The Business of Screenwriting: Everything You Wanted to Know About Specs

Links to all twenty articles in the series.

The spec script is the passport for a screenwriter trying to break into the Hollywood film and television business. Since it is so important, here is a twenty-part series which covers just about everything you need to know about spec scripts.

In Part 1, we looked at the genesis of the spec script in Hollywood from 1900–1942.

In Part 2, we covered the emergence of the spec script market from 1942–1990.

In Part 3: Boom, Bust, Back Again, But Now…?[1990–2019]

In Part 4, we surveyed the buyers, both major studios and financiers.

In Part 5, we examined the screenwriter-rep relationship in terms of developing a spec script.

In Part 6, we explored rolling out a new writer’s spec script.

In Part 7, we delved into the subject of attaching producers.

In Part 8, we considered the value of attaching talent.

In Part 9, we learned about reps wanting to “own all the tickets.”

In Part 10, we dug into how reps generate buzz for a spec script.

In Part 11, we looked at the practice of slipping a script to someone.

In Part 12, we acknowledged the role that serendipity can play in the process.

In Part 13, we discussed the strategy of targeting specific buyers.

In Part 14, we drilled down into the strategy of going wide.

In Part 15, we indulged in the ultimate fantasy of a bidding war.

In Part 16, we got a first-hand account of a preemptive purchase.

In Part 17, we went down one creative choice to write what they’re buying.

In Part 18, we pondered another choice to sell them your dream.

In Part 19, we mulled over the value of a spec script… even if it doesn’t sell.

In Part 20, we reveled in the value of a spec script… if it does sell…

The Business of Screenwriting is a weekly series of Go Into The Story aricles based upon my experiences as a complete Hollywood outsider who sold a spec script for a lot of money, parlayed that into a screenwriting career during which time I’ve made some good choices, some okay decisions, and some really stupid ones. Hopefully you’ll be the wiser for what you learn here.

For more Business of Screenwriting articles, go here.