Home * Freebird Archives * Recommended Reading * Build Your Own Web Site * Favourite Links * Contact /About Us Scriptwriting - A Lucrative Opportunityby Penny Warner Imagine making $3,000-$15,000 on a two week project. Depending on your client's budget, scriptwriting projects can command money like this and more. You may not have considered, scriptwriting as a lucrative part of your freelance copywriting business. It's a skill you can easily learn, if you apply some simple techniques. In fact, you're probably already equipped with the writing skills and motivation to be an excellent scriptwriter! A plethora of projects There are a wide variety of script projects available. Promotional scripts help companies sell their products and services or tout upcoming events. Educational scripts provide information about ideas, services or products. Script projects can come from companies, educational entities, churches and many other sources. Television and radio commercials abound and even promotional "on-hold" messages require a written script. If you watch TV and listen to the radio, you will hear at least 16 script projects an hour played out by actors (or car salesmen who think they are actors). Sixteen projects an hour, times 24 hours a day, is a lot of scriptwriting projects. And multiply the number of projects by the number of media venues across the world! The work is there. Like any writing project, you have to work at finding it or help it find you. Getting Started - Format is first Pick a subject you're interested in (or your favorite charity). Envision yourself profiting on a script submission and write a speculation. Who knows, you just might profit in ways you never imagined, and you'll have a great sample for your portfolio. Before you begin looking for scriptwriting projects you need to know about script format. Script format is not difficult and there are several different formats you can employ, but you must adhere to these formats to maintain consistency. There are also subtle variations from writer to writer of course, but stay as close to a format as possible. Your clients may have a format they prefer. You should always ask. You can find thousands of script format samples on the Internet or buy books on the subject. Video Scriptwriting: How to Write for the $4 Billion Commercial Video Market, by Barry Hampe is a scriptwriting bible. It is a small, unassuming paperback, published in 1993. Even in this day of "obsolete before it hits the page," this book has fresh, relevant information for writers. The book is a writing resource and a motivational tool you'll refer to often. Hampe covers the whole process of getting clients, how to write the scripts, what to charge for them and how to close the deal. He covers the "dos and don'ts" of scriptwriting useful to any freelancer. An easy dual-column style format is shown below. Here are a few sample frames for a manufacturer of model railroad scenery. The action of the scene is written beside the narration for easy access. The videographer and producer will have no trouble establishing what action should take place during the narration. At the far right is the time it takes to complete the narration (minutes: seconds). The time is put in after the final version of the script is completed and the narrator does a "run-through" reading. Providing the time for each frame is a guideline for the producer who has time and budget constraints to worry about.
There is also a dual format without frames. It can be harder to read and to establish where the action should take place, but you may find it very easy to work with.
You could also use the format below. The action is bolded and the time in parenthesis, then the narration. This is a very easy format to use.
So, you get the idea. There are several ways to write a script and generally you write in the format you prefer or your client prefers. Get the job Unless you already have clients who trust you and like your work, you'll need to do some mining to unearth a scriptwriting job. Most likely you will get your first project with a former client. If not, you will need a calling card: a finished sample to show. Either way, establishing yourself as a professional, flexible copywriter is the first step. If you've never written a script, now is as good a time as any to get started. You can pick a subject, research and write one…or you can write a calling card script and do a good deed for humanity at the same time! Call a non-profit organization in your area and offer to write a script for them for free. Do a great job and who knows what could come of it. What to charge It is a good idea to charge a flat fee for writing a script because there are no surprises for you or your client. First find out how long the script needs to be or what the budget is for the script. Do some calculations on how long you think it will take you to research and write the script and don't forget to include time spent on the phone, meetings and rewrites. Multiply this amount of hours by your hourly fee. Add two hours for incidentals and stick with the figure. Protect yourself Create a contract for your client. Ask for one-third down to start, one-third at the first draft, and the balance due on delivery (or as soon as thirty days after you deliver). Outline everything in the contract: payment schedules, fees, rewrites you will do, etc. Asking for a down payment ensures that your client is a serious participant in the project. Never do work without some assurance that you will be getting paid. Rewrites Never do more than three rewrites. By now, you know almost everyone thinks they can write as well as you do. Writing is a very subjective thing, so stick to your guns. You are the professional and you do know your craft. That said, never argue with the client. Offer your opinion on changes, do it his way, then smile when the client hands you the check. If your rewrite meets with negativity and the project is scrapped, bill for the amount of the time you spent on the rewrite and never work for the client again. If there is any way to solve the problem amicably, do so for your own sake. But remember, you got the first third of payment down, so at least you got paid for your research and writing. If the client shirks responsibility on payment for the rewrites, have proof of your work, your contract in hand and take your case to small claims court. Get paid for what you do! If you've gone over your projected amount of time on a project, note it and don't shortchange yourself the next time you bid a project. If you go under the time, refund the money your client overpaid, a move that builds your credibility by volumes. And you will be the first one called the next time a project needs a writer. Know your audience If you are writing a promotional script about an automobile, you need to know to whom your client is trying to sell and what the selling points are. A busy mom won't care about sleek styling and 100.6 horses under the hood. She won't want to know how "thingies" fire at the right time for peak performance. She wants to know she can pick up her carpool kidlets and get them to school: safely and on time. Point out that there's room for 6, plus the class salamander with seatbelts for everyone. Show the cool storage compartment right below her right elbow for nose wipers. Tell her she can place a frantic call for help with the push of a button. Scriptwriting requires balance. You must consider all the elements of your subject, your audience and the tone. Projects ideas for you There are so many available projects for scriptwriters. All you need is to get started. Companies, organizations, schools, churches and more need your help. Here are just a few project ideas:
Don't forget. Hollywood could always use your help too. Although commercial scriptwriting can handsomely pay the bills, writing movies or TV scripts is fun and allows you to dream up any old thing. Get back at a nasty client by writing a screenplay about a business sinking into despair. Of course, don't use names (or cleverly rearrange the letters of her name to mean something dastardly!). Go forth and scribe You have all the tools to write scripts. You know how to research, outline and write in a cohesive manner. Now you can add script writing to your repertoire. Your Web site (you do have one, don't you?) is the best place to showcase your scripts. Always post your samples on your site. If you have a special knowledge in a field, be sure to promote the heck out of it. Optimize your site to get hits, when clients go surfing for the best writer for the project. Pick a subject you're are interested in or favorite charity. Envision yourself profiting on a script submission and write a speculation script as if you'll profit from it. Who knows, you just might profit in ways you never imagined and you'll have a great sample for your portfolio. About the Author: Missouri based Penny Warner has worked as a copywriter photographer, feature writer and editor for more than ten years and has published articles in Missouri Life Magazine, Ozark Farm and Neighbor, Lake LifeStyles, the Lake Sun Leader and hundreds of feature articles and photos in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. She has written two of the top-selling instructional videos in the model railroad industry and completed three full-length screenplays. Her Web site is "coming soon" at www.write4u.net. |
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