Screenwriting : Amazon by Daniel Dore

A friend's script was a "winner" and sure he made about 50k but the script they ended up with was put through so many changes by so many people, he doesn't recognize it. I think he only gets a partial or "story by" credit too. He retains the rights to the original story so he's turning it into a novel.

Thanks Sam and Lisa. I was concerned because I heard some bad reviews. I think I will try my luck with the Happy writers first and see how that goes.

Two years ago I had a chat with someone from Amazon, they wanted $600 up front to "package" my script. I passed on that deal and I'm glad I did.

I got that kind of offer 10 or so years ago from someone. Passed, also.

Sam, I agree but I think I might have a better chance of retaining some rights with a big company than with Amazon, as they have fixed guidelines. At least I am hoping. Dondi and Barbara, I had not heard of that. I would pass of a deal like that as well. I have a full time job so I am not in a hurry to sell a script, so I think I will wait to talk to the right person and see where that takes me. Those kind of deals seem to be to catch desperate people into spending their money when they should be making some. Thanks guys for all the info, it really helps.

not a matter of being in a hurry; does not make sense to give someone money for a script; should be the other way around...'

Amazon does not charge anything. They did get a ton of bad mouthing when they first started the service because it was a horrible deal for writers. They listened and quickly changed their terms. Whether it's Amazon, Netflix, Hulu or other online channels, fact is they are at the forefront of a new distribution reality and writers should be aware of that. If you have material that you're not going to do anything with for 45 days, there's no harm in trying them, you should read up in the private submission vs. public, there's a big difference.

Thanks Laurie, I`ll look it up. I will still try with the Happy Writers first, since it is a more traditional way, but knowing that most of this bad rep is behind them does open some new doors. Guess I will take some time and read up on their FAQs.

Absolutely and I highly recommend the happy writers, they truly live up to the name. Best of all with it and let me know if you have any questions.

with final draft, I just use the basic outline of whatever I am writing; they have templates for "graphic novels" (far cry from the comic books of my yesteryear as well as the spin on the word 'graphic'), television and even Broadway plays. What i need is an easy template for a novel...to turn a screenplay into a novel...

If you think about it, every studio/production company takes the temperature of every property, that's the nature of the business. There's just too much material and not enough reason to invest the time and money. The difference is, not every studio/production company accepts submissions from un-established writers. An email just came across my box today on 2 writers stories from Amazon. http://hollywonk.com/post/101971321478 http://hollywonk.com/post/101881026948

t's very true for the public submission aspect of the site, the private submissions do get read by contracted industry readers and they pay them better than most.