I have a great idea for a show. How do I find a writer?
Question from a paid subscriber
I have a great idea for a show!
How many times have I heard that statement?
In fact, I heard it just last week from someone I was having dinner with. I hear it so often that I can tell you with 99% certainty that they absolutely do NOT have a great idea for a tv show.
Take it from someone who develops TV shows for a living. It’s harder than it looks.
I wasn’t interested in hearing their pitch, so I tried to change the subject. But they would not be deterred.
So I listened… and guess what?
They did NOT have a great idea for a TV show.
What they had was an idea for a 3 minute sketch on Saturday Night Live. But it certainly wasn’t a TV show.
But on the 1% chance that the idea was actually good, here’s what I would have told them if they wanted to find a writer:
