Whats the process for submitting a tv script?
Once upon a time, I would have told you it was utterly hopeless. For many years, the conventional route to selling a pilot was: 1. Write a sample script for an existing show, to prove that you can create interesting and entertaining stories in a universe created by another writer. 2. Use your sample script to get an agent, who would then submit the sample to show runners, one of whom might hire you as a staff writer on his show. 3. Spend a few years on that show, working your way up, so that you can get an on-the-job education in how a TV show-runner turns millions of dollars of somebody else’s money into a professional quality show. 4. Work your way up to showrunner on this other person’s show. Do a good job of running it. 5. Having proven that you can supervise a show, you are now in a position to sell your pilot script. Congratulations! The good news for you is that a variety of factors have doubled or even tripled your odds of selling a pilot without going through this process. The
Read this book. If you don’t want to, a summary of the best way to get your pilot produced. 1. Find a nice drawer and put your pilot script inside. 2. Watch television. Lots and lots of television. Take notes. Concentrate on understanding the plot structure underlying the shows you are watching — the things that are common to every episode of every show. TV on DVD is a big help, esp. if you rent it or use Netflix. 3. Sign up for a screenwriting class, if you haven’t taken one yet. 4. Find a show that has been on the air at least two years and is moderately successful. You should enjoy it, and become intimately familiar with its characters. Study the plots so you understand exactly what is an episode of this show. 5. Write a script for this show. You want to write an episode of your show. Do not write a script you want that happens to feature these characters; that is a fanfic. Write something that
