So you finished writing a script, now what?

Congratulations coffee on finishing a script!

Registration with WGA is exactly what you should do next. Its simple, low cost and a very normal step in the development of a property.

After that, you might want to prepare a treatment and shop it around to a number of literary agents. My daughters managers office and her theatrical agent both have an in house literary departments. Her manages office handled one of her screen plays last year and we were very happy with the results. These are both Los Angeles offices, so you might want to look in your area first, but if you need a referral, feel free to PM me and I will be happy to assist.
 
If you want poor man's copyright protection, print it out and mail yourself a copy. Don't open it when it gets back to you. The sealed, post-marked package can be used as proof of authenticity.
 
hey coffee,

maybe i should n't say this but you know what you should do first? rewrite it. put it up on zoetrope. rip it apart. put it back together again. my feeling is what you have is a first draft, of course if the script has already been massaged, workshopped, critiqued, etc, then well...never mind any of what i just said.
 
brianluce said:
maybe i should n't say this but you know what you should do first? rewrite it.
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Excellent point. I haven't seen the script (maybe it is perfect as is), but more than likely if you just finished it, the next step is a really good rewrite.

Chris
 
CMessineo said:
Excellent point. I haven't seen the script (maybe it is perfect as is), but more than likely if you just finished it, the next step is a really good rewrite.

Chris
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That is one of the things that a good literary agent will help you accomplish. They read scripts everyday, all with the eye of someone who knows what can be sold and what can't. There input can take you from just another script to something that can be optioned and/or sold.
 
If you want poor man's copyright protection, print it out and mail yourself a copy. Don't open it when it gets back to you. The sealed, post-marked package can be used as proof of authenticity.
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This is not legally binding. Pay the $20 or so and register it with the guild. Mailing it to yourself is an old trick that won't necessarily hold up in court. Besides, it's going to cost you a few dolars just to mail yourself a 100-page script. May as well spend a few dollars more to do it right.

Cheers,

Josh
 
Actually, I think it is only $10. But no matter the cost, get it registered, it is how real writers do it. You don't want to come off as an amateur just to save a few dollars.
 
Yes, register it with either WGA or WGAe. Copyright isn't a bad idea either. It protects you more than simply 'registering' it. But don't get carried away with it IMHO.

Agents and managers are a natural choice to hit up. HCD is the greatest tool for that. Even WGA have a list of certified Agents (which seems to be offline until Oct).

BUT before you do any of that, I suggest you either do two things.

1) Put it away for two weeks and come back to it later. Hell, even start a new project. You do this so you can come back at it with a fresh set of eyes to hack away on re-writes. THE SIX SENSE was re-written nine times.

2) Farm it out to friends who's opinion you trust. And work on their notes. Other writers are a good source for that. People you know who love film or studied it at college are another. But ask people to give you honest feedback. Other writers will do that. www.scriptsales.com is a great site which allows you to post five pages of your script at their website and people comment on them for free and often very quickly.

I will say, as a side note, that there is a 95% that your script isn't ready and may well suck. If that is the case, then you don't want to be sending it out to agents and managers or production companies. You only get the one chance with the reader. Why blow it on something that's not ready? Make sure your script is ready, then send it out.

EJ
 
wow guys, thanks for the great responses! I have a third draft completed and I know that it's NOT the final as I'm in the midst of the fourth draft. Yes, this is my first feature so I look forward to many more rewrites... lol

I just like to know in what measures to take when I'm ready to protect my work.

khmuse, I appreciate your willingness to help. That's what makes this site the best! I'll reach out to you in a couple of months if you don't mind.

Hey Chris, got any time to read my work in the next month or so?
 
Definately register it. The mailing trick we used to do YEARS ago with musical compositions sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but if you want a decent chance of it working you have to send the letter by Certified Mail. It'll cost you the same to register it properly, I think.

Matt
 
coffee said:
khmuse, I appreciate your willingness to help. That's what makes this site the best! I'll reach out to you in a couple of months if you don't mind.
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Please feel free to do so, I'll be more than happy to make the introductions for you.
 
While I'm not a professional screenwriter, I have been studying the craft for a couple years now. And have read and analyzed several hundred scripts (both produced and amateur) to understand why they work or why they don't work. And I am currently writing as well.

Anyway, all that to say, if you want some fresh eyes to look it over and give you honest, critical feedback I am willing to read and critique - and the fact I didn't get a shout out on your video won't sway my opinion :grin:
 
hey coffee,

larry has made a very generous offer! take him up on it! you'll be surprised how hard it is to get anyone, and i mean ANYONE to read a script. my mom won't even read my scripts.
 
Billy Bob Thornton never re-writes :)

I always do though. In fact I find that I can tweak my scripts forEVAR!

:)

And WGA registration was $20 about a month ago when I registered my last literary travesty.
 
Cpt. Shiner said:
If you want poor man's copyright protection, print it out and mail yourself a copy. Don't open it when it gets back to you. The sealed, post-marked package can be used as proof of authenticity.
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No, it can't. Forget it. It doesn't work. It's a myth. It can be impeached in court in a matter of seconds. It's a waste of time. I wish this myth would die and I wish people would stop perpetuating it.

It's as simple as that.

If you want "poor man's copyright protection," register it with . . . the Copyright Office. It costs $30 -- $30 -- and it opens up a whole host of legal avenues you otherwise don't have.
 
The reason the "mail it to yourself" trick doesn't work is because it is a simple matter to stamp an empty unsealed envelope, mail it to yourself which causes the envelope to be cancelled on the date mailed. Then you hold onto the envelope until you need it, then simply place whatever contents in you desire, seal it and say, "Hey, see the cancellation, I mailed this to myself 2 years ago!"
 
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