Wednesday 15 June 2022

Can You Write A Sitcom? YES, but careful now...

Last time, I looked at four reasons why you could write a sitcom.

Here are two things to bear in mind. I said there was money in it, but...

Reason to be Careful #1 There’s no money in it for a long time

Starting out takes ages and writers have to do a lot of leg work in those early stages.

And it takes a long time to learn your craft and find your feet.

My first years of earning were REALLY LOW – which was okay as I was unmarried, early 20s. I'd just been a student. I knew how to live cheap.

But if you already have commitments and obligations, you’re going to have to fit in in around all that.

On the plus side, if you’re older with more life experience, you’ve got more to write about. So every cloud has a silver lining.

Reason to be Careful #2 It’s REALLY competitive

I recently ran a script competition here in the UK, and we had nearly 900 entries.

The BBC Writersroom or BAFTA Rocliffe competition gets thousands. There’s a lot of people out there trying to write scripts.

But you’re not just competing about other aspiring sitcom writers. You’re also competing against actual sitcom writers – like me - as well as higher profile stand-up comedians and writer-performers who have already proved themselves and have a following.

But here’s one more reason to be cheerful before I tell you want to do next.

Reason to be Cheerful #5 A good script will get noticed

Why? Because most scripts aren’t very good.

Sitcom scripts are really hard to write. I just read hundreds for this script competition and getting it down twenty or thirty scripts was not that hard.

Write a really good script, and you will get noticed, get meetings and get interest.

And eventually work, and eventually some money.

Now you may think I'm dead wrong because your script’s not getting noticed. Well this is awkward… Do you want me to say it? Maybe your script’s not that good.

Why not start over?

If you want to do that, and you understand what you're getting into, can I recommend my course, Writing That Sitcom? It's launch is imminent, and you'll want to get in there, as there are bonuses for those who sign up early. Get on the mailing list for when it all drops and offers in the future.

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