How to Know If Your Screenplay is Marketable

How do you know if the concept you have come up with is worth the time and effort it will take to write a full-fledged screenplay.

The simple answer to that question is test to the market. Pitch your premise to your family and trusted friends and see how they respond.

If your chosen audience seems lukewarm to your idea or confused you might want to head back to the drawing board.

The point of the exercise is to see if the concept you have come up with is marketable, if it isn't then you'll know, and won't waste a bunch of time writing a script that you will unlikely be able to sell.

A lot of writers skip this step and are DOA when they go in to pitch there story. In most cases, the screenplay is judge on the concept, it isn't fair, but fair or not that's the way it is.

For all they know you could have just written the next "Godfather" or "On The Waterfront" but no one will ever know if you can't get anyone to read to read it.

Presenting a solid concept can be the difference between your script being read or being tossed on the never to be heard from again pile.

I know it sounds harsh but we all do it. Think back to a time when you were going to watch a program on television or rent a DVD you haven't seen before.

What's the first thing you do? If it's a DVD, we flip it over and read the one or two lines expression what the movie is about on the back... Guess what, that's the concept and if doesn't pique your interest you put it down and move on to something that does.

Same thing with television, it's no difference when you lay out the concept for your script to a industry reader.
They should get vision of what the film is going to look like, it should leave them wanting more.