Description:

Aspiring screenwriters don't need another book on how to write a screenplay, says Karl Iglesias. What they need is a book on how to be a screenwriter. Voilà: The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters , featuring interviews with 14 screenwriters, arranged by subject. The result reads like a panel discussion, touching on such subjects as collaboration, schmoozing, discipline, Hollywood, and story pitching. The dream of winning a Hollywood jackpot has lured everyone and his gardener into the screenwriting game. Still, despite the unencouraging odds, "all you need to do is write a good script," says Scott Rosenberg ( Beautiful Girls ). Some of the book's best advice concerns one of the screenwriter's most formidable getting a screenplay read. Submit it to film festivals and screenwriting competitions, or follow Tom Schulman's ( Dead Poet's Society ) advice and hire an entertainment attorney. After all, "most of them know a lot of agents." --Jane Steinberg