Screenwriting : Pitching by Nicole Jamison

That's a very good question ...beats me Nicole

Good question...one for which I have no answer. I can't remember ever paying someone to listen to my pitch...ever. But then, I'm 'old school' and not up to date about the new 'norm', There seem to be an awful lot of 'writers' chasing the fantasy/dream who are gullible to the concept. It's sorta like the CA '49ers gold rush; very few struck it rich; but the folk sellin' 'em picks/shovels & pans earned a living.

You have it backwards: they are not longing for great stories as much as we are longing to sell our scripts, and there’s so many more of us than there are of them. Also, pitches here are mainly learning opportunities, so it’s like paying tuition at school. Additionally, the people facilitating pitches could be doing many other things because their knowledge of the industry makes their insight desirable, so it is fair to pay them. May I ask, is the cost of a pitch keeping you from taking part in them?

No it's not the cost. I am just trying to wrap my mind around it. I can understand stand both sides of the coin though. If they are not looking for great stories then why are they allowing people to pitch to them? Just for the money?

I am not going to waste my time listening to people pitch me if I am not currently looking for my next great story.

You see where I coming from, maybe I am wrong, I don't know. This is something that I am pondering.

In the supply and demand equation they are the supply and we are the demand.

Lol Nicole I'll sell you my story :)

That is a great question. I'm new to this part of the industry when it comes to script writing and selling it. So what I'm about to say I STAND TO BE CORRECTED SO I CAN HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING. I'll be honesty if someone told me I had to pay just to pitch my idea, I probably wouldn't do it. I'm only saying this because I have a few friends that lucky have been able to sale their scripts and the only fee they paid was to their entertainment attorney! Once again I STAND TO BE CORRECTED. To me being new to this part of it I wouldn't pay someone that wasn't going to guarantee anything. To me it makes no sense. Now that's coming from having a few friends that I know personally that has sold their scripts without paying. I do understand everyone's situation is different. But I would like to know the answer for that as well, so I can hopefully be properly educated.

Great Question. I believe It is buyer beware when it comes to Pitch Sessions. I frequently check the pitch sessions page and notice that certain managers\production companies are always offering a pitch session. I believe in these cases they are using pitch sessions as supplemental income. As a new writer with zero street cred I am fine with paying a price to be heard but I am not going to waste my hard-earned money on someone who is also starting out, be it a manager or fledgling production company. My confidence in the pitch process would be increased if Stage 32 did like InkTip and post recent success stories.

Hi Nicole,

Quite simply....the answer is "because that's what the market will bear."

Paying to pitch is not a novel concept, and has been going on for over 20 years. There is a vast over-supply of writers, and at all quality levels. It's not unreasonable to conclude that "if some of these writers are willing to pay for access to decision makers who are giving up their weekends to spend some of their time with these writers who are in the over-supply, then let's charge them for that opportunity."

Makes sense to me.

At the same time, making relationships with producers/execs/other gatekeepers who don't charge to hear pitches from people in their relationship circles makes sense to me, too.

But that's the system...some people charge some writers to hear pitches, and some don't. If I had a story that I felt was market-ready and would really fit what somebody was looking for...I'd approach that particular person, and pay to pitch if that was the case, or not pay to pitch if that was the case. I wouldn't deny myself the opportunity either way, and am more focused on giving myself the best opportunities for success.

Best fortunes to you in your creative endeavors, Nicole!

You don't have to pay to pitch. You could just cold query by email for free.

But if you pay you'll always get a response. If you use email, you'll likely receive no response unless the pitchee wishes to read your script.

Although I don't like it, people's time is worth money and with the advent of the computer, internet and screenwriting programs, for better AND worse anyone who thinks they can write a screenplay or has a killer idea for a film or tv show (myself included) can produce what may look like a screenplay. That means there are hundreds of thousands of people who have a story to tell and want to pitch it to someone who can help them.

For every good screenplay or pitch idea there are hundreds or thousands of bad ones or not even bad ones, just ones they aren't looking for (pitching an Elizabethan drama to someone who is looking to make horror).

And generally speaking, the cream rises to the top so if there is something or someone that is truly amazing, they and/or their work will get passed around.

However those on the outside of the "wall" so to speak (might be a bad analogy) are desperate for any doorway, rope, crack in the wall or hand-up over it.

Most of these pitch sessions are for us to practice for money and for the one-in-a-million chance that the people being pitched to DO find that diamond in the rough.

But in order to have someone to pitch to, someone on the other end has to get paid for their time.

Who should pay for it?

I wouldn’t pay and never have. In Australia it is illegal to charge unemployed for employment services, the employer pays.

I like to change the people involved and see if the logic holds. A shop has to pay a customer before the customer buys shoes. Logic doesn’t hold, I am not paying.

My time is just as valuable as everyone else’s time. A producer gets 8% and the studio gets to keep the rights forever. The writer get 2.5% as a WGA minimum, even less in the indie world. So why would a writer pay to make everyone else more money than them.

If we act like slaves people will treat us like slaves.

Paying to pitch is simply a shortcut to access. Someone above talked about relationships, and that's the nut of it. Building relationships in the industry is how you get read - paying for pitches is a shortcut to gaining access to people who will read your stuff and can make decisions. But paying is also about networking, the genesis of relationships. Taking great writing for granted for a moment (no small thing), this biz is about relationships. Does paying for pitches pay off? Do shortcuts work? Sometimes, but not often. But if it's the only access you have, then take a shot. We all pay our dues - either in time or money or both.