Hi Lance, I sold my first feature script from Script Revolution and decided to become a rockstar because of that sale, and wanted to give a little back to help with the maintenance of the site after it had been good to me. You can have the best poster in the world, and it might be an attention getter, but if your script sucks, either by story or formatting, no poster or rockstar status will help. The bottom line is to write the best script you can, and keep writing because each one is better than the last, and hope the right producer discovers it.
I like to think that I have the worst posters in the world, but the best scripts! But seriously, while this site isn't based on "user pay" to gain any sort of advantage, which is highly commendable, I did read something (I think, I hope?) that indicated that for search lists, the "Rockstars" scripts are listed first, among all of the other criteria (budget, female centric, etc. etc.) entered. So $5 a month or whatever is a fine little bump, and since there are a few hundred of y'all now, if the search criteria is general enough, I presume that means that scripts of those few hundred are going to be at the top. (I believe it's 'random' after that.) The solution? Spend the $5. Now some of you may say, yeah, but you're not a Rockstar Steve! Well, not in this context (ha ha) but I'm using SR as a placeholder for my stuff, for now, and am not really using or expecting to find buyers here via searches - it's just my own peculiar strategy for where I am nowadays, and I don't expect the vast, vast majority here limit themselves in such a way. I put links to my profile, and individual scripts, on pitches, LinkedIn messages, etc. But I'd do the $5 thing and help out this fellow, for no other reason that a bit of cash may not help him find more time (eg. to do those 'wishlist' items you folks ask about sometimes) but it might let him to hire somebody to help. Me? I'll reward CJ in a different manner if I (ever) break in.
As a rockstar member, I agree there's tons of amazing resources for only $5 a month and I love supporting the site. However, bearing in mind different writers in different situations, what is your goal? Getting a script noticed, well, anyone can do that, but that doesn't mean whoever notices is going to do anything with the script. I have no regrets paying for rockstar membership, but to be honest, the only times I've noticed anyone noticing my scripts is because of a conversation or because I was lucky enough to get one of my posters on the poster wall. No regrets, and I'll take what I can get.
If you're asking how to tell if any of your scripts are being viewed or read, well, that stat you only get with rockstar membership.
Try to think less about the script itself and more about yourself as a writer. That's what you want people to hook into. You want them to see what you're doing and think about how can utilise your talent either now or in the future. Sometimes people come back ten years after reading one of your scripts. This is why what Jerry says is important. You don't want to draw people into work that's poor quality or inauthentic.
Steve, most of my posters don't rate the poster wall either, and one of the posters that didn't rate still got me a contact with a producer who gave me an option for that script and her company is now shopping it around. It was the logline that got her attention, and then the script once she read it. Every circumstance is different, every producer is different. You seem to be doing all you can to get exposure for your work - keep the steady course and keep writing!!
I've had some good luck with VPF or Virtual Pitch Fest. It's the cheapest of the pay to pitch options. If you wait for one of their frequent discount specials you pay less than ten bucks a pop. I've hooked up with five different producers over there.
I've had one producer-director reach out to me here after one of his employees found my script on SR.
Eric, I'm encouraged to see you've had some success with Virtual Pitch Fest. I spent a few weeks perusing and considering VPF, then decided to buy a package during a sale over Memorial Weekend. Pitches were priced at $90 for 13. I figure at $6.92 per pitch, it's worth a try.
A few of the very same names on Stage 32 for $35 pitches are on VPF, too. After receiving feedback/scores on nearly identical written pitches with vastly different scores, I decided I really don't need a few sentences of subjective feedback. Either they're interested or they're not, right? I plan to submit my first pitch to VPF this week. Please keep sharing your successes--they give me hope! :)
David, I do a lot of research on those VPF people before I pitch, just Google and IMDB the hell out of them and their films, and I think I average one script request for every three pitches as a result. It's all about the match-ups: my script with their track records and expressed interests. My pitches have shortened too over time to three or four short paragraphs, usually. Finally, it's my cheaper to shoot scripts that have done best over there. Hope this helps if you ever want to try VPF again.
Nothing fruitful yet, David. I've come as close as can be with one producer phoning to say the option agreement would be in the mail in two days, then another phone call two days later instead saying his producing partner, who would've directed, had nixed the whole thing. These producers at VPF typically don't have big money themselves, they are a bit like middlemen, so what they want typically is, I suppose, a verbal shopping agreement. For example, one producer I worked with had a first look deal with Millennium and took my script there, but got a thumbs down. Another producer walked when she got wind of a highly similar, competing project that was already out to directors, and thought it would impinge on her ability to find financing, and so on and so forth ...
Here I am again, just eating up every tidbit about VPF. I've spent many hours researching the companies/producers/managers listed on their website. Some seem very professional; others, not so much. Some don't even have a website or if they do, it's just their name with little information--but that tells me a lot, too.
One perk of looking up a company's website is sometimes I find that they accept pitches for free. (Housefire Management and Zero Gravity are two examples of this.) One caveat: They usually state that they'll only respond if they're interested, so if you want a response, you'll need to pay for a pitch.
I'm realistic--keeping my hopes in check. In the end, it's just another path to try. I'd be interested in hearing from other writers who have tried Virtual Pitch Fest.
It's great that some companies take pitched via their websites; and true, they won't get back to you if they are not interested; however, the same can happen on VPF. I have sent scripts out in the past and never heard anything again. Once it took 8 months for a response. I haven't had luck beyond that on VPF, but they are always adding new pros. I have had better luck here, and on Inktip. When you get the right script to the right producer - it will happen. :)
Just keep in mind - most of the responses come in the form of a standard checklist, e.g., they'll click a box: Thanks, but this not something we are interested in at this time. You don't really get a guarantee that they read your query - only that they clicked a response. And you don't get unique reasons for rejections - because they all have the same standard boxes to click. But - I have heard success stories so it could well be it was just that my query sucked. Will be interesting to hear your experience.
The VPF execs do have the option of adding text to their response. I often get something like "We already have a competing project" or something like that. There's this one producer who will voluntarily critique my queries, tell me what I should've have included by way of info, etc.
Jerry--Thanks for sharing your experiences! Eight months??? That's unprofessional. Although, I guess it's marginally better than no response at all. It's not difficult to send a one sentence rejection email; I have to laugh at these people who think they're too important to do the right thing. Sounds like I should keep my expectations super low if I ever get a script request.
David--Yeah, the VPF website basically prepares you to receive one of their standard one sentence responses. I'm okay with that since the pitches are so inexpensive. You get what you pay for, but sometimes I only get 3-4 sentences with a $35 pitch--so there's that...
Eric--I'd love it and be very appreciative if a producer voluntarily critiqued my query. Awesome! I'm always open to constructive criticism. That would definitely be worth a $7.00 pitch! :)
I rewrote my scripts dozens of times. I studied them, broke them apart, had someone else read them out loud while I took notes with a pen in hand. Every weak line got challenged. Every draft was war.
And now? I have 7 scripts that don’t open doors they break walls.
I’m the writer who sold a script within the first week of posting it. Yes, you read that right.
Why? Because my scripts don’t wait in line. They demand to be seen. They don’t recycle themes. They don’t borrow. They stand alone.
They live in the territory of Interstellar, Tree of Life, Arrival, The Matrix but not a single word is inspired by those films.
With the right cast, ÆON, Dr. Tin, Hope, and The 5 Minutes don’t just match them they beat them.
So here’s my advice to any screenwriter reading this:
Don’t settle. Write once. Rewrite a hundred times. Until your script becomes a force that cannot be ignored.
I have no idea. Let me know if you figure it out.
Hi Lance, I sold my first feature script from Script Revolution and decided to become a rockstar because of that sale, and wanted to give a little back to help with the maintenance of the site after it had been good to me. You can have the best poster in the world, and it might be an attention getter, but if your script sucks, either by story or formatting, no poster or rockstar status will help. The bottom line is to write the best script you can, and keep writing because each one is better than the last, and hope the right producer discovers it.
I like to think that I have the worst posters in the world, but the best scripts! But seriously, while this site isn't based on "user pay" to gain any sort of advantage, which is highly commendable, I did read something (I think, I hope?) that indicated that for search lists, the "Rockstars" scripts are listed first, among all of the other criteria (budget, female centric, etc. etc.) entered. So $5 a month or whatever is a fine little bump, and since there are a few hundred of y'all now, if the search criteria is general enough, I presume that means that scripts of those few hundred are going to be at the top. (I believe it's 'random' after that.) The solution? Spend the $5. Now some of you may say, yeah, but you're not a Rockstar Steve! Well, not in this context (ha ha) but I'm using SR as a placeholder for my stuff, for now, and am not really using or expecting to find buyers here via searches - it's just my own peculiar strategy for where I am nowadays, and I don't expect the vast, vast majority here limit themselves in such a way. I put links to my profile, and individual scripts, on pitches, LinkedIn messages, etc. But I'd do the $5 thing and help out this fellow, for no other reason that a bit of cash may not help him find more time (eg. to do those 'wishlist' items you folks ask about sometimes) but it might let him to hire somebody to help. Me? I'll reward CJ in a different manner if I (ever) break in.
As a rockstar member, I agree there's tons of amazing resources for only $5 a month and I love supporting the site. However, bearing in mind different writers in different situations, what is your goal? Getting a script noticed, well, anyone can do that, but that doesn't mean whoever notices is going to do anything with the script. I have no regrets paying for rockstar membership, but to be honest, the only times I've noticed anyone noticing my scripts is because of a conversation or because I was lucky enough to get one of my posters on the poster wall. No regrets, and I'll take what I can get.
If you're asking how to tell if any of your scripts are being viewed or read, well, that stat you only get with rockstar membership.
In terms of using a strategy to maximise exposure on Script Revolution, there's an FAQ entry with my thoughts; How can I improve my chances of getting exposure on Script Revolution?
In terms of an overall strategy, check out my blog A Plan to Succeed in Screenwriting in 2021
Try to think less about the script itself and more about yourself as a writer. That's what you want people to hook into. You want them to see what you're doing and think about how can utilise your talent either now or in the future. Sometimes people come back ten years after reading one of your scripts. This is why what Jerry says is important. You don't want to draw people into work that's poor quality or inauthentic.
Steve, most of my posters don't rate the poster wall either, and one of the posters that didn't rate still got me a contact with a producer who gave me an option for that script and her company is now shopping it around. It was the logline that got her attention, and then the script once she read it. Every circumstance is different, every producer is different. You seem to be doing all you can to get exposure for your work - keep the steady course and keep writing!!
I think the best way to get it noticed is to write:
Written by: Quentin Tarantino
On the title page
Kkkkk I think that's the best way.
I've had some good luck with VPF or Virtual Pitch Fest. It's the cheapest of the pay to pitch options. If you wait for one of their frequent discount specials you pay less than ten bucks a pop. I've hooked up with five different producers over there.
I've had one producer-director reach out to me here after one of his employees found my script on SR.
Cool re: your success on VPF Eric - nice to hear. VPF has been a very dry well for me.
Eric, I'm encouraged to see you've had some success with Virtual Pitch Fest. I spent a few weeks perusing and considering VPF, then decided to buy a package during a sale over Memorial Weekend. Pitches were priced at $90 for 13. I figure at $6.92 per pitch, it's worth a try.
A few of the very same names on Stage 32 for $35 pitches are on VPF, too. After receiving feedback/scores on nearly identical written pitches with vastly different scores, I decided I really don't need a few sentences of subjective feedback. Either they're interested or they're not, right? I plan to submit my first pitch to VPF this week. Please keep sharing your successes--they give me hope! :)
Good luck, Andrea! - let is know how it goes.
Good luck, Andrea!
David, I do a lot of research on those VPF people before I pitch, just Google and IMDB the hell out of them and their films, and I think I average one script request for every three pitches as a result. It's all about the match-ups: my script with their track records and expressed interests. My pitches have shortened too over time to three or four short paragraphs, usually. Finally, it's my cheaper to shoot scripts that have done best over there. Hope this helps if you ever want to try VPF again.
Eric
Thanks for the info, Eric.
BTW - have you had one go through fruition with VPF? e.g., landed an option or purchase?
Nothing fruitful yet, David. I've come as close as can be with one producer phoning to say the option agreement would be in the mail in two days, then another phone call two days later instead saying his producing partner, who would've directed, had nixed the whole thing. These producers at VPF typically don't have big money themselves, they are a bit like middlemen, so what they want typically is, I suppose, a verbal shopping agreement. For example, one producer I worked with had a first look deal with Millennium and took my script there, but got a thumbs down. Another producer walked when she got wind of a highly similar, competing project that was already out to directors, and thought it would impinge on her ability to find financing, and so on and so forth ...
Thanks, Eric - rooting for you!
Here I am again, just eating up every tidbit about VPF. I've spent many hours researching the companies/producers/managers listed on their website. Some seem very professional; others, not so much. Some don't even have a website or if they do, it's just their name with little information--but that tells me a lot, too.
One perk of looking up a company's website is sometimes I find that they accept pitches for free. (Housefire Management and Zero Gravity are two examples of this.) One caveat: They usually state that they'll only respond if they're interested, so if you want a response, you'll need to pay for a pitch.
I'm realistic--keeping my hopes in check. In the end, it's just another path to try. I'd be interested in hearing from other writers who have tried Virtual Pitch Fest.
Hi Andrea,
It's great that some companies take pitched via their websites; and true, they won't get back to you if they are not interested; however, the same can happen on VPF. I have sent scripts out in the past and never heard anything again. Once it took 8 months for a response. I haven't had luck beyond that on VPF, but they are always adding new pros. I have had better luck here, and on Inktip. When you get the right script to the right producer - it will happen. :)
Just keep in mind - most of the responses come in the form of a standard checklist, e.g., they'll click a box: Thanks, but this not something we are interested in at this time. You don't really get a guarantee that they read your query - only that they clicked a response. And you don't get unique reasons for rejections - because they all have the same standard boxes to click. But - I have heard success stories so it could well be it was just that my query sucked. Will be interesting to hear your experience.
The VPF execs do have the option of adding text to their response. I often get something like "We already have a competing project" or something like that. There's this one producer who will voluntarily critique my queries, tell me what I should've have included by way of info, etc.
Jerry--Thanks for sharing your experiences! Eight months??? That's unprofessional. Although, I guess it's marginally better than no response at all. It's not difficult to send a one sentence rejection email; I have to laugh at these people who think they're too important to do the right thing. Sounds like I should keep my expectations super low if I ever get a script request.
David--Yeah, the VPF website basically prepares you to receive one of their standard one sentence responses. I'm okay with that since the pitches are so inexpensive. You get what you pay for, but sometimes I only get 3-4 sentences with a $35 pitch--so there's that...
Eric--I'd love it and be very appreciative if a producer voluntarily critiqued my query. Awesome! I'm always open to constructive criticism. That would definitely be worth a $7.00 pitch! :)
Respect, Jerry. You nailed it.
I’ve been through the same fire.
I rewrote my scripts dozens of times. I studied them, broke them apart, had someone else read them out loud while I took notes with a pen in hand. Every weak line got challenged. Every draft was war.
And now? I have 7 scripts that don’t open doors they break walls.
I’m the writer who sold a script within the first week of posting it. Yes, you read that right.
Why?
Because my scripts don’t wait in line.
They demand to be seen.
They don’t recycle themes. They don’t borrow. They stand alone.
They live in the territory of Interstellar, Tree of Life, Arrival, The Matrix
but not a single word is inspired by those films.
With the right cast, ÆON, Dr. Tin, Hope, and The 5 Minutes don’t just match them
they beat them.
So here’s my advice to any screenwriter reading this: