three Instagram accounts for his short films, merchandise, and music videos. His bio reads: “I am a filmmaker, content creator, photographer, author, entrepreneur, and actor.” That is how he is presenting himself to the world.

I walk the walk. While writing this column, I went to Facebook to procrast…. um, a take a short break. Since I follow their page, I saw a post from Wordplayer – the fabulously informative website by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio – a billion-dollar screenwriting team. A list of their credits would fill this column, but Aladdin, Shrek, Pirates of the Caribbean gives you a taste. I read Terry’s column, reposted it to my Facebook Big Ideas page with a nifty note, tagged their page, shared that post to my personal page, and to a large screenwriting group. I also posted on LinkedIn, and X (forever formerly to be know as Twitter.) And then I sent Terry Rossio a friend request. Will he accept? Dunno, but within minutes Wordplayer liked my post! 

I will post this article, which I’m hoping will be helpful and a little bit entertaining, across social media platforms. Even if not everyone reads it, the post reminds people who I am, what I do, how I think, and that I am working all the time.

Having a social media presence that shows you’re interested and engaged in the industry is invaluable.

I’ve devoted many columns to building relationships because I know how important that is. I’ve supplied pointers on networking horizontally – with others on your level, peer-to-peer – and vertically – with people who are above your level, and why both are invaluable. The benefit of building relationships with people who are just starting out when you are just starting out is that many of them will rise along with you. You’ll share the journey, and whoever is able will lend a hand up when the opportunity arises.

Check out:

Admittedly, Clubhouse isn’t what it was during the pandemic, but there are still industry pros there, albeit not as often. I built many friendships there that crossed over into real-life relationships, and I kept up with old friends. I still try to participate in a monthly industry AMA, Plot Points. There are many vibrant film groups, plus ones where people just stay quiet and write and others devoted to table reads. 

And, if you heard someone speak, thought that they were articulate, and had something worthwhile to say, something that was helpful or insightful, wouldn’t that make an excellent, sincere opener to a note asking to connect on social media?

Given that information is power, then being able to readily access the knowledge you’ve been diligently gathering is essential. I can’t count the number of times that a working writer would mention a meeting they had recently, and when I asked who they met, the reply was: “Mike… something?” Face. Plant.

When I began my first executive job as a Development Associate, and then Story Editor, for writers/producers/director Bruce Evans and Raynold Gideon, (Starman, Stand By Me, Mr. Brooks) I also began an FU folder. Hey now, that stands for Follow Up! 

Inside are files on reps, buyers, star or director-driven production companies, book agents, theater agents, plus meetings with companies and agencies, and more. It has phone numbers, and the names of assistants – because they matter, and may matter even more when they are promoted. So be polite and build a relationship now rather than later.

My job was meeting reps, building relationships, and bringing in potential projects. Books and plays were part of my territory. When I went to NYC, I planned my days geographically, from breakfast, to meeting, to meeting, to tea, solidifying relationships I had initiated over the phone, with information gleaned from scouring the NYT theater section and Publisher’s Weekly. That’s how I bought in Assassins, Lana & Lilly Wachowski’s first spec, directed by Richard Donner which Bruce and Ray producing along with Joel Silver. 

I also brought them novels, The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje, and Leaving Las Vegas by John O’Brien. Both passes for Bruce and Ray as writers – ouch. I knew LLV would never float their boat, but I loved reading The English Patient, so much so that I remember sitting on the floor while waiting in line for Sundance screenings, just to soak in another chapter. Gorgeous prose.

I kept track of every single interaction. Met for breakfast on this date, at such and such a place, and what I learned. Where they went to college, that they just got married or had a baby, and then what they liked/loved/wanted/needed. Afterward, any and all interactions. They sent me a script, or I sent them a script. My blunt notes on what I thought, or what they thought. What big clients were available and looking. Who was speccing and when. It spanned my executive career through being President of Debra Hill Productions. The Reps file is 250-pages, alphabetical by names – not by companies as those can change. 

Whether you use Excel, a Word doc, or a Google doc, or some tech I don't even know the name of, organize your information so that is searchable.

Conventional wisdom suggests getting other writers to read your work and give you feedback, or offer to do script swaps, will improve your writing. And it might. But providing constructive feedback is a distinct skill from screenwriting. The best writer might not be the best reader. Do however try to swap scripts with a writer whose work you’ve read and admired. The top way to build a relationship is to offer to do a favor before even considering asking a favor. The adage is: “Give before you get.”

I am not advocating for professional consultants to get business for myself. I’m suggesting that at a certain point in the rewriting process, you need fresh eyes that can offer professional, actionable insights. Ask around and get recommendations from other writers. Some consultants will be the perfect match for you while others may not. Don’t buy into the idea that the only people that can give effective notes are professional writers. I know many who refuse because they know that they are not able to be effective. Spend less on small, regional contests and pay-to-play websites, and save up for a one-on-one professional consultation.

Be leery of anyone selling notes by anonymous, low-paid readers. Do not waste money on a service that includes a synopsis, as that is the least value for your money – you need feedback. 

And lastly, I’ll retell the story of my client who paid a service offering three sets of notes. Identical formats, very much a “fill in this blank with 100 characters” form. He sent them to me, concerned, and in minutes I was able to separate the wheat from the chaff. Utterly disregard the first one as being from a person clearly inexperienced in writing notes. The second was someone with some experience and a comment to consider as a tweak. The third was someone who had experience as evidenced by how well they knew and used the jargon, and who had notes worth our discussing. I taught this for years, from interns to graduate students, so experience level or lack thereof is crystal clear to me.

With the rapid introduction of AI into the industry, writers have all the more reason to be wondering who is reading their scripts, especially if the price and the turnaround time are too good to be true. I’m eager to hear from the first writers who have gone through The Gauntlet, created by a group of A-List writers to ensure that real industry professionals are reading their work. The website launched in March 2024, and has full transparency with bios of the pro-readers at each level. If you’ve tried this, please share in the comments!

Don’t just while away the hours until that elusive big break comes your way. Take these steps now. These are tried and true methods, many of which are second nature to folks working in the industry. And no matter how you get your opportunity, applying these tools to your life as an aspiring writer helps ensure that when you do connect with people in the industry, you will look like a pro!