The old screenwriting motto is, "Work on your script, and the jobs will come." This is false.
A great script is only as good as the effort you put into your career, but there is little information for the aspiring screenwriter about how to break in. Even those who study TV or film in college are taught to simply "get a production assistant job." But then what? And how do you get that job to begin with?
Breaking into TV Writing
contains all the crucial information left out of most screenwriting books, like:
- How to get your first job in TV
- What TV writing samples you need
- How to break into the elusive TV writers' room
- How a writers' room creates an episode of TV
- Which assistant jobs are worth your time (and which you should avoid at all costs)
Anton Schettini provides a rare insider's glimpse of the modern-day network and streaming TV writers' room. Here, you will find practical advice, career-path strategies, and first-hand accounts for how to establish your network, grow within it, and acquire the necessary tools to become a TV writer.
The industry would love to tell you to put your head down, work hard, write a lot, and pay your dues; Schettini will show you why that hackneyed mantra is misleading, and how you can put yourself in the best position to break through the barriers and see your work on the TV screen.
Table of Contents:
FOREWORD by Lawrence Konner
PART I: FLIP THE DOLPHIN
Chapter 1: WHY SHOULD WE LISTEN TO YOU?
Chapter 2: FIRST STEP—MOVE TO LA
Chapter 3: MY STORY
PART II: THE WRITERS’ ROOM
Chapter 4: THE WRITERS
Chapter 5: THE LIFE OF AN EPISODE
Chapter 6: PILOTS
Chapter 7: STREAMING AND MINI-ROOMS
Chapter 8: HOW TO BEHAVE IN A WRITERS’ ROOM
PART III: ASSISTANTING
Chapter 9: GETTING YOUR FIRST JOB
Chapter 10: JOB POSTING RED FLAGS
Chapter 11: MEET PEOPLE AND BOTHER THEM
Chapter 12: ASSISTANT JOBS
Chapter 13: THE FINANCIAL REALITIES OF BEING AN ASSISTANT
Chapter 14: NEGOTIATING YOUR ASSISTANT SALARY
Chapter 15: THE ASSISTANT ATTITUDE AND WHEN TO QUIT
Chapter 16: IF YOU CAN, SKIP IT: A FINAL WORD ON ASSISTANTING
PART IV: BREAKING IN: THE OTHER ROUTES
Chapter 17: SCREENWRITING COMPETITIONS
Chapter 18: WORKSHOPS, FELLOWSHIPS, AND LABS
Chapter 19: STAND-UP, IMPROV, AND SKETCH COMEDY
Chapter 20: BE CREATIVE, MAKE THINGS, AND USE WHAT YOU’VE GOT
Chapter 21: SOCIAL MEDIA & GETTING YOUR STUFF OUT THERE
PART V: THE SCRIPT
Chapter 22: FIRST OF ALL, JUST WRITE
Chapter 23: YOUR SCRIPT
Chapter 24: ECONOMICS OF A TV SCRIPT
PART VI: THE UNIONS
Chapter 25: IATSE LOCAL 871
Chapter 26: WGA
PART VII: A FREELANCE ECONOMY & THE FUTURE OF TV WRITING
Chapter 27: THE 2023 WGA WRITERS’ STRIKE
Chapter 28: CARVING OUT YOUR UNIQUE PATH
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
GLOSSARY
RESOURCES
INDEX
