inkTip success?

I know writers who've had success on InkTip. Jerry Robbins on here sold a couple of scripts. The pricing structure change has made it expensive to list now though. In the ten-plus years it's been running, I don't personally know anyone who's had any success with the Black List, but I suggest you look around at the endless stream of forum threads there are out there.

Call me cynical if you must, but it's hard to see these outfits as doing anything other than prey upon the hopes and dreams of aspiring writers.

Your best bet is to query working low-budget producers yourself, but keep in mind that even they tend to have their own preferred writers. No established reputable agents are working with unknown writers. They like to tap into those already working regularly.

As for InkTip, I actually owe my first ever produced script to the platform. It was a short that was uploaded to a free short scripts section they used to have.

"I've had some success with it since it's connected me wirh aome producers but most of the time, I get nothing."

Odds are you could have contacted at least as many producers by yourself.

"I only keep the pro membership for the pitching opportunities but even that seems to be a waste."

The Internet is infested with outfits that exist solely to pluck money from the pockets of aspiring Hollywood screenwriters.

"Isn't there like a list of production companies I can send queries too..."

Long ago there was such a list. You could see which producers and companies did-and-didn't accept unsolicited material and it included email addresses. No idea if it still exists or has been maintained.

"... or should I find an agent?"

A lot easier said than done, especially now when it seems as if half the world's population is trying to break into Hollywood via screenwriting.

The whole point of a service like InkTip, much like Script Revolution, is to be passive. It's no substitution for querying, but it's an addition always worth considering. I think I got a read from an actor on their once. He was legit. Had some low-budget movie credits. I can't say if my logline was appealing, and there's not a lot else to go on there.

My experience with those prodco/producer lists is that they're complete garbage. I naively bought the one DoneDealPro used to sell and it was just info@ addresses, the majority of which bounced. No producer who values what little sanity they may have left is going to want their email out there.

The same applies to IMDb a little. The industry members with high status are hiding behind representatives.

"I tried some of those lists too. I found that some of those companies listed didn't even have their emails set up properly."

The PG lists I saw were from the late '90s and 2000s. Email addresses displayed back then were correct, so far as I'm aware. No idea about anything more recent.

"I think that inkTip and this site are my best choices."

Okay, good luck.

The sheer multitude of wannabes now has driven the majority of producers behind the safety of firewalls. Otherwise, they would spend their days and nights doing nothing but reading queries.

"Forgot to mention that coverfly is a good option too for sharing and getting peer notes. I wouldn't pay for the feedback though, seems like a rip-off."

A while back I dumped a bunch of my short scripts there for storage/backup purposes. I didn't buy into any of their coverage or contests, because I don't pay to write. So far as I'm aware I've had zero read requests. It's all about the money.

Coverfly is built on the concept that a script's value can be determined by aggregating the appeal to competitions and coverage services. You're not going to get any traction on there without that type of data attached to your scripts.

"Coverfly is built on the concept that a script's value can be determined by aggregating the appeal to competitions and coverage services."

Sure, everything is about plucking cash from aspiring Hollywood screenwriters. "You gotta pay to enter some contests and you gotta pay for some coverage. If you get any contest wins and some high coverage scores, you can then pay us to push your screenplays to... well, who knows. Maybe somebody in the business will see them. Just shuttup and give us your money, dreamer."

"You're not going to get any traction on there without that type of data attached to your scripts."

Aspirants can throw all the money in the world at these scams, it won't do anything other than make the scammers richer and the aspirants even poorer.

"I found my first feedback I recieved pretty valuable and I've already begun a rewirte."

Do you know who wrote that feedback or is it anonymous? If the latter, it's arguably worthless, since you have no way of knowing if the feedback was written by somebody competent and experienced.

"Shame that coverfly is mostly tied to competitions and coverage services, but I'll keep it around for the notes. FilmFreeway is my go to source for contest entries."

It all sounds exactly like problem gambling. So many wannabe Hollywood screenwriters telling themselves everything will finally go their way if they put their last buck on one more contest. Just one win and then they'll be on easy street for sure. Just one little win, that's all it's gonna take. This next contest will be the one, they can feel it in their bones....

At the end of the day, Coverfly is what it is. You either believe in the concept of aggregating that data or you don't. Personally, I do see some value in that. My only real issue is that I don't feel the kind of screenwriters entering lots of competitions and/or paying for coverage are the kind of writers ready to be working in the industry. I feel that's a little at odds.

I'd move on from the endless loop of peer feedback. That's a route to madness. At some point, you have to stand by your own voice and craft skills. There will always be someone out there telling you they'd have done it differently - and 99 out of 100 times, they haven't managed to break in themselves.

I've watched it drive many a writer crazy. If you go on screenwriting forums, they are feedback obsessed, yet rarely talk about craft or where to learn craft. Working writers tend to do the opposite. If you build yourself up as an artist, you start to see through the madness. A lot of people wanted me to turn Script Revolution into a feedback site, and I refused to. The best books out there cost the same or less than a competition entry, and they are a hundred times more useful in terms of becoming not just a better writer but also understanding how things work, how careers tend to build, and how many films have gotten made.

CJ - I agree 100%.

Joshua, when I started writing screenplays (after 25 years of writing audio drama... I had to unlearn EVERYthing), I got a lot of feedback from just about every company that provides it. I had one script and did numerous rewrites based on the coverage notes. However, they were so different from each other that the script was becoming a Frankenstein's monster -- a quilt of various opinions. At that point, I went into a forum and asked opinions on what the very best books were for screenwriting. I got them, read them and reread them, and started a new draft on that same old script. I think the various notes showed me that you need to stick to one vision and to trust that vision.  The books helped me make formatting become second nature.

That script went on to become an Academy Nicholl Quarterfinalist and won best screenplay in several festivals... and got an option offer from an animation studio... which I turned down. That's another story. These days I use a particular coverage service for scripts I know need serious improvement but my eyes can't see where. I don't use them too often, but when I do, they shine light on what I need to do based on what I have -- they don't send me down paths away from my story as many do.

I was on Blacklist (worthless to me), Inktip (made a sale to Lionsgate but they became much too expensive), and Script Revolution (made two sales and two options). For the most part I stay away from competitions  as they don't really lead to anything except a possible award on a shelf. Maybe they open doors when looking to make a sale -- but I've never met a producer excited because I won a contest.... they are excited about the script they just read. No matter if you are on Inktip, Stage 32, Blacklist, Script Revolution -- it's still luck. You need the right producer looking for the right script. They may not be on Blacklist - they may be looking on Inktip, or Script Revolution. It's a roll of the dice. No one knows the best way because there is no best way... everyone's path is different. I was nine years writing screenplays before I made my first sale, and four years between my second and third. They key is to keep with it and never give up. 

These days I host my scripts on Script Revolution and that's it (well, they are listed on Stage 32 as well, but I haven't had a single download or request in 7 years over there). Also, you can knock yourself out on coverage notes and make the script as best as you can -- then when it's in production you see scenes get cut, character arcs change on the fly, dialog and situations changed to accomodate an actor... and all those coverage dollars and your meticulous story structure are flushed down the toilet. I have had three features produced, and none of them arrived on screen the way I wrote them on the page... but the results are not always bad. My fourth feature is currently filming in Arizona and we'll see how it turns out... so far it's looking great. You have to roll with it, enjoy the ride... and like CJ said... see through the madness. 

If she wants the script, you can ask for 3% of the budget. That's fair. I wouldn't take less than 2%. There probably won't be a back end with a budget like that, but it's worth asking. If it has a 200,000 budget, do not give it away for just a credit. 

yes.

Spot on from Jerry there, regarding your script sale. 2% is an absolute minimum. Hope it happens!

Brilliant post by Jerry. It's great to hear the opinion of someone who can prove they are moving forward in today's world.

As for payment. It's a tricky subject. I know working producers who can secure money and work on multiple feature projects a year that pay their writers $1,500.

At the end of the day, it's best to do what's right for you. I wrote a general guide that you can read here. 

Joshua - You could try querying Zero Gravity Management. They look at a lot of scripts. They respond only if interested, which is pretty rare. As usual.

Zero Gravity are infamous for saying yes to a lot, sending out a release form, and then ghosting. 

I agree with CJ. I don't even bother with Zero Gravity anymore.