The minimum pay rates in the United States are set at just below $7 per hour, until President Obama gets his hands on raising those rates. In the UK they suggest that just under £6 per hour in the lowest you should earn. At least in the US you’d benefit from the dreadful indirect taxation called ‘forced tipping’ in many jobs, while the Brits think you should only tip if the work was extra special. As a screen writer, don’t expect any tips that come in dollar bills. You can, however, expect many free words from mentoring, encouragement and correction.

Wait a moment, those rates are for employed positions – you’re writing a screenplay on spec; hoping that someone will want to buy it from you. You don’t get paid anything for writing on spec. You thought it was only the actors who had to work the tables in LA didn’t you? Most newbie screenplay writers carry second (or should that be first?) jobs to pay the bills.

You wouldn’t want to earn the minimum rates though, would you? So how many hours did you log writing your screenplay? You’d have to be one in a million to be logging how long it takes you to write and re-write a screenplay unless you’re being paid by the hour by a studio.

Go look over our previous article about WAG rates here.

If you look at average salaries, then $40,000 in the US and £30,000 in the UK is less than the Writer’s Guild of America’s (WGA) suggested rate for one screenplay. That doesn’t sound too tough, does it, but can you sell one per annum, every year? How many do you have to write to get to one success per annum?

The writing isn’t the problem (well it may be to some extent) it’s the selling that is the hard work. Some producers may only buy an option to produce your screenplay. That means they’ll give you a small advance (perhaps just $500) and hold you to a period of time while they try to get funding and attach actors and directors to make the film. Only when the next stage payment is due (yes, the film is going ahead!) will you receive real money. However, hold on a moment, because the bulk of your funds may only arrive when filming really starts. Could it really be three years since you wrote the script until someone brings down the clapperboard for the first time?

So now your earnings from the movie are over a much longer period so you might need to divide your rewards across a three year period (if you’re lucky). Fortunately you’re such a skilled writer that you write four screenplays a year, at least. That way you have one you’re trying to sell, one in development, one on at the movies and one that didn’t make it anywhere.

You’ll need to divide your time between writing, selling and having a real life with your family and children knowing that over 100,000 screenplays get registered for copyright in the US alone each year while just 1,000 movies get made. Can you hack it?

If you’re already had some success as a screenplay writer you’ll know that the film isn’t yours. You may have written the first two or three drafts to get the sale and then you may have written another couple of drafts to get it to the pre production stage. Your screenwriting is then owned by the studio, until it’s passed to the director and storyboard artist. Next it belongs to the editor and finally it belongs to the audience. It belonged to the producer all along.

Albert Torres who wrote the screenplay to the movie ‘Henry Poole Is Here’ believes it’s good for a writer to be on set and available in case of situations where the words don’t actually work live and need some minor quick changes. He speaks of film crews being surprised to seeing a writer on set and how it’s so rare.

Hollywood actress Kirsten Dunst, star of Wimbledon, Spiderman, and Mona Lisa Smile barred a writer from the set of her new movie after he allegedly criticized her acting ability. This involved author Toby Young who wrote the book on which the new film – How to Lose Friends + Alienate People – is based, and visited the set on several occasions.

It was on his second visit that he thought he was making helpful comment about her performance to the producer. Dunst found out, probably didn’t want the ‘help’ and asked for the writer to be off set.
That shows one of the dilemmas of being on set. Who can talk to a star and what can you say/not say to them if you are allowed to speak to them or make comment via a crew member? Extras aren’t allowed to speak to stars, let alone look at them. What are the rules for writers? There aren’t any except most producers will try to keep writers away from a set because what the director does with your words may not be what you intended.

Well, to be honest it will be quite different because the movie that was in your head when you wrote it will obviously be different to the movie in the director’s head. You may take offence to this new version and you might want to argue your point. The director won’t want that (except for the one you’ve just thought of who always wants a writer on set and requests their assistance!).

Stay at home is the best advice, wait for the premiere. You won’t get so angry or upset so early in the process. Once it’s out at the movies it’s too late anyway. If you have to go on set, keep your distance, say nothing and be available if requested to launch into that last minute re-write for the superstar.

Once invited, you’d just have to go, wouldn’t you? Really.