Screenwriting : Kindle anyone? by Mark DaSilva

To answer the first part of your question, people buy novels for Kindle, people buy collections of short stories for Kindle, nobody buys scripts for Kindle, nobody buys scripts to read. For the second part, Final Draft has an option for saving as a PDF and you won't get it more readable than that.

@Mark Kindle would not be my first choice for a script. But go to Amazon and see if you can find a category you think would work for you. You have to export to HTML if you are considering Kindle. But there are heaps of guides in the KDP section of Amazon. I publish some stuff on it. I have a book on there called "Writing Screenplays with Intelligence". It was a best seller in the UK and USA Amazon. I've made less than $100. If you think it is a way of making cash, I'd suggest get a job in a Cafe, better pay rate.

What Pierre said. A screenplay is not a finished form, so I don't think anyone wants to read one (unless it is the screenplay to a produced film). So I think putting up a script on kindle is a complete waste of time. Not to mention - I have no idea how to format it. When ABC released the pilot scripts to some of their new TV series a few years back they couldn't crack the format issues... and that's a major network. Novels and short stories are finished forms - not screenplays. The only real market for a screenplay are producers who plan on turning it into a movie.

Thanks for all the comments. Yeah, kindle doesn't look promising. Tried inktip a few times too, just not seeing the results anymore. Any other sites/venues where scripts can be submitted?

did you try virtual pitch, http://www.virtualpitchfest.com/ ? However, its not about downloading your script, but to get an access to PROs. another option for downloading is www.smashwords.com, but you have to be skilful enough to fix margins in your WORD document

David Trottier put his script on Kindle and he Dr. Format and the Best seller of the Screenwriter's Bible. Everything you want to know about formatting your script to selling to agents.

Just to repeat what others are telling you .... nobody buys screenplays outside of the normal acquisition channels (agencies, prodcos, studios, etc.). No one will be publishing the first volume of Unproduced Screenplays 2016 anytime soon. Screenplays are part of the production process, not standalone things you can sell in some marketplace. But, sounds like you figured that out. :) You're better off making it a novel or novella and selling that on Amazon. I've got several books up, including a book on story development and they're all doing pretty well. Something to think about. (FYI... I sell most of my books on the iBooks Store, not Amazon. They're the second biggest platform for indie authors).

Jeff, Calm down. You are right, I'm just making the point that people do put them on kindle for family to look at. So tell me why is the iBooks Store better than Amazon since I'm such a Createspace freak with my upcoming books. Happy New Year. Best Regards, Jimmy Day

Trust me I'm calm :) why is iBooks better? No clue. For some reason I'm selling there and not as much as Amazon. It's a crap shoot. Nobody knows anything when it comes to this stuff--frankly. But, authors are screwing themselves if they don't do both Amazon and Apple Store with their books. I use createspace to... but that's for POD (as you know). I don't think you can do the POD on Apple, sicne they have no arrangement with Amazon (Createspace is Amazon).

Mark: If you want a great source to get your script published to ebook, I have one and they're pretty cheap. If you're interested you can PM me. However, don't expect to cut a fat hog selling them.

To what purpose would you place your script on Kindle? Nearly every screenwriter I know writes scripts with the intent to sell them to some production firm to be made into a film. Final Draft will export your script as a .pdf file and that is the industry standard.

Final Draft and other Script software will most definitely allow you to "save as" a PDF file. However, if you wish to publish your scripts as kindle books, you need to use e-publishing software to format your book per Amazon Kindle parameters. That information is available at this link: https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A17W8UM0MMSQX6

... with three sales, all to family members.

Dave Trottier runs a business on screenplay formatting. He has written several books. Everyone liked his script that was in the book so he put it on kindle for them. Let's put it this way, this guy has way more than three sales and is known throughout the Hollywood Community. End of Discussion.

@James - but Dave is a very well respected writer of screenplay formatting/instruction books, with a strong and active online presence... it was those books and that profile that created interest in the script and an in built audience for it. That's also why JK Rowling released the Fantastic Beasts in screenplay format, why bother with a novelisation when there's enough interest to release the script? These examples are very rare though, as for most people, interest in scripts published for Kindle is very limited, certainly unlikely to find a producer with that approach. BUT... publishing to Amazon is free, and pretty easy to do... so if you fancy giving it a try and learning the basics of e-publishing... go for it.

@James Day. My comment was not regarding Dave Trottier, a man that I have enormous respect for and whom I'm connected with through other avenues. I was referring to Dan Maxxx's comment regarding people who write novels and self-publish on Kindle and tell their family so as to encourage sales. And it will be "end of discussion" when everyone decides to stop discussing it.

If I may, when I had the idea of trying to write a screenplay, I considered self publishing it on the open market while trying to find a production company who would be willing to actually make it. My reasoning is that given how difficult the entertainment industry is, at least, you could make some money off of it, and perhaps, draw the interest of someone willing to make it. Just be sure to include your contact information so if anybody is interested in it, they can contact you. Use every means at your disposal.

Hey guys. Thanks for the input. I was away on vacation and just got back. Nice to see the response! I'll weed through some more in the next few days but I'm diggin' the activity here!

You can retain the formatting if you publish it on Kindle as a Technical Document/Manual. It's only readable on certain types of Kindle in this format, but it's out there. I did this with my book, First Words, which was a collection of different formats for poetry, scripts, etc. Alternatively, save it as a PDF and retain the formatting and put that out instead via your website.

The Kindle Reader app (for Windows at least) will automatically convert a Word file into a Kindle-compatible raw .mobi file. However this is good only for previewing, has no cover art, does not meet amazon's standards, and has no reader-level table of contents. To DIY address these deficiencies, one must dig deep into geeky coding stuff that only distracts from writing. Formatter-distros e.g. bookbaby will do it for a fee and distribute your work to amazon, apple, goodreads etc.

The same could be said for screenwriting software. The mere use of such tools does not make one a good screenwriter or storyteller, but pouring a story into screenplay format can highlight overwriting, e.g. a 158-page spec script first draft.

To DIY address these deficiencies, one must dig deep into geeky coding stuff that only distracts from writing. Not so - I've managed to publish several books without any significant specialist coding required. There are programs which will convert from Word or PDF format to .mobi format for you which are very easy to use.

@John Hunter I tend to do things to see how it works and if I can leverage it. I had never heard of people making any real money from Amazon, except Amazon of course.

"authors are screwing themselves if they don't do both Amazon and Apple Store with their books." - Absolutely. You should try and utilise every outlet out there. I use Createspace to create the paperback versions of my books that then get sold in Barnes and Noble, Amazon, etc. I use Smashwords to create the eBook version - that gets distributed to everywhere EXCEPT Amazon but, fortunately, the Smashwords converter converts it into .mobi format so customers can download it directly from Smashwords and I can use the same file to create the Kindle version via KDP. And there's reasons why I published some of my scripts via Kindle - It was work I had done which I wanted to collate somewhere other than my blog (where it will be lost in the midst of time etc.) that I was not successful in getting produced. And, you never know, some producer MAY read it and want to option it etc. People consume content very differently these days and I suspect that the "traditional" channels for scriptwriters may well evolve also.

@David is 100% correct I'll probably do Apple as well. But they are about 10% the size of Amazon, so I won't be ordering the new car just yet. I think it is a good thing to do. It is just as hard to promote a book as it is a screenplay, may be harder. There is nothing motivating a book buyer. A producer at least needs one script to make a movie.

David thanks for tip I will try Smashwords err where is 'everywhere' ...

I wouldn't put the screenplay on there. Put your treatment there.