Screenwriting is in high demand, as it has been for decades, and will likely continue to be for decades to come. However, many find it difficult to get steady work and maintain a lucrative career. Still, plenty of opportunities are available for screenwriters who write marketable screenplays.
Screenwriters write screenplays for feature-length and short films, television shows, commercials and online videos. Working as a screenwriter can be a highly fulfilling career for creative individuals with strong writing skills and an interest in narrative storytelling.
The hard truth is that pursuing a career as a screenwriter is difficult. The expectations are high, the competition is immense, and the degree of difficulty in breaking in is high and intense. Not everyone can make it. In fact, most people don't.
Film revenue is forecasted to grow to $392.34 billion by 2025. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), job opportunities for writers (including Screenwriters) are expected to increase at a rate of 9% percent during the 2019-2029 decade (www.bls.gov).
The average script writer salary ranges between $38,000 and $106,000 in the US. Script writers' hourly rates in the US typically range between $18 and $50 an hour. Script writers earn the highest salaries in Virginia (89,129), California (87,586), and Massachusetts (83,105).
How much will Netflix pay for a script? The WGA reports that the median total pay for a screenplay deal with Netflix was $375,000, and the highest salary was reported as $4,000,000. As for rewrite deals, Netflix paid a median of $150,000, and the highest pay totaled $1,600,000.
Selling a script takes a lot of hard work, loads of planning, and little luck, but the good news is that people sell scripts every day. Hollywood is hungry for fresh voices and new stories. And while it can be challenging to get traction for your screenplay, there is a market for your script.
One of the most common failings of the scripts by aspiring screenwriters is that they lack proper structure, characterisation and gripping conflict to sustain momentum of the narrative in the way that the reader of the script or viewer of the film is fully engaged in the story.
Your chances of getting into the industry as a screenwriter are between five and 20 percent. Even if you're someone who looks on the sunnier side of things, a 20-percent success rate means there's an 80 percent chance you'll get turned down.
Most screenwriters aren't rich, yet many make more than enough money to live comfortably. While the top 10% receive six-figure wages, the median annual salary for screenwriters in 2022 is around $65,000.
Script Writer age breakdown
The average age of script writers is 40+ years years old, representing 65% of the script writer population.
Without a doubt, screenwriting is a real profession. It is also without a doubt one of the most difficult professions to pursue. That's because in order to make a living as a screenwriter, you not only have to write your screenplay, but you or your agent must sell it.
“Those who succeed in an outstanding way seldom do so before the age of 40. More often, they do not strike their real pace until they are well beyond the age of 50.” The quote is sometimes a tough one for my clients to swallow, and it might be tough for you to accept as well.
The most successful screenwriters can make millions of dollars a year, although script sales are just one part of the equation. Getting attached to a film as a producer, getting paid when streaming rights are sold, and other addendums to a contract can drive their salary up.
The average? Around $110,000. There are different WGA minimums for everything, from a 15-minute episode of television, to selling a movie script, to a big budget feature film.
There are endless script competitions for every genre and every experience level. Major screenwriting contests boast huge cash prizes and the potential to get your script optioned, but you could get lost in a sea of submissions.
Your individual self-discipline might be to write one, two or three hours a day. It might be to write three, four, five or six pages a day, or maybe just a few scenes. It doesn't matter what system you use.
As such, you'll find many screenwriters who've come into screenwriting as a second or third career change. You're never too old or too young to submit your first script.
Despite what some may tell you, screenwriting is in high demand. Moreover, screenwriting jobs are available practically all the time. So long as you're committed to your craft and dedicated to having a successful career as a screenwriter, you're halfway there.
The Sheer Number of Screenplays Submitted
As we said before, you have to expect that millions upon millions of people submit a screenplay every year. Since it's so easy to write them, anyone might think they can. That can result in a flood of not-so-great screenplays.
All Hollywood movie magic starts with a first draft and evolves into a screenplay fit for the big screen. Writing a film script for a feature film is a long and challenging process that requires a degree of technical know-how.
Rule #1: Write What You Know
There is no writer alive who has not been advised, "Write what you know." And there are few writers who have not, in the course of following this advice, spent months or years producing a personally cathartic but boringly predictable work.
Because Netflix only accepts submissions through preexisting relationships, the difficulty of selling a script to Netflix depends on your degree of connection to someone who works at or with Netflix and at what level that person holds within the streaming service's organization.
The youngest credited writer is Aaron Seltzer, who co-wrote “Spy Hard” at 22 in 1996.
If you have an idea, game, script, screenplay, or production already in development that you'd like to pitch to Netflix, you must work through a licensed agent, producer, attorney, manager, or industry executive, as appropriate, who already has a relationship with Netflix.