Selling a Screenplay? A True Exercise in Patience

I think if a screenwriter takes away nothing else from the experience of having come up with a great idea for a screenplay, writing a kick-ass script and marketing your effort, it is learning to be patient.

When I consider that I wrote Martin Eden... well, what I mean to say is, I adapted the screenplay from Jack London's 1909 novel, back in 2009. Incidentally, I think it's pretty cool that I completed that work exactly one hundred years from the date of its publication. And here we are just weeks away from 2013, and I'm still waiting on some action. When I say action, I suppose I'm referring to something in the form of representation, an option deal  or an outright sale. I guess I can say, in truth, that my screenplay has seen some action when you consider the recognition Martin Eden has received from various screenplay competitions. I must also admit that my efforts in marketing my work have been rather encouraging, when I have had at least a dozen requests from some high-profile executives in the industry for this work.

Funny, when I first completed this screenplay and I felt it was ready for the eyes of Hollywood producers, I was convinced, as I'm sure are many first-time script writers, that once I cast my script out to the ocean of hungry Hollywood sharks, they would all be clambering over each other for obtaining the rights. It is a great fantasy, imagining that your work is in such high demand as to inspire ruthless bidding wars among the film industry elite. A screenwriter will quickly learn that this notion of immediate success and recognition couldn't be further from the truth. The reality is, even having written an amazing and inspired work, it could take years to get an option deal. The reality, is you might never get an offer.

I have learned to be patient, to wait...to keep trying. I have relaxed on the notion that Hollywood will be breaking down my door. I have come to the realization that I may never see a dime for my efforts. But we keep on trying don't we? We continue to come up with creative ideas to get our work out there. We continue to cast our nets. We sift through all those emails related to pitching and selling your script in the hopes of discovering that one magic door to riches and fame. And we all know that most of these companies have little success rate, given the mounds of desperate clients, all convinced that they've just penned the next Hollywood blockbuster. We know they too are in the business of making a buck. So we learn to wait... we console ourselves with the idea that we only need one person who is crazy about our script idea, who also has the means to get our project developed and made.

I know that Jack London's works are very popular in European markets. This will be my next focus. So you people in the UK, Germany and Russia who are reading this blog, look out 'cause here we come!