BOOK REVIEW

Screenwriting on the Internet

Book by Chris Wehner

Review by Jason M. Eng

If you are reading this review, you have already made the leap into furthering you career with the aid of the Internet. You are either reading it in The Screenplay Scoop, our monthly newsletter, or on our web site, www.screenplay.com. Almost every writer in the developed world knows about the Internet. I would venture to guess that most use it for at least research. Nevertheless, how many of us know the full potential of the Internet let alone how it could in fact be the most powerful tool in launching a career?

Chris Wehner knows. In fact, he’s probably one of the leading experts in the Screenwriting-meets-Internet field. He’s a writer who has made some ripples with his scripts and manages his own web site, ScreenwritersUtopia.com. In his quest to help fill the void on the Internet for screenwriters seeking valuable information, he has managed to advance his writing career. So if you were going to read only one book about getting the most from the Internet for your writing career, Chris is the guy you’d want to have written it. He finally has.

"Screenwriting on the Internet" is both a handbook for general writing and industry tips as well as a guide to navigating the murk that the Web often is. Even if you were to strip away the high tech aspects of this guide, Chris would have written a competent, general screenwriting guide, even if those are a dime a dozen. But what makes this book unique (I would argue the most important book written for screenwriters in the past ten plus years) is that it is the only book which dedicates itself to educating the writer on efficiently and effectively using the Internet. This book is the hammer or screwdriver of the writer’s toolbox: essential in every way.

Chris has organized his book intelligently and in line with the process every writer must go through. He begins by explaining how to use the Internet for the powerful reference library it is, then moves on to show where writers of all levels can get help, advice or networking aids. However, perhaps the most important parts of this book are the chapters discussing how to use email and various web sites to get you foot in the door.

These chapters could stand alone. They are that significant. Chris explains how the email pitch can replace the query letter without having to learn a totally new process. With his tips, email may become your most effective way into The Biz. He covers topics such as etiquette, initial contact, follow-up and building relationships.

He also gives advice about service web sites and for what to beware. These sites alone can give a writer a head ache. They all sound good, promise to fling your career to the stars and make you that classic over night sensation you’ve always dreamed of becoming. But Chris gives an informative run down of the biggest and sheds some light on smaller sites which might be overlooked but provide a much better value. He even points out how to get the most out of the sites for the money you will most likely be spending.

In case you’re thinking Chris has simply found a way to sell one more book about writing by putting the Internet spin on it, think again. He offers many stories of peoples’ success. Folks who had no initial intention of writing as a career to a writing team who collaborated, wrote, sold and had a script produced, but didn’t meet face-to-face until the first day of production. But he also shares stories about being burned, which is generally more valuable than hearing the rah-rah hype of some script paying off.

Chapter Nine should be given special attention as it covers the aspect of treating your writing like the business it is. So much attention is paid to writing the great script that when it comes time to sell it people falsely assume that it will find a good home. People throw around crap like "If the story’s a great story, it will sell." Crazy talk my friend. Every writer needs to spend as much time marketing their scripts as they do writing them. Often more time. The marketing advice Chris gives in Chapter Nine (and sprinkles throughout the book) is some of the best I’ve ever heard. Sure, a lot of it is common sense. But then it seems sense isn’t always as common as we claim it to be. He again points out how to manage your self marketing both on- and off-line.

Overall, Chris’s advice is sound and encouraging. His knowledge of the Internet and his ability to illustrate how to maximize it is what simply makes "Screenwriting on the Internet" a reference book every up-and-coming writer should have.

Well, this book and the Internet anyway.

FINAL RATINGS:

**** (4 out of 4 stars)

This book can be purchased through Amazon at the following link:

• Purchase at Amazon.com