Screenwriter Salary 1.0

Answering the queries here, both for myself and fellow rookie screenwriters out there reading these posts. In our material existence, we must take care of money matters. First, there's no such thing as a fixed screenwriter salary. This is not like any other job in the entertainment industry. Being a writer itself is a lot different. We work as we like. We write with discipline (who am I kidding, we are not Stephen King). We create whenever the muse blows a kiss on our mouth. We can't live without a pen and paper (or a notebook and its keyboard).

Screenwriters are paid on a freelance basis. I've never heard about the otherwise. We are living through the next paycheck. Or we are doing other jobs to feed the dog (and ourselves). Until we get a name/track record. You can become an A-list or independent screenwriter - that's your call, but still no steady money from month to month. That's a fact one should consider right next to the craft itself. If you can't imagine living any other way possible - this life is for you.

There are more non-WGA member screenwriters than WGA members, so let me talk to my kind from now on. It's a long run (three years) to get a Writer's Guild of America membership, especially if you are not from the USA. A writer must meet definite criteria to get full or partial membership. They count units that are earned by the writer. What does that mean? WGA asks for your writing employment and/or sales within the Guild's jurisdiction and with a signatory company (who signed the Guild's collective bargaining agreement).

When you are not a WGA member, what should you expect to be paid for your stories? Higher the page count, the higher the salary. Shorter the deadline, the bigger the money. (If you have to finish in 4 weeks > or 4 months.) Read an online article about an example of a TV pilot salary (2,000 USD). Yet, writing shouldn't be primarily about earnings. I know, I know. We have to make a living from our big dreams. Don't worry! A solid credit can be worth a pile of gold! An honest connection helps you evolve a hundred times better! You want to see open doors after all those years of knocking, right?

Being a WGA member has benefits, but you need a gig first to get in. Membership costs 2,500 USD. It gets you health insurance if you keep working as a writer. The WGA guarantees that you will get a higher salary than if you are not in the Guild. One original feature screenplay with treatment pays the most. On TV, it's the 60 Minute Network prime time teleplay. My goal is to get a staff writer position on an ongoing TV show. And to get my scripts sold, of course.

your fellow screenwriter,

Kata Varga