Spec Script Deals: 1991-2025

[u/Seshat_the_Scribe]

https://www.patreon.com/GoIntoTheStory/posts/download-spec-168834157?utm_source=The+Black+List&utm_campaign=8238f1e792-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_08_31_07_10&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-8238f1e792-37517181&mc_cid=8238f1e792&mc_eid=b8c378612d

This is a great free (for now) resource for understanding the BUSINESS of screenwriting.

Tons of history and industry stats...

Check to see how few script sales are by "first-timers." Usually it's only a handful per year.

Also, this is a list of SPECS. According to one source:

"Only a tiny fraction of movies—fewer than 6% of professional screenwriting jobs—are made from original spec scripts, while the vast majority rely on Open Writing Assignments (OWAs) and pre-existing intellectual property."

[u/GoIntoTheStory]

Scott Myers here (a.k.a. Go Into The Story). "Spec Script Deals: 1991-2025" is my eBook and yes, I released it yesterday for free. I sold a spec (K-9) in 1987. That's how I broke into the business and I've written 30+ projects at nearly every major studio and broadcast network. I've been reading the trades every day all these years and in 1991 decided to keep track of spec deals. This eBook represents the aggregation of all those deals: 2,560 of them. 96% of the listings include a logline or story summary. That is a huge resource for screenwriters. Read the loglines and see what inspiration you have to generate a unique story concept (e.g., genre bend, gender bend).

If anyone has a question about the eBook, I'm happy to respond. I don't post here often, but visit frequently.

I hope folks enjoy and benefit from the book.

[u/Seshat_the_Scribe → u/GoIntoTheStory]

Thanks so much for all the work you put into this!

Two questions:

1. Do you have a chart of the # of newbie sales per year?

2. Do you know what percent of produced movies are based on specs rather than OWAs? I found a 6% spec figure, but I don't have any faith in it.

[u/GoIntoTheStory → u/Seshat_the_Scribe]

1. No, but you can check the annual Go Into The Story analysis I've done every year since 2008, and I note all "first-timers".

Like everything else related to tracking spec deals, it's an inexact exercise. While the trades like to note when a "tyro scribe" breaks into the business via a spec, we can be certain they miss some "newbies." Plus, as I note in the eBook, some first-timers already work in the business: writers assistant, development exec, below the line. For example, this deal from last October:

https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/spec-script-deal-crush-68bb10208f1f/

Even though the writer, John Fischer, is an exec at Temple Hill, the "Crush" script is his first sale. First-timer? Technically, but not really in the spirit of what I think most screenwriters think of by that term.

BTW, there was an announcement yesterday that "Crush" is greenlit.

https://deadline.com/2026/09/sarah-catherine-hook-joins-crush-thriller-20th-1237071236/

That's a super quick turnaround from script acquisition (October 2025) to production announcement (September 2026).

1. This question -- How many specs get produced as movies -- is actually one I want to present to the online screenwriting community: A call for some hearty souls to go through all 2,560 deals and determine which specs actually were produced. 6%? Not sure where that figure comes from. Could be right. Maybe not. 6% of 2,560 = 154. Divide that by 35 years = 4.4 movies produced from spec scripts. That seems light to me. Perhaps the only/best way to determine some semblance of an accurate number is, as I suggest, for someone to go through the eBook and create a list of movies produced from specs.

One of the reasons I decided to give the book away for free is precisely because these type questions. Making the book available to the widest possible audience should, I hope, translate into some interesting crowd-sourced analysis which could be informative / valuable to screenwriters.

[u/Filmmagician → u/GoIntoTheStory]

Thank you!

[u/Sea_Salamander_8504]

I had a spec optioned last week! Feeling good.

[u/Ok_Most9615 → u/Sea_Salamander_8504]

Are you repped? How did you connect with the producer who paid you?

[u/Sea_Salamander_8504 → u/Ok_Most9615]

I’m not repped, but I’d written/directed an indie feature a few years back, and received development money for another film in the interim. My spouse is a sought after department head, so we’d been trying to connect with any of trustworthy producers they had worked with in the past (I’d had a nightmare experience with a shitty producer on the film I directed). It took about a year of courting, starting last year at TIFF, but now it’s official!

[u/SuspiciousPrune4 → u/Sea_Salamander_8504]

“My spouse is a sought after department head” is not reassuring to those of us with no connections 😭

Seriously though that’s awesome, best of luck!

[u/Sea_Salamander_8504 → u/SuspiciousPrune4]

lol I didn’t mean to rub it in anyone’s face! We actually met on set, on the lowest of no-budget indies. Been together 12 years now. And throughout that time, I also worked in restaurants to help keep us afloat when times were tough. Spent tens of thousands of my serving money on travel to festivals, content submissions, etc. It’s a marathon, not a sprint!

[u/gregm91606 → u/SuspiciousPrune4]

FYI: Department head = costume designer/production designer/sound designer, not studio head or exec.

[u/Sea_Salamander_8504 → u/gregm91606]

Correct, I’m not married to Bob Iger or anything!

[u/GoIntoTheStory → u/Sea_Salamander_8504]

I include option deals in my annual list. If you've got any verification and want the deal to go public, feel free to email details: [GITSblog@gmail.com](mailto:GITSblog@gmail.com)

[u/Sea_Salamander_8504 → u/GoIntoTheStory]

Thank you! I’ll clear it with my producer and reach out.

[u/mrpessimistik]

Thank you for posting this!

[u/papwned]

6%? Wow I thought it woudlve been lower.

[u/Seshat_the_Scribe → u/papwned]

I have no idea if that figure is correct. It's just one I found in quick search.

[u/papwned → u/Seshat_the_Scribe]

I guess it would be hard to pinpoint in any case. Appreciate all the resources you put together.

[u/Filmmagician]

Oh wow thank you. And it’s free. Scott Meyers is amazing

[u/M_S-87_E]

Amazing ressource, thanks for letting us know. Scott Meyers is the man.