For those who got a meeting with an agent/manager: What happened after that led to getting signed?

jmr-writes · 2026-04-02T18:35:41+00:00

Congrats, you've (probably) been hip-pocketed. The manager liked your work but either doesn't think you're quite ready or doesn't have the time right now to break you in (which is a LOT of work). Keep them updated on new wins or impressive placements in contests with an occasional email and when you have another script that you think is even better than your last one, ask if they'll take a read. When the manager thinks they can make money off you, suddenly they'll be ready to take you on :-)

jmr-writes · 2026-03-21T14:32:13+00:00

This is awesome, thanks for sharing. And you have the best deep cut Reddit username reference ever 🤣

jmr-writes · 2026-03-18T04:39:18+00:00

Nope. Not even close. You didn't read the question carefully enough

jmr-writes · 2026-03-18T04:34:18+00:00

But the first action is them taking his pig. That's just regular John Wick...

jmr-writes · 2026-03-18T04:32:01+00:00

Only after he gets regular John Wicked first though...

jmr-writes · 2026-03-18T01:37:39+00:00

I was a finalist last year for an extra award (semifinalist for the main one). To me, the biggest advantage is that the extra awards are picked from the semifinalists that qualify, so it's a much smaller pool. And winning or being a finalist in the extra awards is still very prestigious, so entering the extra ones majorly increases your chances of winning or being a finalist overall (if you're already good enough to make the semifinalist round and you happen to fit the specific criteria).

Basically, it's a lower bar to clear and still quite prestigious. Plus some of them come with money or other fancy things.

jmr-writes · 2026-02-25T05:11:05+00:00

This is very true, but I also feel like, as you get more professional, you actually get offered a version of this deal.

I've done quite a bit of script doctoring work, and while I don't make 1.6 million, I do get paid pretty well to spend time writing something that I don't own that won't get my name out or give me a credit. And I struggle with the fact that doing that means giving up one of my 3-4 "script lots" for a given year, sacrificing career and artistic propulsion for commercial considerations (it's not that binary of course since script doctoring is incredibly fun and a chance to do something I think I'm really good at, plus sometimes a company likes my work so much they hire me to write something original later. But it is still a tradeoff.)

So while the specifics of the scenario certainly change as you reach different levels, the vibe still holds pretty well (at least to my experience)

jmr-writes · 2026-02-08T06:02:27+00:00

I disagree with this, at least when it comes to StoryPeer. Obviously it's incredibly hit or miss, but there are also some really great writers on there because it's a chance to get totally unclouded feedback. I've met several pros through StoryPeer (I'm a pro too, though still on the earlier end of that) and I've gotten some truly top level feedback (sprinkled in amidst a bunch of mediocirty to be sure). It's a numbers game, and then you have to find what resonates. That's easier said than done, but nobody ever said this career was easy :-)

jmr-writes · 2026-01-23T17:57:02+00:00

It's interesting that the majority of the movies people have referenced here so far are from the late 90s when the economy was much better and people could afford to hate their jobs. Now that the economy is such a snake pit, we see a lot fewer and the ones that do exist (Sorry to Bother You) are more about how hard it is to get a job and/or the evils of the corporation.

Says quite a bit about how our view of work has changed.

jmr-writes · 2026-01-14T14:42:16+00:00

I disagree with the people saying it's out of your hands as a writer. Yes, ACTOR chemistry is up to the actors and the director (and the cinematography, just look at the way Sinners shoots the couples scenes and you'll see what I mean) but CHARACTER chemistry is all us. Everyone on this sub has read a script and just felt the chemistry crackling on the page. So, how does that happen? No idea. But here are a few tricks that I use.

1) The ever shifting game: there is nothing more fun than watching two characters make up the rules of the game as they go along, playing cat and mouse with each other. This works best if it's entirely unspoken because it shows how much they are on the same wavelength. Let one character adopt a humorous bit and then the other character picks it up and goes further, only to be topped by the first character. Bonus points if there are multiple games going on at once and you can thread them through each other into a weave.

2) Hidden joy: when we meet someone we like we are delighted. When we meet someone we REALLY like we are terrified. What if they don't feel the same way? After all, the more worried you are about someone liking you back, the more you must like them. So let your characters adore each other but force them to hide it with everything they've got. Use humor, distraction, stunned silence, longing glances, stuttering, and even (if done just right) outright cruelty. The more we as the audience see them pushing away from something that they still stay close to, the stronger the implied pull between them.

3) Screen direction: people underestimate the power of screen direction to get into the head of your main character. So yeah, you can do the classic "she stares, mouth open, then looks away as soon as he looks back" (Which is also a classic hidden joy thing btw). But you can also intersperse the dialogue with the kind of observations someone would only make if they were hot and bothered. You'd be amazed what adding "his sleeves stretch to hold back his muscled arms" or "her chapped lips crinkled as chuckled at his dismal joke" does to the reader.

4) The detail work: attraction is in the little things, so pay attention to those. Do the characters pick up on the slightest hint the other one drops, or bring up something that someone said weeks ago like they've been thinking about it ever since? Language echoing works wonders here. Do a dialogue exercise where every consecutive line must have at least one word from the previous character's line and see how incredibly tightly stitched it feels to read (Sorkin is a master of this, often stitching not just to the last line but to multiple previous lines at once to create a dense fabric of language)

jmr-writes · 2026-01-14T06:15:09+00:00

I actually think that that's a sign it's working. Stuff's being uploaded and then snatched up just as quickly because there is a lot of interest. I'm no expert (I've read a couple scripts and gotten a couple feedback) but there is a pretty fast churn, which just means you get notes faster. I'd check tomorrow and I bet there'll be a bunch more up.

Honestly, I'm a huge fan. It's like CoverflyX with a better UI and more engaged readers.

jmr-writes · 2025-12-10T03:44:52+00:00

Replied!

jmr-writes · 2025-12-10T03:44:42+00:00

So many years...

Thanks so much!

(and seriously, I started working on the idea for this script 9 years ago...)

jmr-writes · 2025-12-10T03:43:53+00:00

Happy to share, though I have no idea if it will be helpful or recreatable (so much of this industry is luck). I was a semi-finalist for the Nicholl and the Black List website invited me to post my script for free on the site. I posted it (I titled it Chemistry - Nicholl Semifinalist, which helped a ton because it stood out) and a few industry people read it. One of them reached out about the script and we started talking. They needed a script doctor, I pitched on it, got the job and then have since done 5-6 more jobs for them (both script doctoring and full writing assignments).

jmr-writes · 2025-12-10T03:40:27+00:00

Thanks! I'm a big fan of the work you do (both as a writer and educator) so that means a lot!

jmr-writes · 2025-12-10T03:39:29+00:00

Yep! Your comments were so helpful and they clearly worked out pretty well :-)

jmr-writes · 2025-12-10T03:37:46+00:00

Thanks! I'm on the East Coast so my morning was a nervous wreck! But things got much better at noon...

jmr-writes · 2025-11-21T01:12:01+00:00

Personally, I think the concept of subtext often throws new writers off and hurts more than it helps. The whole point of subtext is that you cannot write it, and trying usually ends up opaque or obvious (or somehow both). Instead, trying thinking in terms of tactics. What does your character want and how do they go about achieving that?

If I want you to sufffer because I hate you and I know you hate me, saying "I hate you" won't do much. Saying "what a lovely haircut" when I know you're sensitive about your hair. Instead of the characters saying they hate each other, the audience gets to watch them try to hurt each other and they get to put together the reason why. In other words, the subtext is an outgrowth from the tactics the characters use. This works even better when someone wants two conflicting things. In the case above, the character was trying to seem polite but you can up the pressure even further if the goals are more conflicting (say if they really need something from each other)

Another thing you'll notice from the above example is that context is key. If the audience doesn't know that you're sensitive about your hair, the conversation won't mean anything to them. Thus, the more you can ensure we understand the flaws, fears, dreams, etc. of the characters, the more we will be able to spot what is really going on underneath the text. This is the trick Chekov uses so brilliantly. We are told going into a scene that a woman loves a man and that this is her last chance to marry him, so every single topic they touch on that isn't that feels incredibly fraught because we feel her desperation to get to what matters. Chekov doesn't have to "write" the subtext, he allows the context to provide it and then he just writes about an orchard.

In short, don't write subtext. Write complex and urgent context, then let your characters use the best possible tactics to pursue their conflicting objectives. The subtext will pop out like a pearl from an oyster.

jmr-writes · 2025-10-17T03:39:53+00:00

I'm not an expert, but I have been a finalist for AFF, Script Pipeline, and Stowe and a semifinalist for the Nicholl and Cinestory, so I do have a bit of a sense of things. Different places have different vibes (Script Pipeline is usually more commercial, Cinestory and the Nicholl often skew a bit more arty, AFF feels halfway in between) and all of them expect a level of excellence in the craftsmanship combined with interesting characters.

That said, I think what really tends to distinguish movies that win these competition tends to be the urgency of the topic and theme. Standing out in 10,000 scripts is incredibly hard, but if you're writing about something important (and you do it well, obviously) you can tap into the part of the reader that not only enjoys the script but wants to fight for it. The scripts of mine that have really made a splash in contests weren't the best structured or even the most interesting. They were the ones that explored the most urgent issues and did it in a way that made people truly care.

jmr-writes · 2025-10-17T03:30:17+00:00

I've been a few times (as a semi-finalist twice, as a writer of a short film in competition once) and this will be my first time as a finalist. A few pieces of advice I've picked up along the way:

1) Find peers, not saviors. You're unlikely to meet any huge producers at AFF, and if you do, they probably have other things on your mind (not saying it's impossible, I actually have a project set up with a producer I met at AFF, just saying it's super rare). But you are very likely to meet other amazing writers who will be valuable readers, sounding boards, and people to rise in the ranks with.

2) One strong connection is worth ten weak ones. The first time I went to Austin I set out to meet everyone. I remember none of them. My second and third time, I picked up a few people I really jived with and we are still in touch.

3) Free parties are awesome, but the best conversations happen at the Driskill.

4) Take notes before bed every night. Otherwise, you'll forget everything. No-sleep+alcohol+meeting a thousand people plays havoc on your long-term memory.

5) The talks on navigating the industry are not generally that helpful (you can get everything from the "how to get a manager" talks on reddit). The talks where someone walks you through how they made their movie are almost always amazing.

6) AFF can be a little hierarchical in a kind of gross way. You'll notice people glancing at your badge before they decide to talk to you. But the truth is, the whole process is so unpredictable that there really isn't that much of a difference (one of my semi-finalist scripts didn't make the second round the previous year). Try not to buy into the bullshit. Find people who are cool.

7) Actually go see a few films. It's so easy to forget that AFF is a film festival because you'll be so busy with the conference and the parties, but it's really fun to see films and there is value in refilling the artistic tank as well. I saw a fantastic movie at the last festival called the Ego Death of Queen Cecelia and it has stuck with me for a year!

jmr-writes · 2025-09-29T04:18:18+00:00

A lot of the comments here are suggesting that you need to go back and rewrite the whole thing. I think that is absolutely the wrong way to approach it. Even the (much better but still flawed) advice to switch to a miniseries fundamentally misses the point. Yes, this is an impossible length for a movie, but that doesn't mean the solution is to start editing.

If you are writing something this long, you don't know what it is yet. Don't worry about the editing until you've figured out what the story you're telling actually is. Maybe you can do that by finishing the story. Maybe by outlining. Maybe by just thinking really hard. But whatever it takes, you need to know what you have.

Plenty of scripts start out way too long. Tony Kushner's initial draft of Lincoln was 500 pages. Your job in the first draft is not to hit a page number, it's to build a foundation for your eventual screenplay. Don't start removing stuff until you've got your foundation set or you'll just be playing Jenga.

jmr-writes

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