How much free work should you do for a producer?
At the beginning of your career, you're inevitably going to have to write for free to prove that you can work at a professional level. But how much is too much, and when should you stop?
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You write a script, you sell it to a movie studio, then they pay a director to turn it into a product that you see on screen.
Right?
Anyone who dips their toe into the Hollywood Entertainment Industry quickly learns that this process is much more convoluted than that.
To start, not all screenplays are created equal.
Not in the mind of a Studio Executive, and not in the context of your own creative priorities.
Not all professional screenwriters get to come up with an idea and turn it into a movie. There are many different ways to make a living as a Film & TV writer.
The 3 Types of Screenwriting
When you get paid to write a script, it is in one of the following situations:
#1 - Spec Sale
You write a script to completion by yourself.
Then you show it to as many people as you possibly can until someone realizes its potential. They offer money for it, you accept, and now it is exclusively their property to turn it into a film or TV show however they see fit.
These are less and less common nowadays, but they still happen.
#2 - Pitch Sale
This is the best case scenario for a writer at any level.
It means you pitch your idea for a TV show or movie to a Studio or Buyer and then they pay you to write it. If you’re in the union, you will get paid at least WGA scale for this. This is less likely to happen for screenwriters just starting out.
But once you have a track record of writing successful movies and/or TV shows, you’re more likely to sell projects off of a pitch.
#3 - Open Writing Assignments
A production company or studio has an idea or piece of IP that they want someone to turn into a movie or TV show.
These executives will put this request out to their agent and manager friends in the form of an Open Writing Assignment (OWA). It means they’re looking for a writer to come in and “pitch a take” explaining how they would adapt this story for the screen.
At first, you might have to pitch this take for free, but ultimately if the producer wants to bring you on to the project, you’ll pitch this take to a Studio and they will pay you to write it.
This might take the form of an “If/Come Deal,” meaning the studio promises to pay you a specific amount of negotiated money, but only if a Network agrees to buy it.
#4 - Work for Hire
Whether you’re being paid by a studio to develop an idea or rewrite a script, there are many types of jobs that give you no ownership over the work that you do.
This was never your original vision. You might love the project and be proud of the work that you’ve done on it, but it belongs (creatively and legally) to someone else. This can be well-paying, reliable work. It can be a great way to hone your craft. Many writers build entire careers off of solely doing work for hire.
It’s not why many writers got into this business in the first place, but it is a job.
And depending on your situation, it could be exactly what you want.
No matter what kind of sale or job you’re engaged in, there will be a contract negotiated by your agent or lawyer. This contract will lay out the “steps” in the writing process.
Each step has an amount of payment attached to it. These amounts are specified in your contract.
Steps can include:
Execution of Agreement. - Some contracts will pay you as soon as the agreement is finalized. This is because the development process can take a long time, so they want to make sure you have money to live on up front.
Commencement. - A payment is triggered as soon as you start work on the first step. Make sure you update your rep every time you’re owed payment so they don’t forget to invoice the studio. Yes, you should be keeping track of these!
Delivery of Outline. - The requirements of what the Outline should include will be covered in a creative kickoff call you have with your Development Exec. Since this is now a paid job, make sure you give them exactly what they ask for.
Rewrite of Outline (The amount of rewrites should be specified). - Incorporate the notes from your Development Executive and turn in a new version.
Polish of Outline (The amount of polishes should be specified). - A polish is like a rewrite but instead of a total overhaul it’s just a few small tweaks. Therefore you get paid less for it.
Approval of Outline - This payment is triggered once the company you’re working for accepts the work that you have done and has no more notes.
Commencement of Script.
Delivery of Script.
Rewrite of Script (The amount of rewrites should be specified).
Polish of Script (The amount of polishes should be specified).
Depending on the project, you might have more or fewer steps.
Steps can be guaranteed or optional. For example, your agent might negotiate a guaranteed rewrite but the two polishes are optional. Meaning the studio commissioning this work from you will definitely pay you to do a rewrite of the script based on their notes. But if they love that version, they don’t have to ask you to do any polishes (and therefore won’t have to pay you for them) unless the elect to “exercise that option.”
If you’re in a union and this is a union project, there are rules about what steps must be included.
All this is something your agent, manager, or lawyer can talk you through.
When you first get the offer, it’s an exciting moment! But keep in mind that this number you’re getting paid will stretch as long as the development process of the script. Meaning, it could take months or even years for you to see all this money.
The development process is often a dance between producers trying to get the most for their money and writers trying to get paid for their work. Development Executives are not evil. They want the best possible product, and they have a limited budget. Every year hundreds of scripts are purchased or commissioned. Most of them still don’t get produced.
Development Executives want a success story for their careers, so they will try and get as much work as they possibly can for what they're paying. This can look like calling something a “polish” when it really feels more like a rewrite. It can look like asking you to do a “pass” on a script without triggering an actual rewrite step.
You need to eat, but you, too, want this to be the best product it can be. Because your career (and ego) will benefit if it gets made.
That’s why it’s so important to know how and when you should complete any of these steps for free.
Whether you should do a step for free depends on 7 different factors:
Factor #1 - What does the contract say?
If your contract says that a step should be paid, there is no reason to do it for free.
Whether you’re in a union or not, the agreement is legally binding. They owe you payment for the work that they agreed to pay you to do. In return, you owe them work. On the flip side, perhaps you have already completed all the steps and the script still isn’t there yet.
Or they want you to complete an extra step that isn’t listed as one of the paid ones.
If that happens, you have no legal obligation to do this work. But you might want to do it anyway, depending on one of the following other factors.
Factor #2 - Whose idea is this?
If the script is your original idea, you want to get it made, no matter what it takes.
Writing a script on spec is how you break into this business. Before someone will hire you, they need to see what you can do. If you’re lucky enough to find someone who believes in you and takes a chance on you, it doesn’t mean your script is perfect.
But it has potential.
If you’re willing to do extra rewrites on your own original script, you have a better chance of getting it produced.
And if it’s produced, you’re the one who gets the residuals, the resume boost, the Emmys, your name in the credits, etc. If you get stingy about your work right out of the gate on your own idea, you’re hurting yourself more than anyone else. I wish this career was well-paid at the beginner level, but that’s just not the case.
If you work for free now, your payoff could be millions of dollars in the future.
One the other hand, if you’re being paid to rewrite or adapt someone else’s idea, you should be getting paid every step of the way.
If you’re going to work for free, you should be working for yourself and the concepts coming from you that you’re passionate about. Work for hire means work for money.
If someone wants to make you passionate about their idea, they can do so with dollars :)
Factor #3 - Are you in a union?
If you’re in the WGA, there are rules about how much work you can do for free.
The upside of this is that you have an entire corporation dedicated to finding projects that had writers unfairly do work without being paid. This has resulted in writers receiving millions of dollars that they were owed.
If you’re not in a union and are working on a non-union project, you might want to just bite the bullet and do a certain amount of free work, especially if this will lead to your first credit. But consider the other factors on this list because there is no point in killing yourself over a crappy project that you have no personal stakes in.
If this is your first paid gig, it’s a good opportunity to practice creating professional writing habits (including balancing how much work to do for free versus when to put your foot down).
If you are in a union, working for free against their rules undermines the whole reason unions exist and everything you and your comrades fought for in the past.
You are hurting other writers by agreeing to do for free what should be paid.
Factor #4 - Who is the producer?
Some producers bring more value to a project than others.
Are you doing work for Jerry Bruckheimer, Shonda Rhimes, or Ryan Murphy? You’re probably more likely to get this thing made than if you’re doing work for Mike Smith Productions, LLC1. If you’ve never heard of a producer and neither has anyone else you know, then they might not be worth your time and free work.
Before you sign any agreements, look up a producer’s credits on IMDb.
Make sure they have made at least one movie that you have heard of.
If they haven’t, they still might be worth working with. But be careful about how much work you do for them. You don’t want them stringing you along indefinitely.
The point is to move the project forward, not spin your wheels.
Factor #5 - How experienced are you?
You will need to do more free work at the beginning of your career.
Once you establish yourself, have a couple of jobs under your belt, and have some impressive credits on your resume, you’ll come across opportunities more easily. And when more opportunities are available to you, it’s easier to say “no” to the ones that aren’t lucrative or exciting.
Once you’re well-compensated for a job, your rep will have grounds to demand even more compensation from future jobs.
But you can’t start there.
Be willing to hustle a little bit at the beginning when you’re a small fish.
One day, you’ll be able to demand money in exchange for your time and expertise.
Factor #6 - What is the potential upside?
There are pros and cons to everything.
Before agreeing to do free work, look at the potential positive outcome for this project. Is it a big studio feature that could result in millions of dollars in residuals and production bonuses? Is it a prestigious TV pilot with famous attachments that could win you an Emmy?
Or is it a podcast for a start-up that no one has heard of?
You need to do free work to generate opportunities for yourself at the beginning of your career.
But you only have a finite amount of time and energy. Make sure that it is going towards projects that have big potential payoffs in terms of money, attention, or impressive accolades. There’s no point in spreading yourself thin trying to have as many irons in the fire as possible.
Be strategic about where you put your efforts, especially when it comes to free work.
Factor #7 - Do you enjoy working for them?
There are as many types of Development Executives as there are people.
That means, statistically, some of them suck. Also, some of them are great but incompatible with you and your writing process. Therefore, if you find a Development Executive that you enjoy working with, don’t take that for granted.
If you’re learning from them, if they are making your script better, if you’re enjoying the process, that should be part of your consideration when you decide how much free work to do for them.
There are thousands of potential collaborators in this industry.
Don’t be afraid to walk away if the process feels so emotionally draining that it stops being worth your time.
Especially if you’re not getting paid.
Factor #8 - Do you have other work that you could be spending time on?
Every time you say “yes” to something, you say “no” to something else.
There are only 16 hours in a day2. You can only spend so much time on your writing before you expend all your creative energy and need to recharge. If you agree to do free work for someone, you are taking that time away from your personal projects. You are taking that time away from networking and finding a paid job.
You are taking that time away from potential paid work or adventures that will lead to inspiration.
You are taking that time away from your family.
Every time you say “yes” to something, make sure that you’re doing so in service of the greater vision you have for your life and career. You only get one life. Don’t let a scarcity mindset trick you into doing work for free.
Weigh your opportunities carefully. There might be a strategic reason to let yourself be exploited just a little bit.
Just make sure that it’s temporary, worth it, enjoyable, and on your terms.
I am, of course, making this name up. I wouldn’t drag an actual production company in my newsletter! I know that even the no-names are just trying their best like all of us.
People say there are 24 hours in a day, but this is a Capitalist lie. We shouldn’t count the 8 hours of mandatory sleep our bodies require as part of our “day.”
Thank you for this advice.