- Find a marketable hook for your screenplay
- Sum up your entire story in one short pitch
- Know if your story will sink or swim way before you write it
Writing a screenplay is hard, but selling it (to an agent, publisher, studio) can be even harder. It doesn’t matter how great your idea is, or how amazingly you write, what those who matter are looking for is a marketable hook that will catch the attention of distributors and end users.
So how can you easily sum up your entire story in one short pitch or synopsis and make it fit the bill? The answer is you don’t have to – not if you approach your work marketing first.
In this class Natali Simmonds will be talking about how to hone your story into the perfect elevator pitch, and know you’re on to a good thing, before you start writing. It worked for me, and it can work for you too!
What will you get
Learn how to:
- Understand your audience
- Get the perfect hook in place
- Sell your story in one line
- Find the perfect comps
- Work backwards – from pitch to product (or screenplay)
At the end of the evening you will be equipped with all the tools you need to know if your story will sink or swim way before you write it.
Who Should Attend
This course is ideal for anyone wanting to save time writing their next screenplay. Writers, screenwriters and filmmakers will benefit, so will any professional seeking to improve their understanding of putting marketing and sales before the final product.
About the tutor
Natali Simmonds is an author who has also worked in advertising, branding, marketing and publishing.
She began her career in glossy magazines, then went on to manage marketing campaigns for big brands before going freelance. In 2015 she co-founded online magazine The Glass House Girls and has since contributed to various online and print publications.
Her debut thriller Good Girls Die Last (Headline) is out June 23, and she also writes fantasy under the pseudonym of N J Simmonds (The Path Keeper, Son of Secrets, and Children of Shadows was shortlisted for the 2022 RNA Fantasy Award), along with Middle Grade fantasy and manga, and is one half of paranormal romance writer, Caedis Knight. Her stories are gritty and unflinching, full of complex women and page-turning suspense (and sometimes a little magic).
When Natali’s not writing, she works as a freelance brand consultant and writer, and lectures at Raindance Film School, various universities, schools and online. Originally from London, she now splits her time between Spain and the Netherlands.
Discover more at njsimmonds.com
