Riprap Entertainment TV The Business Side of Writing with Barry INTRO CAREER LADDER

| HOME |

| FAQs |

| SUBMIT |

| CONTACT US |

| WRITERS |

| AWARDS |

| LINKS |

| BROADCAST |

| CHANNEL LISTINGS |

| RIPRAP STUDIO THEATRE |

| RIPRAP UNIVERSITY |

| ABOUT US |

| SANDY'S PERSONAL PAGE |

| COMMENTS |

| ARCHIVE and NEWSLETTERS |

THE BUSINESS SIDE OF WRITING WITH BARRY

INTRODUCTION and INTRODUCTION TO THE PERSONAL CAREER LADDER

[June 15, 2007] Welcome to "The Business Side of Writing with Barry." This is a new section of the Riprap Entertainment website, where I will be sharing with you my experience and helpful tips about how to navigate and succeed in the field of dramatic writing.

Dramatic writing encompasses many different formats that dramatize life including: feature-films, sit-coms, hour-long drama, soap operas, stage plays, and radio-drama. I will also include non-dramatic formats in my discussions, which include: script writing in the documentary format for film, TV, and the corporate world.

This first installment is an introduction to the personal career ladder, a tool you can use to help focus your career goals. Upcoming topics will include: query letter writing, critique groups, script coverage, script submissions services, collaboration, and submission strategies among others.

I hope you will find the information discussed in each installment as useful in your career as it has been in mine.

Best regards and Keep writing!
Barry

INTRODUCTION TO THE PERSONAL CAREER LADDER

With approximately three percent of all dramatic writers able to make a consistent living in the industry, this leaves the bulk of us constantly striving to secure employment. It's important to have a clear sense of what your idea of success as a writer is and how to achieve that. Creating a personal career ladder to define and map this can be a great tool to help focus your career path.

To get started, it's important to have a clear understanding of the types of stories you write. Here are a few questions to ask yourself.
1. Do you write in several different genres or just one?
2. Are the stories you write geared towards mass audiences or specific niche audiences?

Answering these questions will help you determine whether your work is geared towards major venues or more intimate/independent ones.

The Business Side of Writing With Barry Next, look at the types of dramatic writing you do:
A. Playwriting
B. Radio play writing
C. Screenwriting
D. TV writing (soap, half-hour and hour format)
E. Script writing (documentary style writing).

Each of these disciplines has their own career ladder to follow. Select the discipline(s) you write in. Knowing who you are as a writer is a very important step in helping to focus how your career proceeds.

Writing education is the foundation your career ladder stands on. With it, you are solidly planted on the ground next to the ladder and ready to begin you career. Formal education and continuing education courses in writing are great resources. If traditional classes are not available in your area, there are several reputable online schools that offer dramatic writing courses. One that I'd recommend is Gotham Writer's Workshop. Taking classes throughout your writing career can be an asset. There's always something new you can pick up and use as a tool in your work. Plus, it will keep you up to date with the latest trends in the business and provide potential networking opportunity with other writers.

Once you've answered the questions I've proposed, you should have a basic understanding about who you are as a writer. This is essential to do before moving on. With that information in hand, look at the ladder below and determine where you currently are and where you'd like to go.

As a personal example, most of my writing is focused towards the niche or indie market. So, success for me is working on the third and forth level in the screen/TV discipline. This doesn't mean that I can't strive for higher levels or work on several levels at the same time, but it does mean that my writing will be most successful at finding a home and flourishing at the third and forth levels. If you know where you fit on this ladder, you can look at productions from that level and further develop your work to mesh with the qualities found at that level.

THE DRAMATIC WRITING CAREER LADDER

SCREEN/TV DISCIPLINE
5th Level - Major Motion Picture/Major TV Network Series
4th Level - "A" Indie Films (medium to high budget)
3rd Level - "B" Indie Films (micro budget)
2nd Level - Low-budget TV Network show
1st Level - Self-produced, local access show.

THEATRE DISCIPLINE
7th Level - Broadway run
6th Level - Off Broadway run
5th Level - LORT 3 to 4 week run.
4th Level - Off-Off Broadway 3-4 week run (16 per. Showcase)
3rd Level - Festivals
2nd Level - Non-union production
1St Level - Community Theatre Production

AUDIO-THEATRE DISCIPLINE
3rd Level - National radio show/Audio-theatre on tape.
2nd Level - Low-budget radio drama shows
1st Level - Local radio theatre program

SCRIPT WRITING DISCIPLINE
5th Level - Feature-length project or TV show for major network.
4th Level - Freelance as TV scriptwriter (i.e. documentary-style writing)
3rd Level - Union corporate and industrial video
2nd Level - Non-union corporate and industrial video
1St Level - Podcasts

Now that you've plotted out where you currently are on the career ladder and where you'd like to strive to be, you're ready to focus on how to achieve your goal. One requirement that is the same across the board is that you will need to have at least one to two polished scripts in the discipline you are pursuing work in. Some general pointers on each discipline follow.

TV and screen writing follow the same career ladder. Newer writers can begin by looking on the internet writing job boards for writer positions connected to episodic video podcasts, local TV shows, and short film scripts. Writing for one of these will give you a great introduction to visual dramatic writing and help hone your writing skills. Job boards are also a great resource for more established writers searching for feature-film writing jobs. I recommend applying to every job you feel you're qualified to do.

Theatre offers the most opportunity for the writer out of all of the disciplines. The best way to get started here is to obtain a theatre resource directory like the Dramatists Sourcebook which lists play submission opportunities on the professional level. Dramatists Sourcebook: Complete Opportunities for Playwrights, Translators, Composers, Lyricists and Librettists (Dramatists Sourcebook) It is also a good idea to query local community theatres to see if they'd be interested in doing a new play and/or if they have a play development program that you can apply to. The Dramatists Guild is another great resource. They provide town hall gatherings, seminars, submission and fellowship opportunities, among other resources.

Radio play writing offers a great deal of opportunity to work on the 1st and 2nd levels of the career ladder. There are several groups around the country that actively look for writers. These include weekly dramatic shows that need staff writers and other technical positions to assist with their productions. Becoming involved with such a production is the best place to start. It will enable you to develop a strong body of work and gain hands-on experience about how radio production works. From that point, you can move on to larger productions. Radio writing is considered the "poor man's screenwriting." The reason for this is that the radio writer has the ability to take the audience anywhere in the world; whatever you can dream up. And, budget is never a concern because the radio audience uses their imagination to create visual aspects through what is suggested on the sound track.

As you move yourself up your designated career ladder, it's important to decide how you define success for yourself. If you write indie scripts, success could be to work on a new script with an independent film company every one to two years. If you're focused on working with the major studios, look towards getting an agent or submitting to companies that have deals with the studios. These options will give you the best chance for your work to be read and for you to find success. No matter which career ladder and level you ultimately work on, remember, succeeding on any level of the ladder makes you a successful writer!

[Note: Future installments of "The Business Side of Writing with Barry" will feature detailed discussion of each personal career ladder discipline along with many other topics.]
Written by Barry M. Putt, Jr.
Copyright 2007 Barry M. Putt, Jr. all rights reserved. This article may not be reprinted without permission from the author.

VIEW MORE EXCERPTS LOADED DAILY!



Join RETV & Riprap Studio Theatre Email List Email:

riprap (rip' ·rap') to construct with or strengthen by stones, either loose or fastened with mortar" The Random House Dictionary of the English Language

Mailing Address and
SUBMISSION ADDRESS
Riprap Entertainment
PO Box 55221
Sherman Oaks, CA 91413

Riprap Studio Theatre
Street Address
5755 Lankershim Boulevard
North Hollywood, California 91601
Telephone (818) 990-7498

Contact Riprap Entertainment
Terms of Use