Screenwriting : Survey by Ron Schaefer

My answer to a), b), c), d), e) is NO. My suggestion: Write a script that's you, through and through and stick to it.

LOL. Write and write and re-write. Put it aside, re-read, correct it and so on. Never stop writing as only this improves your skills. Giving a script here to the script service can be helpful as they are interested in bringing you forward and nothing else.

So I agree to Renate Morley and my answer to f) is: Yes, and I get positive feedback and people buy what I write.

we rented a suite at a LA Clippers home game, invited a bunch of sexy models and closed a deal with out of towners French producer dudes. Lots of great screenplays are locked away in storage units.

Ron, my answer to all these questions is "NO."

My answer is E.) - None of the above. Producers are not gods and if they charge money for telling screenwriters what to write - they're not Producers either.

It's come up a couple of times around here that $300 for script services of some description or another is outrageously expensive and to clear it up - it's really not. In my day-job I don't earn that kind of money but I would source facilitators to run workshops or training - this is in the charity sector, so we generally get really good deals, because good relationships and networking - and £300 (I'm in the UK) would be average, or quite reasonable for a quarter day's training - anything from an hour to 3 hours. On the other hand I've also worked with amazing facilitators who offer their services for free, or for 25 quid or something. Sometimes the training is a grand, and it's still worth it. People who are offering specific pieces of contract work, like facilitation, or script services aren't trying to rip anyone off, unless it's an obvious scam. But people who are working and self-employed have sat down and thought long and hard about what they believe they are worth. That's their life-choice. You (general 'you' as in everybody) get to make yours so they're allowed to make theirs. If you don't want to pay it, don't. It's not the only choice.

Maybe disconnect the money from the emotional worth of the experience. If you have the money spend it on the script service that's attracting you. If you don't, then go for one of the economically cheaper or free versions. Or build up great relationships and networks with people who can give the sort of feedback that helps you. There are many paths up the mountain....

a) I tend to over-purchase seminars the way I over-purchase books. If you have purchased 6, but haven't reviewed them, taken notes, and put them into practice, then I would say don't buy the 7th until the first 6 are well-loved.

b) I've started budgeting for $300/month towards "professional development", to be distributed as I see fit - pitches, classes, notes, etc. If I don't spend for 3-6 months, by chance, then I can put that towards a writing retreat.

c) I tend to get notes in threes (or more) so that I'm not inclined to bend over backward for any one person's opinion.

d) Who says you are not worth $300 per hour? Also, if you're referring to Executive Consultations where you spend an hour talking about your script, then you should take into account that they have to read your script (which can take 1-2 hours) and take notes (which can take another hour) in preparation for the consultation, which means their time is being valued at $100/hour MAX, which is actually quite affordable.

e) That has not happened to me. I've received plenty of notes about clarifying things - character goals, stakes, WHY my characters' journeys start where they do - but clarifying these things doesn't water down the originality, it actually gives me a chance to continue making it more pronounced.

f) I do and there is MUCH less money at stake for the writing (blogs, books, short films).

G) I never pay to talk to people, listen to them or pitch to them. I write every day, every spare minute. I also write books about writing, short films, a web series and know there are no shortcuts.

whole bunch of producers, gurus, fired executives, assistants, whatever experts in show business are setting up shop on clubhouse. The app just created a "send money" function for speakers. Maybe some producers will accept "layaway" payment plans to read scripts.

Dan MaxXx of course they will. The line will read.

“Worked at a creative executive at some of the biggest studio in Hollywood. Work for the production company that produced X and Y and Z. I am looking for the next big thing. I’ll read your script and work with you to make it ready for the big time”

I have a friend that was instrumental in the production of “Lars and the real girl”. She is now a communication director in Government. May be I should go 50/50 and bring her things to read?

I guess it just shows how old I am. I remember when my day rate was only $1,000 with a half day rate of $750. Today that would be $2,500 and $1,500. Times have changed!

Today's world is all about "tell me" 'stead of "show me"...no wander some people made fortune outta Twitter/Instagram posts...I won't be surprised if I make it sell my tweet before I sell my spec...

We've entered a rather strange "guru economy" across all industries/hobbies/investments and sadly few of us are prepared to navigate it and separate the gifted from the grifters.

I'm watching people with zero credentials get elevated into positions where they're selling advice on topics they know little about and, in some cases, they aren't proactively making that happen. They are just getting swept up into the system.

Hell, I know of someone who was getting paid to write wiki guides and blogs for activities they had no direct experience of. Part of the brief was to just look it up and write about it. That's scary.

I've watched peers go nowhere for nearly a decade and still become opinion leaders, consultants, media-personalities, etc. I've witnessed people who were adamant they would always maintain their integrity sellout in a heartbeat and cannibalise their peers for as little as $50pm.

There's conferences now full of hucksters shilling seminars, courses, and books. Nobody is doing their due-diligence. The organisers don't care. They just want to sell passes.

I strongly suggest watching the likes of Coffezilla, Mike Winnet and Spencer Cornelia who cover a lot of different kind of scams that are out there. Screenwriting hasn't been covered by any of them yet but the language and nature of these get rich quick schemes tends to be the same.

Something I'm very proud about is that I've managed to start a modest career without falling prey to a lot of this stuff AND I've avoided getting sucked into it on the other side. Speaking out against a lot of the above has made me a lot of influential enemies. I got stalked in my personal life for years after upsetting someone with a large Facebook group. Only the threat of legal action stopped them.

There's literally someone in this very thread who deliberately spreads miss-information about me, Script Revolution, RB, Stage 32, various forum members, Danny Manus and others on Reddit simply because of calling out low-rent consultants who pose as gurus.

As for producers, that world is just the same as the screenwriting world in my experience. Lots of fear, bad think, and people going nowhere while making a lot of noise about it. Only 1% seem to know what they're doing and have the credits to prove it.

As ever, reading up on history, listening to proven successful people, and doing a lot of research helps avoid a lot of the traps and this mentality of paying for directions and asking how high when told to jump.

Thanks to everybody who answered, and all-in-all I thought it was a good round for a very unscientific "survey." It does show different people with different experiences. Just a couple of notes I think to clarify some points...

1) in an attempt to be concise, I used the terms "gods" in referring to producers. This seemed to sidetrack people. It's not that I or they see them as gods, it's that they are in godlike positions to determine who lives and who dies. So does anyone else who is a gatekeeper: studio execs, agents, literary managers, editors, publishers, dramaturgs, casting directors. The position itself is what gives them temporary "godlike" powers not whether or not they are a nice person. And it is a buyers market, as Tony S. stated, where there are way too many of us trying to break a sale into too few projects with yes votes, so that their power, like-it-or-not, is escalated. Also, many scripts and screenwriters have 20 years or more of experience, while some of the people judging them have less than 10. They may know what they are doing, but it calls into question the wisdom of the system at times. It was the system I was questioning, not individuals.

2) Along that line, everyone of "Them" I know of has a college degree and are extremely smart people. They have degrees in English lit and whatnot. But when they become script-readers and producers, they become part of the system. A cog in the gears. A wheel in the machine. And think like the machine. It is my experience that independent producers whom you would expect to be bigger risk takers, are not so much, complying with industry standards in trying to make a sale and advance their careers. Ergo, when they see something much more unique and original, they immediately seek to hammer it back into something more predictable (example: Daughters of the Dust). That has been my experience. Yours may be different.

3) Finally on CJ Walley's dissertation on the cottage industry of screenwriting gurus -- it has become just that, a cottage industry of seminars, online teaching, and endless requests for money (look at Stage 32 with its $35 for 10 minutes and $300 for an hour). How many people take them up on that, and how often, and how much good has it done for you?I get the feeling there is a spectrum of answers here that need to be graft as different folks will have different experiences. And again, it isn't how much the producer makes per hour talking to you -- it's how much do YOU make writing the script, especially if you are doing a spec and were not given an advance by anybody. Where does the money come to support YOU during this time, and do you have enough to keep going -- to keep writing and pay Stage 32 or anybody else $35 after $35, or $300 after $300? That was the question I was focusing on.

Good discussion, people. Thanks.

Personally, I've no issue with Stage 32 offering access to industry members that people can vet. My issue is more with the cloak and dagger stuff or people making claims that don't hold up.

I've no issue with people paying for access or to turbo-charge their learning either. What I see though is people throwing good money after bad at lotteries, casinos, scams and grifters.

Just throw paper money - they bruise easily.

I’ve taken classes, entered contests, paid for covers, and submitted pitches. Why? Because I’m a procrastinator and these give me deadlines, plus just keep me going and entrenched in/enthused about writing. I’m not too proud to admit it and my strategy works for me. Plus I’ve gained valuable information and experience along the way.

Hi Ron, to be honest, this doesn't seem entirely like a survey or a straw poll. It seems like there's a bit of an agenda around your post. I guess, if you don't want to spend money on people's services, the simplest answer would be to simply not spend money on people's services. Are you seeking back up?

Great questions, Ron. We answer all on the side of... you are building relationships.