Screenwriting : Next steps by Will Berend

Biopics can be difficult.

First off, congratulations on finishing your first screenplay! That's a huge accomplishment, and the fact that you've already been doing rewrites and seeking feedback shows you're approaching this seriously.

One thing I'd gently suggest: consider slowing down on sending it out just yet. The enthusiasm to get your work in front of people is completely understandable, but you really only get a handful of chances to make a first impression in this industry. As a script consultant, I work with writers at every level, and I've seen how important it is to make sure you have a strong sense of what "good" looks like before putting your work in front of producers or decision-makers.

Sometimes we fall so in love with our idea that we assume the writing is just the vehicle to get it produced. But in this industry, the execution IS the value. There's no shortage of great ideas. What sets people apart is craft. And if a script goes out before it's ready, it can close doors that are hard to reopen, simply because people form quick impressions.

You're already doing the right things: mentorship, rewrites, being open to feedback. My advice would be to lean even harder into that phase. Find script consultants who can be honest with you while still supporting your vision. Get the script to a place where it truly reflects your abilities before sending it out. You've got something you believe in. Give it the best possible chance to shine.

jJoshua Young thank you for the response and guidance. To be clear, my emails have included my logline and a one-pager not my actual script. Based on what I had found you should not send the script unless it's requested.

I'll look into additional options for consultants. I've also been told that biopics are difficult for a first time screenwriter and I should focus on writing something else. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on that. Thanks again.

Hi dDavid Taylor

Will Berend Sounds like you're already doing a lot right, mentor feedback, trimming to under 120 pages, outreach, and festivals. One thing that helps: smaller regional contests often give more direct feedback and visibility. What's the biopic about?

Will Berend getting a mentor review and submitting to a festival with your first script is already ahead of where most first time writers are. For next steps beyond festivals script coverage from a professional analyst can give you a fresh perspective on what is working and what still needs attention before it goes out more widely. Happy to share more about what that looks like if it would be useful.

Congratulations Will Berend - that's fantastic. And it sounds like you're already doing all the right things. I will echo what Joshua Young said and perhaps let it breathe for a short while, then come back to it. You'll likely notice things you'd change. Then send it out again. Consider submitting the first 10 pages to script services and see where that lands. After you've done that, submit to your mentor once again.

Congratulations, and first and foremost copy-write it with the WGA east or west. Try to analyze feedback properly. I always ask if it had impact, if you get a chance from an executive to read it. But make sure it’s really done first which takes time. Maybe we all make that mistake. Good luck with everything and your stories journey.

Amry Lucy - Hi. Thanks for the feedback. I'll follow-up with you directly to get more detail on the services you mention.

Branson Tiara - Thank you for feedback. It is definitely difficult to be patient during this process. I have made a list of of contacts using IMBDPro that have worked on similar films or projects.

Leonardo Ramirez - Thank you for the feedback. Can you share a little more about script services and how that works?

Thank you Lina Manfred! I'll keep you in mind. I appreciate the feedback.

Kevin La-Rose Hi! I have registered it with WGA West.

Hey Will Berend - of course! There are several services that Script Services offers. There's a first-10 page review, script consultation and career consults. My personal favorites are the first 10 pages because it gives me a gauge as to how those pages grab the interest of the reader and set up the story. My other favorite is either the script or career consults because you get one-on-one time with the exec. There are others that you can find here: https://www.stage32.com/scriptservices. The one thing I would strongly encourage is to research what exec you sign up with. Make sure that person is aligned with your genre and your goals as a writer. Hope that helps!

Leonardo Ramirez thank you. I'll check it out.

What Joshua Young said. I agree. When I finished my first one, I did all of what you might want to do. Shared it, asked for feedback but now looking back, I know I needed to really look at how it really worked and make some adjustments. Unless it's truly feedback with someone not that you're pitching to.

Congratulations on completing your first screenplay — and on already taking it through professional feedback and rewrites.

From a producer’s perspective, the next step is to start presenting it not only as a screenplay, but as a film project. For a biopic, I would look carefully at the underlying rights and source material, then prepare a strong logline, a concise synopsis, the intended audience, comparable films, an approximate budget range and a clear explanation of why this story should be told now. Targeted outreach to producers who have already worked with similar material will usually be more effective than sending the screenplay widely.

This gap between “finished screenplay” and “project ready for producers” is exactly why we are developing Project Pearl at Sauban Film Productions. It provides a structured diagnosis of a project’s story, positioning, presentation materials and market readiness, helping writers understand what may still be missing before approaching the industry.

If this would be useful, I would be happy to tell you more or offer an initial diagnosis of your project.

Enter it into next year's Nicholl Fellowship comp via the Writers Guild Foundation website. BTW what's the logline?

Hi Xochi Blymyer - thank you for the feedback.

Hi Elena Saubanova - Thank you. I have worked on my logline and synopsis but it has been a bit. I'll start digging into that a bit. I appreciate the feedback and will reach out with any questions.

Hi Colin Mummery - thanks for the recommendation. Below is my logline for Bea:

LOGLINE:

Working as a domestic laborer in Jim Crow Texas, Arthur Bea Williams seizes a life-altering opportunity when she's hired by the state's first Black female attorney, launching a decades-long rise through the legal world that ultimately leads to her becoming one of Texas's first Black female justices of the peace.

You’re very welcome. It is definitely worth revisiting both after your latest rewrites, as the logline and synopsis should evolve with the screenplay. Feel free to reach out whenever you are ready—I would be happy to discuss the most useful next step for your project.

Hi Will, congratulations on completing your first screenplay. I’m also a scriptwriter, and I’d be happy to connect. If you have any other projects you’re working on or need help developing a script, I’d be interested in hearing about them. Wishing you the best with your biopic and upcoming submissions!

Will Berend congratulations on finishing it, and good on you for getting a mentor read and doing the rewrites. Plenty of writers skip both.

One thing worth raising early, because it shapes everything else. Biopics carry a rights question. Depending on who your subject is, whether they're living, and whose account the story draws from, a producer's first question will be about life rights and clearances rather than the pages. If the subject is deceased and the story is built from public record, you have more latitude. If they're living, or if the material comes from someone's private account, that needs sorting before anyone can seriously develop it.

This isn't a reason to stop. It's a reason to know the answer before someone asks, because "I hadn't thought about that" is a hard place to be in a meeting. We actually have a webinar on this exact subject that would be worth your time: https://www.stage32.com/education/products/how-to-secure-a-life-rights-d...

Email our Success Team at Success@Stage32.com. Free, and it's the strongest move available to you. Tell them about the script, the subject, and where you are. They'll give you a realistic read on the pathway and which Stage 32 Executives are looking for material in this space. That beats cold outreach emails considerably.

Be consistently present here in the free lounges. The writers who get furthest on this platform aren't the ones submitting the most, they're the ones people get to know and build genuine relationships with.

And this week's Creative Army mission is well-timed. Personally invite two friends or collaborators to join Stage 32, comment on the post telling us who you brought in, and you get a FREE Stage 32 Pitch Session. A live pitch to a working executive with written feedback would tell you a great deal about how the project lands, and it's free this week. Closes Sunday: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/producing/Why-Your-Creative-Community-Is-...

Curious what the biopic is about, if you're willing to share. Rooting for you on this one.

Hi Ashley Renée Smith Thank you for this info. I'll definitely email the success team and check out the other things. I do have a Life Story Rights Agreement signed by the daughter of the person the script is about. She is her only living heir and only child. Thank you for confirming I'm in the right path.

Hello Will, I to have written a Biopic screenplay; Faith Based. I have pitched over thirty Stage 32 executives, got many favorable responses, even two Double Recommends, it also earned Double First Place in a Christian Film Festival, (Writer and Screenplay), but I haven't been able to sell it yet. What I'm saying to you is don't get discouraged; for you may receive some negative evaluations, (one executive wrote "great story if you were famous, no one knows who you are".) Keep on wrighting and Be Blessed.

For sure Will!

Will Berend Congrats on finishing a first script and already having a mentor pass and a festival submission under your belt that's more momentum than a lot of first-timers manage to build.

A few things that might be worth adding to what you're already doing:

Stage 32 pitch sessions or coverage if you haven't used Stage 32's Script Services yet, professional coverage on a biopic specifically can be valuable, since biopics have their own structural traps (trying to cover too much life, weak throughline) that a fresh set of trained eyes will catch fast.

Loglines contests separate from full-script submissions sometimes getting your logline in front of people first (via logline-specific contests or the Lounge) builds momentum and feedback before a full read, and it's lower-stakes practice for pitching.

Biopic-specific research since your genre depends heavily on rights/life story clearance depending on your subject, it's worth confirming where things stand there if you haven't already, since that can affect how producers respond even to a great script.

Sounds like you're doing the right things already outreach, festivals, rewrites. The biggest thing at this stage is usually just volume and patience; keep the queries going while you write the next thing. What's the biopic about, if you don't mind sharing?

Hi Joseph Biro Thank you for taking the time to share this information. I will look into the Script Services and Logline contests as I haven't done either of those. I have a signed Life Story Rights Agreement with the daughter of the person my script is about so I'm covered in that area.

Here is what I've share with a few others:

LOGLINE:

Working as a domestic laborer in Jim Crow Texas, Arthur Bea Williams seizes a life-altering opportunity when she's hired by the state's first Black female attorney, launching a decades-long rise through the legal world that ultimately leads to her becoming one of Texas's first Black female justices of the peace.

You might ask why I wrote this script. Well, Arthur Bea was a prominent figure in my childhood in the 80s and 90s in Wichita Falls, TX. She was in the local media a lot and we'd go to her courtroom for field trips when I was in school. When she died in 2021 I started to do some digging into her story and was blown away by it and by the fact that I knew nothing about her path. I struggled with being the person to write the script but after juggling with it for a bit I jumped in. After about 4 years of research, interviews and writing I got to a point where I had a beginning to end product last Fall. I worked closely with her daughter, friends and former colleagues because I felt it was important to write through the eyes of the closest to her.

Hi E. Nadine Thaxton-Tensley Thank you for the encouragement. And I say the same to you!

Ashley Renée Smith You had asked about what the biopic is about. Sorry, I missed that part. Here is what I've shared:

LOGLINE:

Working as a domestic laborer in Jim Crow Texas, Arthur Bea Williams seizes a life-altering opportunity when she's hired by the state's first Black female attorney, launching a decades-long rise through the legal world that ultimately leads to her becoming one of Texas's first Black female justices of the peace.

You might ask why I wrote this script. Well, Arthur Bea was a prominent figure in my childhood in the 80s and 90s in Wichita Falls, TX. She was in the local media a lot and we'd go to her courtroom for field trips when I was in school. When she died in 2021 I started to do some digging into her story and was blown away by it and by the fact that I knew nothing about her path. I struggled with being the person to write the script but after juggling with it for a bit I jumped in. After about 4 years of research, interviews and writing I got to a point where I had a beginning to end product last Fall. I worked closely with her daughter, friends and former colleagues because I felt it was important to write through the eyes of the closest to her.

Hi Will,

The additional information you have shared changes the picture in an important way. A signed Life Story Rights Agreement, four years of research and direct access to Arthur Bea Williams’s daughter, friends and former colleagues are significant assets for a biographical project.

Your logline clearly communicates the historical setting and her remarkable journey. At the moment, however, it tells us primarily what she achieved over several decades, rather than revealing the central dramatic engine of the film: what she is fighting for, what stands in her way, what she risks and which decisive conflict carries the audience through the story.

For that reason, I would not automatically assume that another contest or script service should be your next step. The right sequence depends on the current condition of the whole project, not only the screenplay.

This is precisely what we are developing Project Pearl to do: diagnose where a project currently stands and create a personalized development roadmap before its creator spends more time and money.

If you would like, I can offer your project a complimentary Project Pearl mini-diagnosis. You could send me a detailed synopsis or treatment, together with any existing one-pager or pitch materials. Based on those materials, we would prepare a short roadmap identifying:

• what is already working;

• the most important gaps;

• the next three priorities in the correct order;

• the materials needed before approaching producers;

• and what you probably do not need to spend money on yet.

If you agree, we could later share a concise, non-confidential version of the roadmap in this discussion so that others can also see how a project diagnosis works in practice. Your story materials would, of course, remain private.

Feel free to contact me through Stage 32.

Congratulations on finishing your first screenplay, and the most important thing for a first script is to keep writing and have more than one project in your portfolio, because producers want to see you're not a one-script writer. What's the most important piece of feedback you received from your mentor that shaped the rewrites?

Will Berend This is such a powerful story to be telling, and it's clear why you felt the weight of being the right person to write it four years of research, interviews, and working closely with her daughter, friends, and colleagues is exactly the kind of care a story like this deserves. Writing "through the eyes of the closest to her" is the right instinct; that's usually what separates a biopic that feels authentic from one that feels like a Wikipedia summary in scene form.

And smart move having the Life Story Rights Agreement locked in early that's the kind of groundwork that makes producers and reps take a project seriously right away, since it removes one of the biggest risk factors before they've even read page one.

The logline itself is strong it has a clear arc (domestic laborer to justice of the peace) and a specific historical/social backdrop that gives it real stakes beyond just "person overcomes odds." Arthur Bea Williams sounds like exactly the kind of overlooked history that makes for a compelling watch.

Wishing you luck with Script Services and the logline contests sounds like you've already done the hardest part of the work.