Screenwriting : How much do screenplays go for? by Marc Anthony Greenland

One does not.

I'd hate to be blunt but the first draft of your first script will most likely be bad. Get some feedback but don't waste money paying for feedback at this stage in your writing career. Try posting it on your logline page here or use one of the script exchange websites to get feedback. As Wayne already answered, you do not come up with a price, if a studio likes it, they'll come up with a price.

You're not going to sell your first script. You don't "set the price" like a car... you get option offers, you get spec offers... but you do not sell your first draft... because your first draft is always (always) garbage.

@ Erik... Oh yes, that good ole vomit draft.

WGA rates say 2.5% of the budget. So there your guide. But less if it is indie and you are unknown. The big indie spec sales are gone. It may return, but I haven't heard of a flock of bidding wars. It is your property. You set the price. If your buyer is willing to pay you have a sale. No one can force you to sell.

What others have said. Odds of getting a deal off your first script are pretty low - average pro screenwriter wrote 9 before making a cent. So write 8 more and your odds are much much better. Also - most screenplays do not sell, they are "job applications" for assignments... assignments which have deadlines. None of those deadlines are as long as 2 years (though I've had three or four that were two weeks!). Screenwriting is a job like any other - you have to be able to punch the clock and get the work done, and then it has to be done right. Great work on a deadline. So get to 8 weeks for a good draft and you'll be able to make average deadlines. As for what you get paid... well, most scripts don't sell, so nothing is the average. When one does sell, it depends on whether it's a WGA signatory company or not (I go into this in my Breaking In Blue Book). Signatory - here is a link to schedule of minimums: http://www.wga.org/uploadedFiles/writers_resources/contracts/min2014.pdf To save you time - Sale/Purchase of screenplay: Under $5m budget: $45,556 Over $5m budget: $93,257 If it is a non-WGA company - anything they want to pay you. Though I've never heard of someone only being paid $1, that's possible. Usually it's 2.5% of the budget, but often that's the budget before stars' salaries, and if you sell to one of the several companies that make feature films for only $10k??? Yikes! I don't even want to do the math on that. The real answer is that screenwriting is for addicts - people who are compelled to write screenplay after screenplay knowing that none of them may sell. You have to love writing and want to keep writing even if nothing happens.

Definitely in agreement with William Martell. Try moving on to the next project and the next, without stopping. Write every day even if it's only a page per day. In 90 days you have a completed first draft. Put it away, go to your next one, then come back to previous one for a rewrite, or get feedback from another writer or script consultant if you can afford one. Good luck. Hope never quits.

It's an average - but my first sale was my 9th screenplay, and many of my professional screenwriter friends also manage to be average (I believe my friend Terry Rossio told me it was their 9th that sold). So it's a danged good indicator of how many screenplays you will need to write before you can start worrying. But this is an average - so if your experience is different and your first sale was earlier, all that means is that someone else's first deal was later. A couple of months ago I went to a special screening of my 9th screenplay (well, the film that came from it). Damned thing has been "rediscovered"...

Hmmm, good question.

Reality is reality! You're in Zimbabwe – where do you want to sell your script? Is your story suitable to that market? You need to answer these questions before you even get started. You've done a first draft – the hard truth is that your screenplay sucks. Target your market and rewrite/polish it a dozen or so times, get some feedback. I don't know much about the European market but I do know the American market. (I sold the first script I wrote in 1976 for $2,000 – Who ho!) In the US market today, if you sell to one of the larger houses as a first time screenwriter, you will receive a minimum of $85K. The agent, manager, attorney will take a combined 40%, leaving you with $51K of which you'll pay taxes and expenses – over 3 years (typical start to sale period), you'll pay taxes on only $17K per year. But remember – enthusiasm and hope spring eternal.

In addition to Doug I know that the European market only buys scripts in the country's language where you want to sell it. Further they pay much less than in the U.S.A. Hence, you would have additional costs for translations. But: If I get you right you just want to know how much money you will get and what you should expect. So, the truth is as a beginner you usually first sell a script to a small production company or to an aspiring director. I got offered $ 12,000 for my first script which was written on demand, meaning the producer had an idea and I wrote the script for him. For my own stuff I got different amounts. Like William I didn't sell the first one right away. But I began in a different way and wrote short scripts first. So, it depends on you and whether you like the director or producer and her/his ideas. Sometimes you meet a people who like you stuff and want to make 2 or 3 of your short scripts and so negotiate and find a price which makes both sides happy. This can be just $ 100 when you sell it to a student or maybe about $1,500 or a little more when you sell it to a director who already made his first 2 or 3 movies. Nevertheless, I'm an optimist and if you think your script is good enough to get pitched just try to pitch it online and learn from what ever comes out of your pitches. Good luck and all the best!

Everything William said... just want to add... just getting it sold is the icing on the cake. Getting it made is another topic. How much it's worth will depend on the buyer... just like selling a house... once they buy it, they can do whatever they want with it. It's out of your hands.

Thank you all for your interest and comments. I've sent it to my producer friend I met here on Stage 32. He hasn't gotten back to me yet.

put it on Inktip and wait for the $1 option offers.

Dan – you get a whole dollar? That's a pretty good deal off InkTip. Just remember to put some of aside for your retirement.

I may be a little late to this conversation, however, ScreenCraft did a great write-up over this topic. Have a look: https://screencraft.org/2016/12/03/wga-scale-screenplay-minimums-2017/

Yes $1 options are usually the norm on InkTip... which RB calls the 'no money' option because you never really even get the $1.... just on paper. I know because I've been offered 3 of them. I should have taken the six month one... others were 18 months of tying up the scripts.

breakdown on script sale and surviving. https://allwritesreserved.com

Dan, good find. I have to say that Jeff's comments are pretty spot-on or even a little optimistic. That's why I advise screenwriters to hold at least 6 months (12 if they can) of funds in reserve – it can really smooth out the bumps. The TV world is a little different.