Screenwriter's Survival Guide
Author: Max Adams
List Price: $13.95
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 0446676225
Publisher: Warner Books (01 March, 2001)
Sales Rank: 105,054
Average Customer Rating: 4.19 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
Like Therapy, and a must read for all novelists
Someone once said that 5 minutes with a good friend, is worth 2 hours with a therapist. If that's true, then Max Adams's book, is worth a year of Therapy. First it reads like a "chat with a friend"...a friend who has been there, done that, and written about it. And it inspires, and clears the air, and teaches. I also think this book is a must read for Novelists who hope to have their movie made, or anyone who can't understand how a screenwriter can get a reported half million deal, and end up broke. Max explains the money deal in clear detail. And unlike the other reviewer who "derides" Max for advertising...I applaud her for it!!! She's a go getter, and a Giver. (As in the wonderful advice she gives on her website to those who are in no position to give her anything in return)I say, buy this book! It's much cheaper than therapy anyway.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Above the rest
Don't start here. Learn how to write, I mean really learn. Write three, four maybe even five screenplays. Read the other books. Sure, some of them suck, but even books that suck teach you something (if only how to write a book that sucks). Now you're ready for Max's book (and, it doesn't suck). Assuming you have a sense of humour and aren't expecting a little "fill in the form and sell tomorrow" approach, you'll enjoy this and take some really great things away from it.
Max covers the fundamentals of surviving in Hollywood. She'll teach you how to write a logline, how to write a query, how to deal with agents, how to dump an agent, how to deal with producers, what to wear, when to call, what to say, and all sorts of other nifty things. Best of all, she presents it in a fun and easy to read manner.
Max is an inspiration. She's a small town girl who didn't start out with connections. But there she is, making it in Hollywood. And, she's telling you how she did it. It's the Holy Grail of screenwriting books, the one that actually teaches you how to sell.
Many successful writers never earn a screen credit. Many screenwriting book authors have never sold a single script. Max is working, she has a screen credit, and she's good. She's in the trenches and she knows what she's talking about. She's figured out how to break the system and now she's telling you.
Don't let the negative reviews fool you, she's the real deal. This book is fun and enlightening with real world examples.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Read only if you're interested in the Hollywood / US scene
This concentrates on the Hollywood scene and how to get your script sold in the US so most of it wasn't relevant to me, being Australian. There wasn't very much on how to actually write screenplays so I'd skip this if that's what you're after and read some different books. The most useful thing I found was the stuff about how to write query letters and dealing with producers, while it may be a little different from the Aus. scene, I imagine some things are the same everywhere (ie people are too busy to read your script). So if you're not American and don't intend working in America, only a small portion of this book will be relevant to you but if you want an entertaining insight into the Hollywood scene, it's worth a look.
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