Before this week’s instalment of Writing That Sitcom, the winning topic from the poll on what I should cover in a webinar was:
Plotting.
So I’m going to run a pay-what-you-like webinar on 24th April at 6pm UK Time on Zoom. That’s the plan. There’ll be booking information for that soon.
It’s going to be awesome. It’ll be interactive, with a chance for you to do a bit of prep in advance that you can send me. That way we can use some of your stories as examples for plotting a generic sitcom that I’m creating for the webinar, and you can see how the ideas need to develop and change in order to be turned into a sitcom plot.
Right. Here’s this week’s blog:
I wrote this about ten years ago. Although some of the details might have changed, I think the same principles still apply.
On the sitcomgeek blog, this is the question asked most often, and the most popular blog post. It’s clearly on everyone’s mind. And I give the same answer every time. You could send your script in to competitions. No harm in that. More on those later. You could send it to nebulous corporations who have a public service remit and will genuinely read it eventually. It’s better than leaving it in a drawer. I shouldn’t bother sending it to an agent at this stage.
Send it to a producer who makes programmes you like, someone who you think will ‘get’ what you're trying to do. They might be at the BBC or an independent production company. Find the address on the internet, print out the script, put it in an envelope, spell their name correctly, write a polite covering letter that doesn’t make you look like a nutjob, a stalker or a precocious 12-year-old (even if you are, hide this fact). Then wait.
You might somehow be able to figure out their email address, or find them on twitter, and ask their permission to send it that way. I’m not quite sure what protocol is these days. But I’d send a hard copy. My reasoning is thinking about it from their point of view (or mine!) If I get a pdf on an email, I have to print it out myself. If I don’t do it straight away, I’ll forget. And then the email disappears off the bottom of my list, and it’s all forgotten. I’ve forgotten to read plenty of scripts this way from people whom I know personally and like (sorry).
A hard copy is harder to ignore. You’d have to throw it into a bin to get rid of it – and I don’t believe a serious comedy producer would throw away a sitcom script without even reading the first couple of pages. And given your first couple of pages are awesome, you should at least get your script read.
If they read it and it’s really good, they’ll call you. Really and truly. Most scripts aren’t any good, including those written by experienced professionals. So if you’ve written something that isn’t broadcastable, but shows promise and talent, they’ll call, email and contact you somehow. Eventually.
Bear in mind they have work to do, a job in hand and it doesn't really involve you - but they need shows to produce, and every time they open an envelope, they fear the worst, but hope for the best. They want a hit.
Don’t send it to lots of producers at a time. Maybe two or three. If you hear nothing or there’s no interest, try some more producers. And if you don't hear back ever, maybe, just maybe, the script is not as good as you thought it was. In which case, do what all professional writers do: do it again. Rewrite, edit, change, delete, type, scream, delete, type, read, simmer, pause, read again, edit then send. If you’re not prepared for any of the above, may I recommend another job?
The producer works for a company that says it doesn’t accept unsolicited scripts. Should I send it anyway?
It’s up to you. I would say there’s no harm in sending it. If you send it and you don’t hear back, it would be unreasonable of you to pester them with phone calls and emails subsequently for feedback given their pre-stated policy. Personally, I think saying you
don’t accept scripts is a bizarre policy for a comedy company to have, given that scripts are where the jokes and money come from. But given there are tens of thousands of sitcom scripts floating around the UK at the moment, and thousands more generated every year, they have to draw the line somewhere. Plus you open yourself to the usually groundless charge of plagiariasm (see below).
Should I send my script to agents?
Yes. You can. But my experience is that agents tend not to get involved if you don’t have ‘stuff going on’. Many are good-hearted and want to encourage new writers, but they have to make a living like the rest of us. They are not the short cut to a career that they are often thought to be. They are very useful to people who already have a career.
Is it worth sending to BBC Writersroom?
Yes. They have lots of good script readers who knows stuff and can spot funny. They are mandated and paid to find new talent and encourage it. That could involve you. A positive response from the BBC Writers Room is well worth having because it means that some people at the BBC know about you. You might start getting invited to some free workshops at which you might learn stuff and hear about opportunities. You might meet other writers in a similar position and maybe get to know some producers. In short, you might feel like you're getting somewhere.
Why can’t I just send a treatment or outline of my idea?
Because if you’re an unknown, you have to prove you can execute an idea as a script. Ideas are fairly easy to come up with. If you want a career as a writer, you have to show what you can do. They’re very unlikely to commission a script from you if they’ve no idea about your ability to write. Of course, this producer may have seen you do something else, like an Edinburgh show or play, which might affect things. But as a general rule, if you want to show you’re a writer, and would like to be hired to write your idea, you need to write it. Show them.
Do I need to copyright my idea? Is my idea going to be stolen?
The short answer is ‘no’. The longer answer is that you can’t copyright an idea – only the expression of an idea. If you’ve written a script and someone rips it off word for word, that’s easy to prove – and I can’t think of a single case in the sitcom world where that’s happened. But you’re more likely to be worried that your white hot idea is going to be taken away from you. Your secret formula for success will be given away. But, as with the answer to the previous question, the producer isn’t so much looking for ideas as writers, or writers who can execute their ideas. Besides, it’s unlikely that your idea hasn’t been done before somewhere, somehow. Formats, characters, situations – there is nothing new.
I’m not getting anywhere with my script. What should I do?
Write something else. If you’re a writer, you’ll like writing for its own sake – and that is the thing that gives you pleasure, in a bizarre and twisted way.
If you’re not already doing so, try writing sketches. Sketch writing, especially for radio, is a tried and tested way in to sitcom. The likes of John Sullivan, Richard Curtis, David Renwick and Andy Hamilton to name a few started this way. In one sense, a sitcom is a series of sketches, so learning the craft of economic funny writing is probably the best foundation you can have. And through it, you develop relationships with producers, with whom you can develop longer narrative scripts.
But before you send your script…
… ask yourself this: is it ready? Is it as good as it can be? You only get one chance to make a first impression. Seriously. Are you sending out the best, tightest, funniest sitcom script you can? Why not get this PDF that comes with a 90 minute webinar which gives you 14 ways your script can improve? And then you’ve got it on hand for all future scripts. It’s a seriously good investment.
Where Do I Send My Script?