10 MANTRAS FOR SCREENWRITING

1.Write every day! "If you're not writing, you're not a screenwriter!"

2.After you finish your screenplay, re-write it. Nobody's perfect.

3.After your re-write, get someone you trust to read your screenplay. (NOT your mother. They love everything you do.) And ask for brutal honesty. This is a tough business. Praise won't help. After you get their feedback, re-write again as needed.

4.Make sure your format and binding are correct. The pro's won't read page one if your script visually screams "amateur".

5.Learn about the business of writing. You won't succeed in a vacuum. Build your library of books on screenwriting, and study them. Collect movies and study them too. You'll find everything you need in our Screenwriter's Store, so stop making excuses. Take a class, and go to seminars.

6.Focus your sales efforts. This is a 2-pronged attack. Direct sales, and getting representation. It's tough to make a sale on your own, and most agents won't take you on until you sell something. So you have to work both ends until you get a break. Do your homework. Know what companies produce projects that are similar in style and budget to yours before attempting to submit. And have a resource to agents and managers on your desk for ready reference. We recommend you buy and use "The Hollywood Agents and Managers Directory".

7.Protect your script before you submit it to agents, managers, or producers. Read "PROTECTING YOUR WORK PRODUCT" for an excellent outline of the steps to take.

8.Use every resource you can get. We invest hundreds of hours in building these pages to link you to information that will help you. Go through our directory to find what you need quickly. Sign up for everyone's newsletters, including ours. Read articles. See who is selling what, and why. And keep doing it on a regular basis.

9."WRITE ANOTHER SCRIPT". That's right. Start over and do it again. Nothing pays off like persistence. It's perfectly normal to sell your second or third script before you sell your first. You MUST keep writing to succeed.

10."GO FOR IT!" Make success your goal, not just your dream. Do what it takes.

Source: Anonymous