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KEEP YOUR "PAGES" TO YOURSELF
My Fellow Writers,
When you start getting pitch meetings, making phone calls, and generally getting involved with the business of writing, you'll inevitably have someone ask you for "pages" on your project.
Sometimes, people won't even meet with new writers. If you're friendly, professional, and represented, they'll ask you to send the pages along. In this case, "pages" means that they want a treatment or summary of the project. "Pages" usually does not refer to a script.
So the question is, how many pages do you send? And what should be in those pages?
Short answer - you don't send the pages at all. Why? Because no matter how killer your project is, and how great your pages are, you're making long odds even more impossible. Those executives will almost always use those pages to pass on your project, and you've just wasted your chance to pitch those people.
That being said, if someone asks you to send a script along, then by all means, send it - assuming of course, that it is absolutely the best it can possibly be, and you think it's a ready-to-shoot film. If you don't think it's that ready, then don't pitch it as a script.
But the case that I'm talking about has to do with projects that aren't yet in script form - maybe you have the rights to a magazine article, or you've written a great prose story that is a cool summary of the script you want to write. It should be noted that selling a pitch in this way is even harder than selling a script, especially for new writers - ideas are worthless until they are executed. You will hear this time and again, but you will not believe me until you come up with an earth-shattering idea and you try to sell it around town. (So, what I'm saying is that, as long as you're a new writer, if you love a project, you're better off just writing the script and making it great.)
But, say you have an article, treatment, or another piece of writing that you think is a great core for a screenplay. Or perhaps you're looking to produce, and not write, the material. In any case, you will have "pages" and they will want to see them.
I'm here to tell you that you're far better off if they never see those pages and instead meet you in person. A pitch meeting is not just about pitching that one particular project - it's about starting a relationship and finding out just what the hell the company is really interested in doing. Hearing it directly out of the mouths of the company is the most important information a writer can get.
Yes, make the project the absolute best it can be. Construct a pitch that has your writing class or writing friends sitting on the edge of their seats and clapping when you finish. Do all of that. But also know that you probably aren't going to sell that project to a company. And that's okay. Because getting the pitch meeting gets you in front of them, gives you a chance to hand over your samples (again, they're perfect, right?), and helps you to learn what they (the buyers) are currently seeking.
Another reason it's better to pitch it in person is because it's much easier to pass on pages than it is to pass on a live pitch. In a live pitch, you can react and change things that an executive doesn't understand or doesn't like. On paper, they just have to dislike one thing and they have their reason to pass. Or, perhaps even worse, they'll have rounds and rounds of notes that they'll want you to do for free before they'll send it along to their boss, who may roundly pass even after you've worked on a treatment for free for months!
I know it won't always be possible to get in there for a pitch. But at the very least, try to push for a meeting at least once after they ask you to send the pages. Just say this (and make sure it's all true!): "I'd love to come in and talk to you about it in person. It's a terrific pitch for your company." I know, it's a simple line, but you'd be surprised how powerful it can be, especially if it's true.
Keep the ball in your court. Don't let ?em get your pages.
Stingy with treatments,
Grady
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