Screenwriting : Seeking advice on US scriptwriting fees by Andi Sinkovics

Andi Sinkovics it would depend upon the writer being a spec writer like me with no paid industry experience, or a paid writer with credits who has an established quote.

Also might vary according to the Genre of the project? Also the deadlines, accountability expectations, exactly how "short" and how "low-budget"?

If you can list here some more detailed info then you might get more specific answers.

Looks like there are plenty of writers who would get involved in similar projects for under $5,000 fee and probably others who would require more, the better their credentials and skills the more they might also want to know what plans are for the project, such as is it going to be intended as a film festival entry?

Best of great momentum with your inquiries!

I read in a post on another site that short scripts can go for $50/page. So $500 for a ten page script. It takes me about three to four hours to write one of these - one to two hours to develop the story and two hours to write it. Of course, if you come up with an incredible story and get in a bidding war they could go for a good deal more. But that’s the exception and not the rule.

Great to meet you, Andi Sinkovics. How many pages would the script be?

Dan MaxXx maybe "you get what you pay for" does not apply? Is it ridiculous to aim for quality?

If they were just looking for someone to fill pages, I do suppose there are plenty of people who will do it for minimal investment,

sounds like exactly the type of job people are looking to hand over to

AI-automated text generators / Chat GPT, etc. for obvious reasons.

We all have different priorities, I believe most original innovative writers with the skills and talent to create superlative work are busy devoting their attention and creativity, in fact our entire lives, to multiple long-term projects,

so in my view the pay for their time is a premium to cajole the hired writer into setting aside all of their other work and making the new project a priority. That's where compensation means the most.

Otherwise the hiring entity would simply be going for the lowest bidder and getting a lukewarm rip-off of Galaxy Quest or whatever. That's probably not the goal?

Or sure go ahead and pay $500 and you can get your script three years from now.

Thank you for all the comments. The film should not be more than 20 minutes, ideally 15, so the script would not be more than 20 pages... It is a short-to-feature project. There is already an outline for the feature, the task is only to decide which part of the feature should be made into a short and develop that with me, the director.

Hi Andi, it shouldn't be much because you already wrote the story (feature). Are you looking for someone to create the short?

Business is business no matter the industry. Simply ask for what you think you're worth. If you've never done anything for $$ in the film business and are looking to get a break, do it pro-bono or maybe ask for a couple hundred bucks. If you've charged money before, use that as a starting point. Either way - best of luck!

You're welcome, Andi Sinkovics. Since the script will be about 15-20 pages, I agree with Dan MaxXx. $200-$500.

There's this lovely Chinese proverb: "never let your feet extend your porch"...so translating, anyone could see your track record extending to at least notable worth, would be happy to consider paying the double of it...

All good, key point stated there to decide and with director then “develop” which is where the work may come in, we all know that development is such a simple, clear, easy and concise path to agree upon right? Not trying to be cynical just realistic about how writing, developing and locking projects can mean completely different things to different people.

Informative!

Oh, Dan! (-::

Hi Andy, I can work, and I know that you are trying to convert a long fictional text into a short fictional film script. Work is work, and the money comes to me after that