Writing for the Screen is a collection of essays and interviews exploring the business of screenwriting. This highly accessible guide to working in film and television includes perspectives from industry insiders on topics such as breaking in; pitching; developing and nurturing business relationships; juggling multiple projects; and more. Writing for the Screen is an ideal companion to screenwriting and filmmaking classes, demystifying the industry and the role of the screenwriter with real-world narratives and little-known truths about the business. With insight from working professionals, you'll be armed with the information you need to pursue your career as a screenwriter.

• Contains essays by and interviews with screenwriting consultants, television writers, feature writers, writer-directors of independent film, producers, and professors.

• Offers expert opinions on how to get started, including preparing your elevator pitch, finding mentors, landing an internship, and moving from an internship to the next step in your career.

• Reveals details about taking meetings, what development executives are looking for in a screenwriter, how and when to approach a producer, and how to pitch.

• Explores strategies for doing creative work under pressure, finding your voice, choosing what to write, sticking with a project over the long haul, overcoming discrimination, and reinventing yourself as a writer.

• Illuminates the business of screenwriting in the United States (New York and Los Angeles) as compared to other countries around the globe, including England, Ireland, Peru, France, Australia, and Belgium.

About the Author

Anna Weinstein is a screenwriter and educator based in Atlanta. She works as a writer-for-hire to develop features and television series, and she is on the screenwriting faculty in the English Department at Kennesaw State University, where she teaches and mentors undergraduate and graduate students. Anna is the Founding Editor of the PERFORM: Succeeding as a Creative Professional book series.

Reviews

"This book answers all the hard questions every aspiring writer asks and the rest of the screenwriting manuals avoid. It's astonishing that this essential addition to every screenwriting library hasn't existed before-and a cause for celebration that it finally does now."

-William Rabkin, Author of Writing the Pilot, Professor of Television Writing and Producing at Long Island University's TV Writers Studio

"An essential book - so accessible, so beautifully written, so encouraging and realistic and specific. It covers all the bases. Anyone contemplating a career as a screenwriter MUST read this book!"

-Dr. Linda Seger, Script Consultant, Author, Seminar Leader

"Writing for the Screen is perhaps the most powerful book on 'making it' in screenwriting that I've read in years. It is feverishly real, with raw truths and unabashed encouragement. I love the book's kaleidoscopic portrait and its solid approaches to the unique challenges of succeeding as a screenwriter today."

-Dr. Pieter Aquilia, Head, Screenwriting, Australian Film Television & Radio School

Book Information
ISBN 9781138945128
Author Anna Weinstein
Format Paperback
Page Count 254
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 428g