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    Getting Past Me: A Writer's Guide to Production Company Readers
    Getting Past Me: A Writer's Guide to Production Company Readers
    Getting Past Me: A Writer's Guide to Production Company Readers
    Ebook61 pages38 minutes

    Getting Past Me: A Writer's Guide to Production Company Readers

    By Mindi White

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    About this ebook

    Story analysts, also known as script analysts or readers, are the gatekeepers at production companies and agencies. Working behind the scenes, they make or break writers' entrée into the company for which they read. A typical scenario: “I'm sorry, but the reader passed on your script” – which means you have gotten a big, fat NO. You get only one shot at that particular company. What happened?

    Getting Past Me tells the writer exactly what happened and how to ensure it will not happen again. Most writers have no idea of what goes through story analysts' mind as they look at a screenplay, manuscript, magazine article, treatment, or any other project. The book explains how story analysts think and what you as a writer can do, letting you in on readers' trade secrets and giving you invaluable, key information that will ensure your work is reviewed favorably and fairly.

    Story analyst and industry insider Mindi White goes beyond such basic subjects as character development and pacing and point of view, to focus on a POV the writer cannot get anywhere else: what influences a reader's take on submitted material. Fast-paced, acerbic, and extremely informative, making the valuable lessons easy and fun to absorb, Getting Past Me offers insider tips, trade secrets, and real-life examples that are consistently illuminating and often surprising.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRowmanLittlefield
    Release dateOct 1, 2011
    ISBN9781458436542
    Getting Past Me: A Writer's Guide to Production Company Readers

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      Book preview

      Getting Past Me - Mindi White

      Copyright © 2011 by Mindi White

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a newspaper or magazine reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

      Published in 2011 by Limelight Editions

      An Imprint of Hal Leonard Corporation

      7777 West Bluemound Road

      Milwaukee, WI 53213

      Trade Book Division Editorial Offices

      33 Plymouth St., Montclair, NJ 07042

      Book design by Mark Lerner

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data White, Mindi.

      Getting past me: a writer’s guide to production company readers / Mindi White.

      p. cm.

      1. Motion picture authorship. 2. Motion picture plays--Technique. I. Title.

      PN1996.W37 2011

      808.2’3--dc23

      2011026237

      www.limelighteditions.com

      For my father, who taught me humor and love of language, and for H.P., for everything

      Contents

      Acknowledgments

      Introduction

      Chapter 1: Who Are We?

      Chapter 2: What We Do

      Chapter 3: What We Don’t Do

      Chapter 4: Things That Should Matter but Don’t

      Chapter 5: Things That Shouldn’t Matter but Do

      Chapter 6: Signs of an Amateur

      Chapter 7: More Signs of an Amateur

      Chapter 8: Kisses of Death

      Chapter 9: Crap

      Chapter 10: How to Antagonize the Reader

      Chapter 11: How to Delight the Reader

      Chapter 12: Marginalizing Populations: Exaltation of the Afflicted and the Magical Negro

      Chapter 13: To-Do List

      Chapter 14: To-Don’t List

      Chapter 15: Reader’s Tips

      Acknowledgments

      I’d like to thank James Napoli for many things, but for the purposes of this book I’ll thank him for introducing me to story analysis. He said, You’re good at that. You should do that, on reading my very first coverage. He got me my first reading job, at a French film financing company where I slogged through stacks of scripts and honed my craft. He also asked, "So when are you going to write your script?" freaking me out completely and turning me into a screenwriter. That led to me becoming an author.

      I’ve worked with some fantastic people in my years reading scripts. The standouts are Bettina Moss, Sam Martin, Rob Potter, Kathy McCullough, Steven Woolworth, Misse Getty, and Matt Bass. I’d like to thank them all for being fabulous in too many ways to count and for being my friends. I’d like to give a big shout out to everyone past and present at HBO Films, DreamWorks, Miramax, CAA, and UTA, and to all my private script-consultation clients.

      It’s been an absolute delight working with my agent, Kathleen Rushall at Waterside Productions. Special thanks to Bill Simon for his generosity and assistance in leading me to Waterside, and for being such a terrific guy.

      Everyone at Limelight Editions and at Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group has been a pleasure to work with. I’m grateful for their positive reception to my book and for their facility in making the publishing process user-friendly to a newbie like me.

      Copious appreciation goes out to all my friends who have encouraged and cheered me along the way. Special thanks to the Saturday morning group, especially those folks who said, Just write the book already. Some of these friends are fellow authors, and I’d like to single out Alan Watt, Stephanie Hubbard, and Allen Zadoff as being especially helpful and fabulous. They’re also great writers.

      Big gratitude to everyone who has ever been in my writing group, Shut Up and Write, for being there when I need to shut up and write for two hours every Wednesday night. This entire book was written during SU&W sessions. Stalwarts Michael Kostroff and Carolyn Kraft, thank you.

      I’d like to extend a special nod of appreciation to everyone, staff and customers, and everything at the Bodhi Tree Bookstore. May it live forever.

      Thank you, Kristal and Ben, for being the best kid and grandkid on the planet, ever. I am constantly astonished by how smart, funny, strong, beautiful, inspiring, and delightful you are. You are my reason for

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