Screenwriting Blog: How To Get Free Publicity – Danek Kaus Reveals Secrets

 

So let’s say that you followed all of the advice in my book, The Story Solution: 23 Actions All Great Heroes Must Take, and have actually written the great American screenplay. Now how do you go about getting the attention of producers, agents and investors who can help transform that screenplay into a big screen success?

One skill I recommend that every screenwriter should know about is how to market effectively. In his book You Can Be Famous! Insider Secrets to Getting Free Publicity, author 
Danek Kaus reveals all the secrets you need to know. Dan is an author, journalist, publicist, copywriter and ghostwriter. He has published hundreds of articles in about 75 newspapers and magazines, and dozens of websites. His publicity clients have been featured in such media outlets as USA Today, CNN, The New York Times and hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV shows. He is the co-author of Power Persuasion: Using Hypnotic Influence to Win in Life, Love, and Business. If you want to advance your career as a screenwriter, this book will help create the name recognition that can make things happen.

Just suppose you could appear on a national television talk show to discuss your screenplay. What would that mean to you? Or imagine a great article on you in the local paper. Do you think that would help attract the attention of those in the business? You Can Be Famous reveals:

• The benefits and types of fame
• The 10-second rule
• How to attract the media’s attention and become a media darling
• How to talk to journalists
• What you should (almost) never say to a journalist
• The kinds of stories the media want most
• How to do a national publicity tour without leaving home
• How to get on TV talk shows
• TV interview tips form the Seinfeld TV show dialogue coach

There are even Question and Answer sessions with journalists who tell you how to get them interested, and what approaches turn them off. Visit Amazon.com to view the Table of Contents and first few pages so you can see for yourself how getting free publicity might be able to help jumpstart your screenwriting career.

Learn More About Screenwriting: I’m sharing my screenwriting secrets with members of the Palm Springs Writers Guild at their monthly meeting on Saturday, April 5, 2014. In a presentation entitled, “Cracking Screen Story Structure,” I’ll discuss my original concept of a “Hero Goal Sequences” story paradigm that can be used to build dynamic screen stories and keep producers and audiences glued to their chairs.

About The Story Solution:  The Story Solution was written by accomplished screenwriter Eric Edson. It reveals the 23 actions used to create dynamic, three dimensional heroes and link all parts of a captivating screenplay. He also covers screenwriting tips, screenwriting resources, and screenwriting books. Visit the website and Facebook page for more information.

Eric Edson has written seventeen feature screenplays on assignment for such companies as Sony, Warner Brothers, Disney, 20th Fox, ABC Motion Pictures, Lifetime, Showtime, NBC, and TNT. He has also written for episodic television. He is Professor of Screenwriting and Director of the Graduate Program in Screenwriting at California State University, Northridge, and lectures through the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, the largest screenwriter training center in the world. Eric holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Screenwriting and Film Directing from The American Film Institute, and a Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting from UCLA. He also earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English at UCLA. Eric has been a member of The Writers Guild of America since 1981. He lives in Calabasas, California. Eric can be reached at: eric@thestorysolution.com

 

 

Screenwriter Eric Edson Speaking At Story Expo on September 6th, 2013

Los Angeles, CA June 12, 2013 – Screenwriter and university professor Eric Edson will offer a completely new approach to writing powerful scripts to attendees of Story Expo 2013.

On September 6 – 8, 2013, Story Expo brings together over 60 Speakers, 100+ classes and 30+ exhibitors for what is being called, the ‘screenwriting and scriptwriting event of the year.’

Held at the Westin Hotel LAX, Los Angeles, CA, Story Expo is the biggest story conference and exhibition for screenwriters, TV writers, novelists, journalists, graphic novelists, fiction writers, comic book writers and more. Attendees will benefit by learning how and where a story is best told to achieve its greatest success both creatively and financially.

Eric Edson will present four seminars on two topics; “Cracking Screen Story Structure” and “14 Character Categories in All Screen Stories.” Each seminar will last approximately an hour and a half. In these seminars, Eric will cover the 23 interlocking actions used in every successful movie to create dynamic heroes and emotion-filled plots, and 14 character categories that simplify story building for screenwriters.

Eric Edson has written seventeen feature screenplays on assignment for companies including Sony, Warner Brothers, Disney, CBS, and Showtime, as well as writing for episodic television. He is author of the book “THE STORY SOLUTION: 23 Actions All Great Heroes Must Take,” and Director of the Graduate Program in Screenwriting at California State University, Northridge.

Confirmed Speakers as of April 2, 2013: Syd Field, John Truby, Dov Simens, Michael Hauge, Eric Edson, Steve Kaplan, Rex Pickett, Christopher Vogler, Ellen Sandler, Arnold Shapiro, Jeremiah Comey, Pilar Alessandra, Father Steve, Jennifer Grisanti, Richard Hatem, Chad Gervich, Leslie Lehr, Lee Jessup, Pamela Jaye Smith, Troy Devolld and many more.

A few classes being offered include, The Essence Of A Hero, Cracking Screen Story Structure, The Art Of Film Acting, Novel Writing 1 & 2, Budgeting & Scheduling Your Film, The Spec Script, Creating Your Own Reality Show, The Director & The Script, Writing The Query Letter, Building A Screenwriting Career, Building A Novel Writing Career, Social Media Marketing & Crowd Funding, Entertainment Law Crash Course For Writers, Distributing & Profiting From Your Film, The Hidden Tools Of Comedy, Scifi-supernatural-horror Class, Story For Journalism And Tv News, The Glory Of Story (spiritual), Writing Sideways And Adapting It For The Stage, Organic Storytelling and The Writer’s Room.


Registration for Story Expo is now open and tickets are expected to sell out quickly at $249. Rooms at the Westin Hotel LAX (our venue) are $109/night. For more information visit http://www.StoryExpo.com or call 800-814-0544

Eric Edson Highlights 3 Valuable Screenwriting Software Packages

“…Are you leveraging the immense power of screenwriting software?”

In recent years, significant advancements in screenwriting software technology have enabled screenwriters all over the world to reach higher levels of productivity.  Screenwriting software, in many respects, has set the standard for the industry by providing many shortcuts and formatting advantages for screenwriters at all levels. 

In an effort to assist our fine community of screenwriters, we decided to review several well known screenwriting software packages this month.  Each of the software we reviewed provides a unique set of features, tools and resources for TV screenwriting, scriptwriting, playwriting, book writing, and screenplay writing.

Final Draft (Available at Writer’s Store)

Final Draft combines powerful word processing with professional script formatting in one self-contained package. There’s no need to learn about script formatting rules; this innovative program automatically paginates and formats your script to Industry standard as you write.  Final Draft was specifically designed for writing movie scripts, television episodes and stage plays.  This program’s ease-of-use and time-saving features have attracted professional writers for almost two decades, including Academy®, Emmy® and BAFTA® award-winning writers like Oliver Stone, Tom Hanks, Alan Ball, J.J. Abrams, James Cameron and more. 

From the Writer’s Store website, those interested in more information about this program can watch a tutorial that outlines the key features of this creative screenwriting tool.  The helpful screenwriting tips highlighted throughout the program, along with detailed and easy-to-use formatting functions, make this program a must-have for any screenwriting or scriptwriting professional.

Several price-points are available for the Final Draft software package, with upgrade options starting at $63.20 (sale price through January 31, 2013), and outright purchase options at $169 (also good through 1/31/2013 for most versions).  Box sets are available with specialty applications, including a “Platinum” package, and a special edition for studios and WGA applications.

MasterWriter (Available at Writer’s Store)

“MasterWriter is an absolute necessity for today’s creative writer.”

~Robert Zemeckis, Writer/Director, Back to the Future, Forrest Gump

MasterWriter is truly amazing.  This software package is essential for the novice screenwriter, offering a comprehensive word reference for any kind of writing.  This superb tool guides the user toward the right word or phrase for every situation, and helps the writer express himself or herself in a unique, meaningful way.

MasterWriter is an unlimited source of ideas pre-inspiration, and an invaluable tool during the creative process. Its most important role may be post-inspiration, when finding a better way or a more creative way to describe something, which can be the difference between good and great.

MasterWriter offers several unique features, with an amazing array of searchable reference dictionaries, that together provide scriptwriting, screenwriting, and book writing professionals  with everything they need in one easy-to-use program, including:

• Word Families—A unique and revolutionary reference dictionary that will open up a new world of possibilities for descriptive words and ideas
• Parts of Speech—A comprehensive list of descriptive words, with various filters including alliterations, that allow the writer to be more specific
• Phrases—A collection of over 33,000 phrases, sayings, idioms, and word combinations
• Rhymes—The ultimate Rhyming Dictionary with over 100,000 entries, 36,000 Rhymed-Phrases, and the most comprehensive list of Close Rhymes ever created. Rhymes from our Pop-Culture Dictionary are also included
• Pop-Culture—A Pop-Culture Dictionary with over 11,000 icons of American and World Culture
• Dictionary—The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary with 165,000 entries, 225,000 definitions, and 10,000 new words and senses
• Thesaurus—The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Thesaurus with over 340,000 synonyms, antonyms, related and contrasted words, and idioms

Screenwriting professionals often work under severe time constraints, making it difficult to find just the right word or phrase to make a scene pop.  MasterWriter will instantly provide all the possibilities, and from this rich source of descriptive words, the writer can find new and colorful ways to develop their storyline.  The MasterWriter software package is truly a must-have for any professional screenwriter, and can be a valuable resource for just about anyone interested in creative writing.  MasterWriter is available from Writer’s Store for $189 (boxed edition or download).

CharacterWriter (Available at Writer’s Store)

Complex and compelling characters are the key element in any truly great story.  In Fact, any elementary screenwriting course will focus a significant amount of the total course curriculum on character development.   CharacterWriter was specifically designed to assist professional screenwriters, scriptwriters, book writers, and others interested in creating believable, bankable characters.  Users can quickly create characters that connect with Character Writer 3.1, a development program that combines the power of the Enneagram personality-typing system with story-generating tools to help screenwriters create fully realized characters and perfectly organized plots, all in one easy-to-use interface.

Character Writer offers 70 complex types of characters, and offers a unique “Psychology” section, which allows the user to browse a large list of traits based on the American Psychiatric Association’s distinguished DSM-IV manual.  Writers can then generate full profiles as a starting point for building out the plot and world their characters will inhabit.

Character Writer also includes a built-in generator and organizer. Once the basic story structure and story skeleton have been established, the writer can edit, develop and organize it until it’s perfect.  CharacterWriter’s “Writing Mode” keeps the program in the corner of the screen to make notes about characters and have their traits and behaviors at the user’s fingertips.  Whether the writer is working in Final Draft, Microsoft Word, or any other writing and formatting tool, they always have access to their character profiles throughout the writing process.   CharacterWriter is available for download at $69.99, or as a box set (Windows only) for $74.99.

Part of our commitment to excellence includes serving our readers with a vast network of resources and specialists. It’s our hope that this review will help you connect with very best resources for TV writing and screenplay writing.  We hope this information save you a bit of time and energy when researching the top writing software and assists you in making an informed decision.

Do you have a favorite writing software that serves you well? Share your thoughts and comments in the form below. We would love to hear your insights.