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If your screenplay
can't get past the Hollywood reader, it can't get to Hollywood.
This ultimate
insider's guide to screenwriting is designed to get you past the fiercest
gatekeepers in Hollywood: the Hollywood script readers. This small army
of freelancers willl be among the first to read and evaluate your script
and then to recommend it—or not—to the studios, directors, and
stars.
Designed for
quick and easy access, these 500 points are a step-by-step recipe. They
cannot guarantee success, but failure to follow them can almost certainly
guarantee failure. Tips include:
- Get
your foot in the door: 23 ways to make a good first impression on the
Hollywood Reader
- Screen
talk: why it is essential to write dialogue that looks good on
the page
- Your
goals in each act: how to make your story unputdownable from beginning
to end
- Specific
genre issues: writing a romance? a mystery? a thriller? Learn their
special requirements and pitfalls
- The
final scenes: how to go out with a bang that will wow the Hollywood
Reader
- Still
didn't get positive coverage? Inside info on what to do and how to
do it
Written by an
industry insider who has recommended scripts that have sold for as much
as one million dollars, this is the only book to show you what the Hollywood
Reader wants to see. Clear, smart, and completely authoritative, 500
Ways to Beat the Hollywood Script Reader is by far the simplest, most
practical book ever to hit the entertainment shelf.
Jennifer
Lerch has been a Hollywood Reader for more than a decade,
including eight years at the William Morris Agency. She lives in Los
Angeles.
SAMPLE
TIPS
 About
the Author
Jennifer
Lerch has worked as a freelance Hollywood script reader for more
than a decade, covering over 10,000 projects for a variety of clients.
She has recommended spec scripts that went on to sell for seven figures
and has recommended projects that that earned its actors and directors
a variety of awards.
500 Ways
to Beat the Hollywood Script Reader is a synthesis of what Jennifer
has learned as a reader. The book is written as a practical help to pass
on her knowledge to writers, in hopes that the easy-to-understand and
applicable tips can help make their dreams come true. Based on the feedback
she has received from the book’s readers, it’s working.
"The book
was written from the belief that any script can be made better, any writer
who is willing to make appropriate changes in their work can create a viable
project. No screenplay is beyond hope — not even the script that you’ve
got locked in your head or stashed on a shelf somewhere."
As for reading,
Jennifer admits that "I love stories and spending time with unusual
characters. I believe in the power of fiction to change the world, to teach
us about ourselves and others, and to inform our life choices. On some
levels, fiction is much more interesting and satisfying than real life — through
fiction we can do the things that perhaps our bodies, our responsibilities
or our culture will not allow us to do. In fiction, impossible dreams can
come true. Make believe has an irresistible draw and an unusual power.
Sometimes, it’s the best place to be."
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