Land the Hollywood Television Pitch Meeting of Your Dreams

Despite today's glut of TV reality shows, where writing means coming up with snarky jabs for a host or 'realistic people' to trade, Hollywood still needs writers. Without prior work experience or professional credits, a traditional way to land a pitch is to write a speculative or spec script. I wrote specs which were produced as episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine - two of the most popular and respected TV series in Hollywood history. The teleplays began as specs. I wrote with no agreement, or notion I'd sell them. After they were purchased, my pitch meetings took off.

Script review lets TV producers evaluate writing talent. After it's clear you have what it takes to be a dependable scribe, you'll be invited to sell stories. Now that I had proven I knew the show rhythm and captured the tone of characters, I was invited to Paramount Studios to pitch to Star Trek: Voyager, and also to USA Network for The Dead Zone. Each meeting differed, but I came away from each learning more to help in my next Hollywood go round.

I must emphasize that the Star Trek way of buying scripts was different. Usually a TV series wants to see teleplays written for another show. For legal reasons, shows like Mad Men or Lost can't read specs written for their own show. Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager ironed out legal stuff, and spec scripts for them were read and purchased. In the traditional system, you write a spec for one show, but submit it to a different TV series.

Spec Script Research

To write a spec, you must know a show. This is a given. However, only watching doesn't always fit the bill. Research can also mean finding out details on the behind the scene aspects of a show.

Example: I love Matthew Weiner's Emmy Award winning AMC show Mad Men. The drama not only fascinates on every level with characters, story and direction, but the 1960's art design is perfect. Each episode reminds me of an Alfred Hitchcock movie; a slow, suspenseful build which results in a stunning climax. Knowing facts about a show is essential, but knowing the writers/creators behind it helps in a big way. Weiner wrote for the CBS sitcom Becker with Ted Danson, and also for HBO's The Sopranos. By going over and looking at what Weiner wrote for them, you can delve into his mind. Did he write lots of comedic tales for The Sopranos? Were his Becker scripts laced with acerbic one liners?

I've noticed something about Mad Men that's similar to The Sopranos; dreams where the dead return to talk to the living. Big Pussy came back in a dream to chat with Tony Soprano, as did Betty Draper's recently deceased dad Gene. By absorbing artistic instincts of producers, and the themes they love to employ, you can write better for them and their current show.

Actors, especially the leads, can have a big influence. As I sat across the desk from Jeri Taylor, the co-creator and Star Trek: Voyager show runner, I pitched a Captain Janeway story, who was played by actress Kate Mulgrew. When I was done, Jeri remarked, "Kate may love it. She's been looking for a story like it." Know the writers and also the actors, to write a better spec.

Your Spec Is Your Calling Card

Sitcom writers have been known to write "lost" episodes of I Love Lucy or Seinfeld or Friends as a spec. These TV classics have been off air for years, but are so ingrained in our collective entertainment psyche, that they can be a good spec to land a pitch. You're not going to meet many who don't love 'Lucy' or who didn't laugh at Friends, so it's a safe, classic bet on which to impress TV executives.

Personally, I'd go with more current samples like The Simpsons, Big Bang Theory or How I Met Your Mother, but you know your narrative strengths better than anyone else. The trick is to write the best script imaginable. Yes, that's easier said than done, however there are ways that help.

Craft your story and polish it to a fine shine. Now the real work begins. Rewrite, rewrite, and then rewrite even more. This script is your resume. It defines how you structure story, utilize dialogue and bring it all together to wow a reader. The next step is perhaps most frightening, especially to a new writer just getting her feet wet, or very likely his ego bruised. You must give it to everyone to read.

Impose upon friends to read it. Corner co-workers in the lounge to provide them with light reading. Bribe family members with a snack, movie tickets or whatever it takes. You must submit it to producers or an agent sometime. By getting as many eyeballs onto those pages as possible, you'll rewrite more efficiently. When readers have questions, comments or even harsh critical review, take it into consideration. If more than one person points out similar flaws, it's a safe bet to rewrite again. Often the most simple things are logical errors or story holes. Every script is plagued by them. Maybe it was raining in a scene and your characters laugh about a sunny day. This happens easily, and it's easily fixed, but if it lands on a producer's desk, they'll think you're a clumsy amateur.

TV Contacts & Persistence

It took me months to get a pitch to The Dead Zone. I had been a professionally produced writer for a number of years by that point, however it still didn't mean I had Carte blanche with TV shows, quite the contrary. Until you become a really well known name in the business, you always have to prove yourself with a new TV series.

Get show contact information, and politely inquire about setting up a pitch. They'll want to know your background, if you have an agent or not, and when you can submit your spec. I was on the verge of getting a pitch meeting with The X-Files. Things were going nicely, but the script coordinator left, and I had to deal with a new person. It was like going back to square one. Ultimately, the show went off the air, so it solved my pitch problem.

Landing a TV pitch meeting isn't easy, but possible, if you're prepared, dedicated and enthusiastic. Don't let this last one go undervalued. Hollywood seems like an overwhelming, almost dream like place. It's just another industry. People who work there are just like you and me. They report to a job at say J.J. Abram's Fringe on FOX or Family Guy, and are proud of their work and co-workers. By providing an always energetic interplay when dealing with them, you'll brighten their day, and may impress them enough to be invited to trade story points with them in a pitch.

Good luck, good writing and good pitching!