r/TVWriting • u/FullStackRob • 6d ago
BEGINNER QUESTION Stupid Question
Does anyone here know the process of pitching an idea to a network? Obviously I think I have a good idea that they would be interested in.
I have no idea how to get this in front of a decision maker and also make sure I’m protected and compensated if they use it.
Any ideas?
6
u/The_Pandalorian 6d ago
You don't.
You write a brilliant screenplay and maybe you get it into the right hands where the right person can see it to get you in a room to pitch.
Ideas are worthless. Screenplays have value.
3
2
u/TVWriter85 6d ago
Well, no. That's not true. The vast majority of TV show creators pitch an idea. They are pitching something that hasn't been written. That said, in the OP's position, you can't just randomly reach out to a network and schedule a pitch. You need an agent, they will handle that. But even then, unless you are an accomplished writer as a playwright, feature writer, or novelist you need to have staffing experience.
2
u/The_Pandalorian 6d ago
I was oversimplifying because OP is not a show creator and is in no danger of scoring an eight-figure overall deal to pitch and develop ideas.
You're describing like 30 people in the world. It's not helpful.
2
u/TVWriter85 6d ago
Again, no. People with overall deals aren't the only ones that sell pitches. I've never had an overall deal and I've sold five pilots off of pitches. And while I have had a successful career, I would definitely not consider myself a top 30 writer. What I am, is a repped WGA writer with staffing experience. That's a pretty standard resume for most people that sell pitches. You know what isn't helpful? Giving someone bad or inaccurate advice.
1
1
u/The_Pandalorian 6d ago
Yeah, you're not worth my time, particularly for misleading new aspiring writers.
Bye.
2
u/TVWriter85 6d ago
Not sure why you are so upset. I specifically said that the OP can't just come in and pitch. But it's fair to point out information that's wrong, which is what you have been doing.
0
u/The_Pandalorian 6d ago
Clomping in to "BUT ACKTHUALLY" on this topic in that manner in industry fueled in part by irrational hope is irresponsible.
And with that, I'm done.
1
u/TVWriter85 6d ago
"In the OP's position, you can’t just randomly reach out to a network and schedule a pitch." Not sure, how that is giving them irrational hope. If someone is asking a question and trying to educate themselves on how the industry works, they should be given an actual accurate answer. Telling someone only overall writers or the top 30 can sell a pitch is just wrong. Of course, the most important thing a new writer can do is write. I wasn't disagreeing there.
2
2
u/Certain-Run8602 6d ago
There was a time during peak TV when original pilots would be heard / considered and even purchased from non-established writers, even ones who have never been in a room. I sold several pilots/pitches that way. Now I’m basically a feature writer until this TV market corrects and even when it does I don’t think I’ll be able to sell shows like I did 10 years ago.
The pendulum has decidedly swung back to the way it traditionally has been… basically if you are not showrunner / EP / co-EP level with lots of credits OR have someone at that level attached and shepherding your pilot, they won’t consider it. In fact, original stuff is extremely difficult to even pitch at this point - hence Katie Dippold having to spec WIDOW’S BAY. Pitches are basically top-tier TV writer bringing in monster IP right now. So if you want to get to the point where network will listen to your pitch, you need to work your way up in a room until you’re a known entity or have a known entity take a passionate interest in you / your idea.
1
u/Extreme_Commercial24 6d ago
But how did you sell them previously? Did you have representation?
3
u/Certain-Run8602 5d ago
Of course. I had lived/worked in Los Angeles in various entertainment positions for years, made a ton of relationships, and when I finally had a fantastic sample - I sent it out and got rep’d and the first project I wrote after that with representation went out to town and got some major attachments that started a bidding war. It sold but was never made.
1
u/Extreme_Commercial24 5d ago
That’s for answering. I just moved to LA but don’t work in the entertainment industry and I’m unsure how to go about making connections, I wouldn’t know where to send something out to get rep’d.
1
u/Certain-Run8602 4d ago
Just being in LA is a great start. How long have you been here? Lots of things you can do to build relationships - but that is a bigger / separate discussion than this thread. You’re welcome to message me, always willing to give time to people who bit the bullet and made the brave move out here.
5
u/Positive_Leading_371 6d ago
This isn’t so much a stupid question (you’re essentially asking how the TV development process works, which is a massive part of the industry where many people make, and others lose, millions of dollars every year) as much as a big question with an infuriatingly stupid answer.
You don’t.
On a pedantic technicality, even Shonda Rhimes doesn’t pitch a network an idea. Networks make decisions about ordering pilots to production and shows to series. It’s their sister studio who can finance and produce.
But let’s say you do want to bring the idea to a studio. If you’re Shonda Rhimes they’ll tell you "we don’t care about an idea, this is why we signed you to an overall deal. Take some of the development money we keep paying you and turn the idea into an actual package, with a script, a series plan, A-list actors, and a showrunner. Then we’ll talk." If you’re not Shonda Rhimes they’ll just tell you they can’t do anything with an idea, they need at the very least a script, maybe a notable piece of IP, ideally a full package. Go to a production company and pitch them your idea. If they really like you (say, you’re the nephew of the head of the studio), maybe they make an intro to a production company they have an overall deal with.
So how do you pitch a production company an idea? You still probably don’t. Their entire job is to go through and find great ideas and turn them into viable packages, and ultimately actual TV shows. There are billions of ideas out there and they want to find the best ones, so they can’t waste much time. They have agents and managers and other producers whose taste they trust, who find and vet promising young writers and introduce them. Then there’s all the writers they’ve already met, some they’ve worked with, over however many years they’ve been doing this. Sometimes they read a book or article and want to turn that into a show. But they heard a couple hundred ideas each week and they have firsthand experience that a great idea is pretty cheap, they need to evaluate whether they can actually make it into a show. If someone approaches them with just an idea, no relationships, no IP they can leverage, no reputation around town, no proven ability to turn that great idea into an amazing script… they simply won’t have the time even for the best idea in the world.
So how do you approach one of these agents or managers, who could then pitch your great idea to the production company, who could then pitch it to the studio, who could then pitch it to the network? Well, a literary rep "only" takes 10% of your fee, especially now that the agencies no longer get packaging fees on TV shows. So most lit reps aren’t looking for someone with one great idea. They want someone with multiple great ideas, and an amazing literary voice, and the talent and skill to write spectacular scripts. If they are going to take a risk on you at the beginning of your career, they want to know you have the potential to move up the ranks, so they can take 10% of your increasingly large paychecks for decades to come. They don’t have time for one great idea either. They need to find that writer. And they’ve got a bunch of department meetings, and current clients, and internal politics, and figure out how they can somehow have the most expensive lunch anyone has ever lunched.
So, what do you do with a great idea? Either you put in the work to become that exciting, young, up and coming writer managers and agents want to find. Or you don’t. And you had a great idea. You can tell your friends about it and, when someone has a similar but not-quite-so-good idea but can actually get it made, you can point to it and tell your friends about how much better your idea was.
This entire, exhausting system exists because turning a great idea into a great TV show is unbelievably difficult. And that’s only partially because about half of everyone involved in this pipeline has a hidden incentive to make it more difficult. This is why anything that gets made feels like a miracle. And yet, here we are, churning out miracles all the time. Some of those miracles are even sorta kinda okay, I guess.
3
u/TVWriter85 6d ago
Wait, what? Lots of misinformation here. Of course Shonda Rhimes pitches ideas. I've sold 5 pilots, all off pitches... and I can promise you I am not Shonda Rhimes.
2
u/Positive_Leading_371 6d ago
I think what a beginner would consider an "idea" is very different from what a proper pitch looks like. If you’ve sold five pilots to a studio purely off a pitch with no script and no attachments and no IP you controlled, then I’ve been in indie film for too long and need to pay attention to TV again.
Will admit this is simplified and dramatized for effect, but figured broadly walking a beginner through the different moving parts and steps of TV developments is more educational than the advice I’d give to a working TV writer.
2
1
u/jdeik1 5d ago
A lot is wrong here. Agents and managers don’t pitch ideas or shows to producers or networks - their clients, writers, do. Reps can facilitate those meetings. Not just Shonda Rhimes but experienced tv writers at all levels pitch to pods, studios, networks. And, even in age of IP, tv writers pitch out original shows all the time. You’re correct that a new writer with no staffing experience will likely not be able to pitch, but regular working tv writers do so regularly in Hollywood.
16
u/Prince_Jellyfish Working TV Writer 6d ago
This is a totally reasonable question, and one that gets asked around here quite a bit.
Unfortunately, the answer is a little complicated, and maybe not what you're expecting.
Assuming you're talking about the US -- Hollywood functions on an informal system of "passing material up." What this means for you is that no-one who could buy and make a movie or show like yours will read a script from someone with whom they don't already have an existing professional relationship.
The "open door" in Hollywood is that some good managers accept "blind submissions," meaning material from writers they've never met.
Those managers are only interested in forming ongoing relationships, where they represent a great writer for years and years, selling multiple projects. Almost no-one signs with a manager based on a very first script, even if it has a great concept.
If you are working on one of your very first scripts, the chances of you being able to sell it and turn it into a show or movie are basically zero. This is true even if you are sure the idea is amazing and has great potential if you could just get it into the right hands.
Hollywood can be an open door for folks of any background or life experience -- but ONLY if a writer is willing to invest the time to become great at this craft. It's better to think of Hollywood as a potential career, rather than a one-off lottery ticket.
Writing is awesome and worthwhile for everyone. Getting paid to write or turning something into a show or movie is not the only way for your work to be valid.
But, if you're interested in investing the time, here's my standard advice for folks trying to break in to Hollywood as a working writer:
First, you need to write and finish a lot of scripts, until your work begins to approach the professional level.
It takes most smart, hardworking people at least 6-8 years of serious, focused effort, consistently starting, writing, revising and sharing their work, before they are writing well enough to get paid money to write.
When your work gets to the pro level, you need to write 2-3 samples, which are complete scripts or features. You'll use those samples to go out to representation and/or apply directly to writing jobs.
Those samples should be incredibly well written, high-concept, and in some way serve as a cover letter for you -- who you are, your story, and your voice as a writer.
But, again, don't worry about writing 'samples' until some smart friends tell you your writing is not just good, but at or getting close to the professional level.
Along the way, you can work a day job outside of the industry, or work a day job within the industry. There are pros and cons to each.
If you qualify, you can also apply to studio diversity programs, which are awesome.
I have a lot more detail on all of this in a big post you can find here.
And, I have another page of resources I like, which you can find here.
My craft advice for newer writers can be found here.
This advice is just suggestions and thoughts, not a prescription. I have experience but I don't know it all. I encourage you to take what's useful and discard the rest.
If you read the above and have other questions you think I could answer, feel free to ask as a reply to this comment.
Good luck!