written by Hal Croasmun

Every working screenwriter you admire was once in your spot — talented, ambitious, and wondering how to break in. The difference between those who make it and those who don’t often comes down to strategy.

When you’re ready, these ten strategies can help you cut through the noise, get noticed, and build the career you’ve been working toward.

Strategy 1: Create a Plan for Your Success!

A screenwriting career doesn’t happen by accident — it’s built intentionally. Set clear short-term and long-term goals, create deadlines for finishing drafts, and map out the steps between where you are and where you want to be.

Act “As if” by treating your writing career like a business, because that’s what it is going to be when you start selling scripts.

If you can create a plan, you’ll have a direction for your actions and your writing.  Consider adding these strategies to your plan:

1. Elevate your writing to a professional level through classes.
2. Get feedback on your writing to improve your quality.
3. Write high quality bait – High concept, great title, and attractive roles.
4. Find ways to get your writing in front of producers, agents, and managers.
5. Keep writing and pitching until you have the success you want!

Create your plan and then take consistent action on it.  You’ll get there!

Strategy 2: Win a Contest

Screenwriting competitions like the Nicholl Fellowship, Austin Film Festival, PAGE, and Final Draft Big Break are powerful credibility boosters. A win or even a high placement puts your name in front of industry professionals actively looking for new voices. It also validates your work and gives you a meaningful credit to lead with in query letters and meetings.

Creighton Rothenberger woke up every morning at 4 a.m. to write before his day job.  He did this for years before winning the Nicholl Fellowship — and that win finally got him in the room.  The rest is action-movie history.  He went on to write OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN and LONDON HAS FALLEN!

Strategy 3: Build a Network of Producers and Managers

Relationships are the currency of Hollywood. Attend film festivals, industry panels, and screenwriting conferences to meet the people who can champion your work. Use LinkedIn.com as a way to organize your network and update them.  Follow up, stay in touch, and be genuinely interested in others’ projects.

Quentin Tarantino was a video store clerk who had written a lot of quirky screenplays.  He made a list of the producers and actors he wanted to work with and came to L.A..  He put himself in front of producers every chance he got – on the phone, at industry events, and in meetings that he requested.  Scripts were being optioned, but not produced.

In the midst of that, a producer got the script for RESERVOIR DOGS to Harvey Keitel and he signed on!   That single decision created the credibility to bring on other actors.  It showed he was up-and-coming and was enough to push the producers of another script he had written, NATURAL BORN KILLERS into production!

Strategy 4: Market Your Script

Writing a great script is only half the battle — you also have to get it in front of the right people. You can do that through query letters or phone calls.  You also can use platforms like The Black List, Stage 32, and InkTip to gain exposure.

Karen McCullah was an unknown writer living in Denver who didn’t know a single producer.  She put together her plan – write unique and funny scripts, send query letters to L.A. production companies, and follow up to build relationships.  That led to the movies, 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU and LEGALLY BLONDE.

Strategy 5: Do Paid Writing Assignments for Producers

Getting hired to write a script for a producer gets you experience, builds your professional reputation, and keeps you in the game.  Assignment work demonstrates that you can work with producers and collaborate with the producing team.  On top of that, you’ve got a producer on the project from Day 1, so there is a significantly better chance that this movie will be produced.

Shonda Rhimes did exactly this before she became a showrunner.  Her first professional credit was co-writing the HBO movie, INTRODUCTING DOROTHY DANDRIDGE.  She then wrote THE PRINCESS DIARIES 2 for Disney.  Assignment by assignment, she built the track record that eventually gave her the credibility to pitch and sell GREY’S ANATOMY.

Strategy 6: Find a Champion!

A champion is someone who believes in your work so much that they put their own reputation behind it. They open doors, make calls on your behalf, and get  your script in front of the right people.  One champion who is connected can do more for your career than years of cold queries.   Start looking for your champion ASAP.

Aaron Sorkin was a struggling, largely unemployed actor working as a bartender when he wrote his first play, A FEW GOOD MEN, on cocktail napkins.  Hollywood producer David Brown read the script and bought the film rights with the agreement that he produce the Broadway play first.   That play ran over 497 performances before the film went into production.

David Brown championed the play, the movie, and the writer as they each became incredible successes!

Strategy 7: Turn Your Script into a Book

If your screenplay isn’t gaining traction, consider adapting the story into a novel or self-published book. A book with strong sales or reviews gives you more credibility, creates a built-in audience for the movie or TV series, and attracts producers.  Add the words, “Based upon a successful novel,” to your pitch and you’ll get many more script requests!

William Goldman wrote both novels and screenplays, adapting his own work with tremendous success.  MARATHON MAN and THE PRINCESS BRIDE both started as novels before becoming beloved films.  The books benefited the film and helped make the writer a known name.

Strategy 8: Get Representation

A manager or agent doesn’t just submit your work — they advocate for you, guide your career strategy, and open doors that are simply closed to unrepresented writers. Build your credentials first through contests, writing assignments, and creating marketable projects.  Then approach representatives with a strong project they can pitch. The goal is to make yourself someone worth betting on.

You can land  an agent or manager by pitching them at a pitch fest or through a service.  But some will respond to query letters if the project is unique enough.  One of the easiest ways to get representation is to shop your script to producers, then when one of them wants to make a deal, approach agents/managers with the opportunity for an instant payday.

Strategy 9: Sell a Script

Selling a script — even if to a low-budget producer — is a transformational milestone. It signals to the industry that your work has commercial value and that someone was willing to put money behind it. Every sale, regardless of size, adds credibility to your name and makes the next opportunity easier to pursue.

Shane Black sold LETHAL WEAPON at just 22 years old for $250,000.  That sale began when a filmmaking friend, Fred Dekker, introduced him to an agent.  The deal didn’t just change his life — it sparked the spec script boom of the late 1980s and 1990s, inspiring a generation of writers to believe they could sell their way in.

Strategy 10: Promote Any Success You Have!

Don’t be shy about promoting yourself and sharing your wins. Update your social media, post on LinkedIn, send notes to your network, and let the industry know when you get a contest win, an option, or a produced credit.  All of these increase your credibility and says you’re a writer that producers want to work with!

Diablo Cody made a career from promoting herself.  She built her audience and her brand publicly — through her blog, her book, and her unapologetic voice.  All that happened before she ever wrote a screenplay.  When JUNO exploded, the industry already knew who she was.  She had been promoting herself for years without even knowing that’s what she was doing.  This led to a screenwriting career and an Academy Award!

Remember: the writers who succeed aren’t necessarily the most talented; they’re the ones who stay persistent, stay strategic, and refuse to quit. Use these ten strategies as your roadmap and don’t give up.

If you want to master the process of pitching, building your network, marketing screenplays or doing paid writing assignments, ScreenwritingU has helped hundreds of writers make their first deal using these and other strategies.

Your big deal may be closer than you think!