Sorry for being out. If you follow the blog regularly, you got a full dose of Sunil and newsletter archives. Charming as they both are, I thought I’d add my own splash of prose now that the fog has rolled in.
Ghiradelli chocolate, clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, triangles in the skyline, mist in the August air, and fog horns in the distance. It must be summer in San Francisco. And while San Francisco offers some of the finest in views and ethnic eats, it is also a hotbed for entrepreneurship. It made sense for one of the Scripped Guys to plant here for the summer.
Summer has gone by quickly. The days and weeks spent in this little breakfast nook with my computer, sipping on coffee bought at the marina mart down the street, working out the finer details of our scrappy screenwriting startup, have been lovely. I guess that’s why I wasn’t posting; it’s as though I didn’t even notice the time going by. It actually wasn’t until this morning when my very pretty roommate, the one who took me in for the summer, reminded me I haven’t posted in a month. Crazy, I thought. A month.
But that’s what happens between phone calls and drafts of PowerPoint presentations. Even companies promoting art need a business plan and investors. Nothing is cheap about starting a company, and when your founders are recent grad students under the age of 30, and not some 40 year old millionaires (like a few other startups we know), it’s tough. You sometimes get anxious. You sweat. And then you remember why you did it. It’s fun. You love your partners. The chase is a thrill. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll start to get paid.
But right now it’s not about the money. Not here with my coffee, looking out onto Scott and Chestnut. Not later today with my uncle and cousin on our way up to the family cabin. I am a firm believer that hard work and passion eventually pay themselves off. And Scripped has its share of millionaire friends, chipping in as needed.
So follow your heart and follow your art. The rest will take care of itself.
Blog Questions - Ask Eddie and Aaron and Creative Screenwritng Magazine!
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Contact us any time at: contact@scripped.com
Dear Writers:
Well, we promised you some big announcements, and here they are.
- Scripped has partnered with the makers of Movie Magic Screenwriter, an Academy Award-winning professional product that is the official software ofthe WGA-East. Get your coupon below!
- Two top professors from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television have offered to read scripts from the Scripped community. Details below!
- Scripped is also working with WordHustler, a fantastic new service that gives you FREE access to over 3,000 markets for your material.
- Eddie Burns wants your questions! Creative Screenwriting Magazine wants some too. Send your queries directly to Sunil, our humble CEO, at sunil@scripped.com.
- Want to know more about us? Join us on Facebook. And become a friend of Sunil.
Read on to get the skinny on these exciting developments.
Movie Magic - A Match Made in Hollywood
What if you could write online AND offline? What if it was easy to transfer your material between Scripped and professional packaged software?
We thought this would benefit writers tremendously, and so did the Write Brothers, makers of Movie Magic Screenwriter.
To get started, they created a coupon just for Scripped users. Click here and then click “Add to Cart.” Enter SCRIPPED01 in the Coupon or Gift Card field and receive an immediate discount on Movie Magic Screenwriter. If you’re a student or educator, call 1-800-84-STORY for academic rates and mention the coupon code.
We’re now working out how to forge ahead together, and the possibilities are very exciting. The [http://www.scripped.com/submission] Horror Collection we hosted last month was just one example of how our submission platform could be useful to movie studios.
This is an exciting moment for the screenwriting industry. We are proud to be leading the way!
UCLA Professors will Read Your Script
Richard Walter, the head of the UCLA screenwriting program, and another top professor agreed for a limited time to read your scripts and give detailed notes or in-person coaching!
Despite our haggling, they won’t work for free, but they are anxious to see what you’re made of. If you’re ready to be read by the best eyes in the biz, send an email to Sunil at sunil@scripped.com. Put “Richard Walter” or “Script Coach” in the subject.
The UCLA faculty will soon participate in other ways as well. We want to provide you with the means to succeed, and they can help you make it in Hollywood.
WordHustler - A New Button on My Scripts.
You may have noticed a new little W on your My Scripts page. The more adventurous of you may have even clicked on it. Here’s the scoop:
Scripped and WordHustler teamed up to allow seamless transfer between your account on Scripped and your portfolio on WordHustler. When you click on “Submit to WordHustler” for the first time you’ll be prompted to confirm your request to link accounts. If you don’t yet have a WordHustler account, you will be asked to create one.
From that point on, you can easily move PDFs between Scripped and WordHustler with just the click of a button. Once you’re in WordHustler, you have access to thousands of opportunities to submit your work!
And as always, for additional security, don’t forget to Vault it before you submit.
Questions? - Our Bloggers Want You.
We have new posts up at Eddie and Aaron’s blog and the Creative Screenwriting Magazine blog. For their next posts, both want to answer questions from you, the writers on Scripped.com. Send your questions to Sunil at sunil@scripped.com today!
Finally, Facebook.
Yes, we too have a Facebook page, and we’d like to add to the 100 “fans” who already joined us. If you have a Facebook account, please click here and then click “Become a Fan.”
To be Sunil’s friend on Facebook, you can click here and then click “Add as Friend” but make sure you mention Scripped. You’ll then join the throngs of other business school and college and various other friends. You can also peruse the pictures of Sunil with famous people at weddings.
Sorry this was a long one, but we have a lot going on. We hope you’re enjoying this ride as much as we are!
We noticed a hiccup in the Horror Collection submissions and need some of you to resubmit. We’re sorry for the inconvenience.
If you submitted on 7/18, 7/19, or 7/20, please go to http://www.scripped.com/submission and submit
your horror treatment again.
For everyone else, the Horror Collection ends today, 7/31!
Also, thanks to those of you who are already using our new Vault screenplay security service! We improved it based on your feedback and you can now secure your scripts with ease.
Start registering your material at http://www.scripped.com/vault.
For other updates or just to see what Sunil ate for lunch, check our blog at http://www.scripped.com/blog. We’ll try to keep it tasty.
Hey all, below is a press release that we issued this morning. We’re very, very excited to work with The Write Bros!
SCRIPPED AND THE WRITE BROS ANNOUNCE JOINT MARKETING AND TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIP
Partnership will extend Best of Breed Features and Technologies from Leading Web-based and Packaged Screenwriting Software
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Scripped, a new provider of Web-based screenwriting software and services based in Los Angeles, and Write Brothers® Inc., a Glendale-based publisher of the award-winning screenwriting software, Movie Magic® Screenwriter, today announced a strategic technology and marketing partnership that will change the way that screenplays are written and submitted to Hollywood.
Scripped.com and Write Brothers® will partner to provide aspiring writers both an online and an offline solution for their screenwriting software needs. Additionally, the two companies will leverage existing partnerships to help screenwriters take their works from concept to completion. The new partnership will entail:
Joint marketing/promotion of Scripped Writer and Movie Magic® Screenwriter
The ability to submit scripts via Scripped Inc.’s submission platform to proper Hollywood end destinations
Both companies will combat piracy – Scripped Inc.’s users, generally aspiring young writers, will have the ability to quickly transition to Movie Magic® Screenwriter at a lower cost.
Providing content that will be useful for aspiring screenwriters (both professionals and non-professionals).
“This is the first collaboration between a Web-based script writing company and a traditional scriptwriting software company and we’re excited to have the Write Bros’ as our client-side software partner,” said Sunil Rajaraman, CEO, Scripped.com. “Partnering with Write Brothers will dramatically shorten our time to market with new modules that enhance the screenwriting process and help both companies better connect all of the elements of the screenwriting value chain.”
“Expanding opportunities for Write Brothers clients and Scripped.com clients is at the heart of the partnership. We see a lot of potential,” said Chris Huntley, V.P., Write Brothers® Inc. “We’re excited about teaming up with Scripped.com. We think there are terrific opportunities to join the desktop generation with the Internet generation. It is win-win all around.”
In addition to joint technology development, Scripped and Write Brothers® will develop co-marketing programs to expand the use of their technology from screenwriters to other markets outside of the traditional Hollywood screenwriting value chain. The new integrated technology solutions are expected to be released by next year.
About Scripped.com
Founded in 2007, Scripped’s goal is to make screenwriting accessible to writers of all levels and provide the tools and community writers need to bring their ideas from inception to completion. Scripped aims to encourage and support the needs of all scripted content writers.
Scripped Inc. promotes the art of screenwriting by providing Scripped Writer, the first completely free web-based screenwriting software for writers. Scripped Writer is an innovative text editor that functions like a standard word processor but automatically formats and catalogs each screenplay element according to industry standards. Since its launch in January 2008, Scripped Writer has amassed a user-base of over 8,000 writers from all 50 states and over 50 countries. To try Scripped Writer, visit http://www.scripped.com. For additional corporate info and biographical information on the management team, please email us directly at contact@scripped.com.
About The Write Brothers
Since 1982, Write Brothers® Inc. (formerly called Screenplay Systems) has been a world leader in film and television screenwriting and production software. Since 1993, more than 80 percent of the Academy Award® nominations and 95 percent of the Emmy® awards went to companies and individuals that used Movie Magic Screenwriter or other software originally created by Write Brothers®.
Writer Brothers® is the first and the only creative team ever to receive an Academy Technical Achievement Award for screenwriting software. Thousands of Hollywood films and TV shows have been written and produced with Write Brothers®’ software.