Marketing a spec script is a proactive endeavor. You have to create your own advantages.
One way to be proactive is to keep up with the industry trades and follow the trends. What types of scripts are selling? Which movies are doing the best at the box office? How much are studios spending to purchase a script?
This can backfire, however. You want to stay informed but you should keep in mind that once there is a noticeable trend, by the time you can write and submit a screenplay, that trend will be over. Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Million Dollar Baby and Crash, Paul Haggis, has said that writing “to the market” is the worst thing you can do. It’s far better to focus on developing a really good story idea with great characters.
You have to know the market to know where you should submit your screenplay. Most screenwriters dream of Disney, 20th Century Fox or another big studio producing their story.
However, you should expect to start small. Focus on independent producers. They find or develop scripts, match them to actors and directors and then sell that package to a studio. Hollywood is filled with thousands of full- and part-time producers.
An established production company will typically have a director of development and/or a story editor who reads scripts. Some will read submissions from unknown, unagented writers. More often, they refuse to read unsolicited submissions because they already have more scripts than they can read.
There are several websites where you can post your logline and even the first 10 or 15 pages of your screenplay. The idea is that producers and others looking for new writers and screenplays will contact you if they are interested in your script. One site to consider is www.screenwritersmarket.com.
Don’t overlook the information you can glean from the numerous magazines and newsletters devoted to screenwriting. The advertisements, tips and sources could lead you to the right agent or producer.
In the past few years, online script registries have popped up. Writers post a logline and synopsis of their script in an online database and industry professionals subscribe to the registry. If a post interests them, they request to see the script.
Since most unproduced screenwriters must market their own material until their careers are well established; a marketing tool like this can prove useful. Most registries charge a modest fee for each script posted. Some registries charge for other services but allow writers to post for free.
The Writers Script Network
This registry regularly posts marketing success stories regularly online. A bi-monthly newsletter called Players Marketplace goes to 5,000 producers and agents promoting registered writers and their scripts.
Screenwriters Utopia
This site offers a free script registry along with other helpful features for screenwriters who market their scripts from outside the Hollywood loop. Their subscription service offers premium features that will give you even more of an insider’s edge.
Scriptiverse Spec Script Marketplace
This site lets you post for free for the first six months of your membership.
Film Tracker
In addition to a script registry service, this site offers industry news, box office stats, networking opportunities and promotion services for writers and filmmakers.
The Screenplayers
This website features writers’ accomplishments as well as their posted work. Not every script submitted is posted, each script must be nominated and accepted.
The Showcase for Original Screenplays
Screenplays are filtered for quality. There is a yearly fee for posting. Database subscribers are screened for professional credentials.
The Rights Marketplace
Authorlink.com currently showcases 800 manuscripts and screenplays online. The Authorlink staff reviews all material. There is no fee for the staff review; but they do charge to post to the Rights Marketplace.
The Screenwriters Market
This free script registry offers a bulletin board for independent producers to post job queries and a message board for screenwriters to share marketing experiences.
Scriptfly Script Market
The creator of this registry, Gina VanName, focuses on developing and marketing Screenwriters. You can post your spec screenplays and story treatments for free here.
Hollywood Script Readers Digest
This free registry accepts film synopses and television proposals. In addition to their online database, they publish a print edition, Hollywood Script Readers Digest, which is distributed to 1,200 film and TV production companies.