FIRST DRAFT OF SCREENPLAY/GHOSTWRITING FEE
This fee for a complete first draft of a professionally written screenplay (based on your idea) that meets all of Hollywood's professional screenwriting standards is $5,000.00. The first draft of the screenplay will cover all areas of a screenplay storytelling concepts including: theme; genre; story structure with plot points and plot twist; complete character development and arcs of main and secondary characters; and crisp original dialogue. A complete first draft of a professionally written screenplay will be completed within 4-6 weeks based on the outline obtained during the story development process described below. No additional rewrites will be included in this fee of the First Draft of the completed screenplay process. Any additional rewrites will be based on an additional agreement and based on the amount of time and writing that will be required to complete the rewrite.
The fee of $5,000.00 can be made in two installments of $2,500.00 payments. Once the first installment is completed, the producer/story owner will be given the first half of the screenplay. Once the second installment of $2,500.00 is paid to the screenwriter, the producer/story owner will be giving the complete first draft of the screenplay within the agreed time frame (usually within 4-6 weeks).
NOTE:A screenwriting and/or ghostwriting development fee is required for all NEW projects. This fee is to establish and prepare all new project ideas for the first draft screenwriting phase and is required in order to produce a professional written screenplay. The development fee ensures that both the producer/story owner and writer are in complete agreement as to what will be accomplished in the writing of first draft of the screenplay. See details on the development fee and process below.
SCREENPLAY/GHOSTWRITING DEVELOPMENT FEE
The story development fee for all new screenplay and ghostwriting projects is $2,500.00 and is to be paid in full once the Non-Disclosure form is signed and agreed on by both the producer/story owner and the screenwriter. The story development fee includes two weeks of work exclusively with the producer/story owner in order to gather the entire screenplay or ghostwriting project idea and prepare it for the screenwriting process. These meetings typically consist of ten one hour daily phone conferences (Monday through Friday) between the producer/story owner and the screenwriter.
The $2,500.00 fee is paid in full and in advance before the development process is begun and scheduled. A Non-Disclosure Agreement is signed and agreed upon by both the producer/story owner and the screenwriter in order to protect the story idea and to prove that is it is the exclusive ownership of the producer/story owner and not the screenwriter.
The story development process provides the producer/story owner with a complete outline of the five act structured screenplay (with approximately 25 scenes) and includes a theme; genre; story structure with plot points and plot twists; character development with complete character arcs; and original crisp dialogue. Once the story development process is complete then the producer can enter into an agreement with the screenwriter to write the actual first draft of the screenplay based on the story development outline. The story development process takes approximately two weeks to complete.
SCREENPLAY/GHOSTWRITING REWRITING/EDITING FEE
This screenwriting and ghostwriting rewrite and editing fees are based on the amount of work that is required to fix and edit the existing screenplay project. The rewriting and editing fees are never less than $2,500.00 and usually range up to $5,000.00 per screenplay. Each project is unique and requires different attention based on genre and specific Hollywood screenwriting standards.
There will be an initial Screenplay Consultation fee of $500.00 to review and analyze the project which will include a one hour phone conference call with the producer/story owner to discuss the specific areas that need improvements or changes. Notes will be provided to the producer/story owner by the screenwriter. It will be then up to the producer/story owner to decide if they want to hire the screenwriter to do the changes, rewrite or edits
PITCH/ LOGLINE/QUERY LETTER/BRIEF SYNOPSIS FEE
NOTE: Once the screenplay project is complete the following items are needed in order to prepare the completed screenplay material for marketing. The following items are required in order to get agents and producers to request to read your screenplay. It is important to note that the proper, pitch, logline, and query letter is completed in such a way as to ‘grab’ the producer/agents attention and get them interested in ‘requesting’ to read your material.
Pitch/Logline Fee. The fee for writing a two line pitch and/or logline is $500.00. The Logline and/or pitch are pretty much the same thing and by industry standards should not be longer than two lines. The pitch/logline should convey the main character’s goal and main conflict of the screenplay and should hint at the genre and theme. Once the logline/pitch is complete the second step would be to complete the brief synopsis and then to complete the query letter which is what the screenplay project will need in order to market the screenplay. This is how agents and producers determine if your project is something they are currently seeking and looking for and will aid the screenwriting in finding the right producers and agents that are interested in the screenplay you have to market.. The turnaround time for the logline/pitch is one week.
Brief Synopsis Fee. The Brief Synopsis writing fee is $500.00. The brief synopsis is accompanied with the pitch and appears in the Query Letter. A brief synopsis is a brief one paragraph description of the main character and main idea of the screenplay. The purpose of the brief synopsis is to accompany the logline/pitch in the query letter for the purpose of getting the agent interest in requesting your screenplay project. The turnaround time for the Brief Synopsis is two weeks.
COMPLETE Query Letter w/Pitch/Logline/Brief Synopsis FEE. The Query Letter writing fee is $900.00 and INCLUDES pitch/logline brief synopsis and a brief description of the writer and his background. This is a complete one-time fee of $900.00 that includes everything you need to have a professional written query letter ready to send to producers and agents that will aid in the marketing of your screenplay. NOTE: The entire query letter should not be no more than one page long. Please view the Writer’s Guild of America website for samples of query letters to see how his is done. The turnaround time for the complete query letter writing process is one month.
SCREENPLAY BRAINSTORMING FEE
Screenplay Brainstorming Fee. The fee for a completed Screenplay Brainstorming session is $1,500.00 and is conducted in five one hour sessions by telephone between the producer/story owner and the screenwriter. The purpose for the Screenplay Brainstorming session is to solve specific story problem and character problem issues and to address possible structural problems that preventing the screenplay from being ready for marketing. The producer/story owner would not be charged for $500.00 fee for the screenwriter to read the completed screenplay involved. Once the problems are addressed and resolved the screenwriter will provide the producer/story owner with an outline of suggestions of areas of the screenplay that need to be addressed and fixed.
NOTE: This fee does not include any rewriting of the screenplay project. If a rewrite of the screenplay is needed, then the producer/story owner and the screenwriter would have to enter into a separate rewrite agreement and sign the appropriate contract.
GETTING STARTED
The first step to getting started with any screenwriting or ghostwriting project is call or e-mail me first with your specific needs and goals.
The second step would be to telephone me directly to ask what kind of time frame I could offer in order to complete your project needs. (Keep in mind I have other projects I maybe currently completing or working on.)
The third step would be to mail your payment along with any accompanying forms or documents such as Non-Disclosure forms and other Screenwriting and Ghostwriting and Rewriting Agreements forms to me at the following address in order for me to schedule your writing project. Once the payment and signed documents are received, your project will be scheduled for completion.
NOTE: If you do not have these appropriate legal documents or forms needed for your specific project needs, I can provide these documents and forms upon request.
MAIL PAYMENTS AND DOCUMENTS TO:
Suzanne Gillis,
34 Capen Street
Medford, MA 02155
Once your check is received, and the appropriate documents have been signed by both parties, your project will be scheduled and an approximate completion date will be provided. Please include a return address stamped envelope for all materials you wish to have copied or returned by mail. For any additional questions or concerns, feel free to email me or contact me anytime.
szgls77@comcast.net
Cell Phone: 781-526-0579
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