Your Screenplay Career Is Built Wrong

Success isn’t about selling that million-dollar spec.

Brock Swinson
1 min readDec 5, 2024

Let’s explore how veteran screenwriter Mark Sanderson built a sustainable career in Hollywood… And the unconventional insights that emerged from his journey.

Here’s his practical approach to establishing a professional writing career:

1. The Five-Script Foundation

  • Your first five specs are training tools
  • Use them to develop your voice and style
  • Don’t expect early masterpieces — expect growth

2. The Assignment Reality

  • Assignment work powers professional careers
  • Most working writers thrive on assignments, not specs
  • Build skills that make you valuable for hire

3. Professional Discipline

  • Maintain a consistent five-page daily schedule
  • Train this muscle during spec writing
  • Prepare for contracted deadlines before they arrive

The game-changing insight: Success isn’t about selling that million-dollar spec. It’s about building sustainable practices and industry relationships that lead to consistent work.

Practical action steps:

  • Focus on producible, personal stories
  • Establish yourself in a specific genre
  • Cultivate relationships with production companies
  • Treat your entire life as writing research

Quick mindset shift: Stop thinking about competing with blockbusters. Instead, focus on creating compelling, producible stories that can serve as relationship builders in the industry.

Keep writing,

- Brock Swinson

P.S. Here’s my full audio interview with Mark Sanderson

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Brock Swinson
Brock Swinson

Written by Brock Swinson

I Help Creatives Get Their Most Ambitious Work into the World... https://www.brockswinson.com/home

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