Reddit reviews The Craft and Business of Screenwriting: The Ultimate Guide to Writing for Film and Television and Navigating Hollywood (ScreenCraft Series Book 1)

Start out by reading The Screenwriters Bible, How Not to Write a Screenplay, and https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Business-Screenwriting-Television-ScreenCraft-ebook/dp/B01CAYTD42/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466019424&sr=8-1&keywords=screencraft

Those offer the basic guidelines and expectations.

Beyond that, you need to read scripts and learn the format. Get yourself some software. Final Draft is popular. WriterDuet is free and amazing.

But first, stop and listen.

To save you time, know that you should not be writing remakes, sequels, or spin-offs of any existing film or television property. No matter how good you may think you can write it, they won't go with an unknown and chances are that they already have such plans in the making with major writers attached.

Write original stories.

There are hundreds of books, podcasts, websites, etc. that cover things like this.


If you go on Amazon and search for "Screenwriting business" (which is where you could have checked before asking this question) you'll find almost 1000 titles, including this one:


https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Business-Screenwriting-Television-ScreenCraft-ebook/dp/B01CAYTD42/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=screenwriting+business&qid=1559293365&s=books&sr=1-2




Some of my favorite books are:

• What Happens Next: A History of American Screenwriting
  
• Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting
  
• Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade
  
• Just the Funny Parts: … And a Few Hard Truths About Sneaking into the Hollywood Boys’ Club
  
• The First Time I Got Paid For It: Writers’ Tales From The Hollywood Trenches
  
  
  

  Podcasts
  

  
  

  Scriptnotes
  

  
  The number-one screenwriting podcast is unquestionably Scriptnotes, with over 100,000 weekly listeners and over 400 episodes.
  
  New episodes are free (and don’t even have annoying ads!) and have transcripts available within a week after the podcast airs.
  
  Older episodes are available for a premium subscription or you can buy a 50-episode season for $5.
  
  The Listener’s Guide will help you navigate back episodes.
  
  IMHO, if you’re not listening to Scriptnotes you’re not serious about screenwriting.
  
  ​
  
  

  Screenwriting Websites
  

  
  JohnAugust.com
  
  Home of the Scriptnotes podcasts and transcripts, plus sample scripts and other resources.
  
  Go into the Story
  
  Named “Best of the Best” Scriptwriting Website by Writer’s Digest
  
  Black List Screenwriter’s Notebook
  
  Books, essays, talks, podcasts, data, and more.
  
  Nicholl Fellowship Formatting Guide
  
  Nicholl-winning scripts are also available here, and there’s a long list of recommended books.
  
  
  More on my website:
  
  
  https://lauridonahue.com/screenwriting-tools-and-communities-stps-7/