Loanout Companies

When writers are first starting out, they’re typically hired to work for a company like an employee might: they agree on what services will be provided for what pay, they’ll fill out a bunch of tax forms to get inputted into the company’s payroll system, and the payroll system will issue a check payable to the individual that deducts taxes and other withholdings.

At some point, though, writers may find it more beneficial to incorporate and loan their services out to the production company through an intermediary. This post will take a look at how that works and in what situations that might be preferable.

Separated Rights

In my most recent post about writing credit, I mentioned that one of the perks of receiving screen credit on an original project that’s signatory to the Writer’s Guild of America is the screenwriter is entitled to something called separated rights. This post will take a look at what separated rights are and why they’re so important.

Writing Credit

For screenwriters, writing credit is a big deal. It’s a significant milestone that separates you from the majority of other working and aspiring writers out there, and there are often considerable financial benefits tied to receiving writing credit. This post will look at how writing credit is determined and what benefits are typically connected with receiving credit.

Sterile Scripts

I’ve already talked about options and script sales, and those of you who have read those posts might have noticed several mentions of the fact that production companies don’t always end up buying the scripts they option or work on. It’s actually a common occurrence for a company to option a script, pay to have some writing done, and then ultimately decide not to buy it for any of a variety of reasons. That situation naturally raises the following question:

What happens to those drafts written while the work was under option?

Script Sale Breakdown

In my last blog post about quotes, I talked about how a writer’s compensation typically increases over time, in the same way most other professionals slowly build a salary history  over the length of their careers through increasing levels of expertise and proven results.

Today, let’s break down how a writer actually gets paid out when they sell a script.

Quotes

Screenwriting, in a lot of ways, is a fairly unique profession. Unlike a more traditional job at an office, or a retail store, or a school, a screenwriter’s job has a workflow that can vary greatly, unpredictable payment schedules, and a lot of effort put into a lot of opportunities that don’t go anywhere. And, on top of all that, there’s no clear professional ladder to climb; high-level success requires intangible components like luck and good timing in addition to perseverance, hard work, and quality output.

One way in which screenwriting isn’t so different from other professions is that salary history comes into play when it comes to the money you earn.