Test Your Screenwriting I.Q., Pt. 10
Steve Kaire is back debunking some popular myths in the industry.
True or False
1. You should always take a journal with you to every pitch meeting.
True. Record the date, name of the company and what projects you pitched to them, as well as their reactions.
2. With enough practice, you should be able to pitch any story of yours in one sentence.
True.
3. If you sell a spec script, proceeds go into your Writers Guild Health and Pension fund.
False. Only contracted sales, not spec sales, go into both funds.
4. Writers who pitch well are able to sell projects the first time they pitch to a company even if they’ve never pitched to them before.
That’s false. It’s rare to sell anything the first time you pitch to a company.
5. Get the names of assistants and secretaries of companies you’re pitching to.
True. Be polite and friendly to them so they’ll put you through to their boss.
6. When you contact people you want to be in business with, be persistent but not annoying.
True.
7. Every company has an agenda that a writer coming in to pitch isn’t aware of.
True. There are certain types of projects they are staying away from but you won’t know what they are.
8. There is more theft of material in the film business rather than in TV.
False. The opposite is true.
9. Before any pitch meeting, call and find out exactly what kind of material they’re currently looking for.
True.
10. Being a successful screenwriter is more about how good a writer you are rather than anything else.
False. Your talent is important but so are your connections to the people who can get projects sold and produced.
STEVE KAIRE is a Screenwriter/Pitchman who’s sold 8 projects to the major studios without representation. The last project he sold, he’s Co-Producing for Walden Media. A screenwriter for over 30 years, he holds a Masters in Dramatic Writing and has taught writing classes at the American Film Institute. Steve was featured on the Tonight Show’s, “Pitching to America” and was voted a Star Speaker at Screenwriters Expo three years in a row. His top rated CD, High Concept - How to Create, Pitch & Sell to Hollywood is a best seller.
