What do you think of screenwriting market websites like InkTip? Are they really effective as they claim to be?
Let me state upfront that I am familiar with InkTip, but only on a cursory level of bumping around the Web re all things screenwriting. I don’t know anybody in the outfit, nor do I feel at all knowledgeable enough to recommend them. Instead what I did was use this question as an opportunity to do some fact-finding, i.e., nosing around the InkTip website.
Basically InkTip acts as an intermediary between non-represented writers and “qualified producers, directors, agents, managers, and name actors.” It’s not surprising that an outfit like InkTip has come into existence for — as I’m sure each of you know — access to Hollywood insiders is a significant issue for writers outside the system.
There are two categories for registration: “Entertainment Professionals” and “Screenwriters & Authors.”
Re InkTip’s claims: On their Google page there is this description:
Every week, up to eight screenwriters sell or option their scripts on our site.
But then on their price information page, they state:
InkTip’s services yield 3-4 closed deals per week, with 1 feature film produced per month! These closed deals include writers picked up for representation, writers hired, scripts optioned and scripts sold.
So that’s feels a bit slippery right off the bat: 8 screenwriters on their Google come-on page, 3-4 “closed deals” when you drill down to their actual website.
There is a short video on the home page that provides a tutorial of what InkTip does. In it, they note two examples of “Entertainment Professionals”: One is producer Tim Estep. The video notes that after using InkTip, “Tim went on to produce the award-winning ‘Familiar Strangers.’” That is true: Tim did produce a movie called Familiar Strangers. Here’s the IMDB plot summary:
“Familiar Strangers” asks the question. “Is it really possible to relate to ones parents and siblings after being replaced by the family dog? . . . Perhaps as friends – weird friends?” An off beat – funny – heartfelt story of family negotiating the changing relationships between parents and children, especially as those children grow into adulthood.
As per award-winning, there’s this. Also note the movie, which had an estimated production budget of $1M, grossed $30, 341 at the box office in 3 screens at its peak. With cable and international deals along with DVD, it may make a profit – who knows.
Re Tim Estep: Familiar Strangers marked his producing debut as he has two previous credits as a location manager and one as a production assistant.
No knock on Mr. Estep who very well could be on his way to a stellar producing career, or Familiar Strangers which gets some nice compliments per IMDB reviewers, but it does make me wonder why InkTip would use them as examples in their tutorial if there are other bigger name producers and movies they’ve successfully provided “screenplay facilitation” for.
Or to put it cynically: Is this the best InkTip could do to promote their product?
Then there’s the agent to whom the tutorial refers Amy Wagner from Abrams Artists Agency. Ms. Wagner was busy with InkTip in 2008, signing three writers who used its services:
Scribe Jed Rigney has signed with Abrams Artists Agency, after Amy Wagner discovered him through InkTip. He is now working with Ron Gwiazda and Amy Wagner (out of the New York office of Abrams Artists Agency), who are representing all of his screenplays. — April 17, 2008Amy Wagner and Ron Gwiazda of the New York office of Abrams Artists Agency have signed an agreement to represent wordsmith Douglas Rappaport’s script “One Day the Weatherman” (based on his novel of the same name) after discovering it through InkTip. — May 8, 2008
Amy Wagner and Ron Gwiazda of Abrams Artists Agency discovered yet another great script on InkTip! After Wagner saw Rosa Turner Boschen’s logline for the family comedy “All I Want for Christmas,” she read the script and signed the writer within 24 hours. — November 20, 2008
You can see more details on these InkTip deals as well as others here.
Abrams is a legitimate agency with offices in New York and Los Angeles. However a quick check of spec scripts sold during 2008 reveals none of them were repped by Abrams Artists Agency.
Re pricing for writers’ services: InkTip offers various platforms to promote your script: An “Executive Index Script Listing,” a magazine listing, a newsletter listing, and so on with pricing ranging form $40 per logline to $60 for 6 months. Go here for more information.
Bottom line, I don’t think you can reasonably assume that if you, as a writer, use InkTip’s services you will have access to CAA, ICM, UTA, WME or any other top-tier agencies as I doubt they would feel the need to register with InkTip. Rather you would be more likely to have your material read by hungry young agents from smaller, boutique agencies or start-up management companies. Nothing wrong with that, just go in with your eyes open.
Just to reiterate. I’m not recommending InkTip. And I’m not not recommending them. I will ask any GITS readers who have used InkTip to provide their feedback in comments.
UPDATE: Got an email from InkTip which included this clarification:
I read your blog post on InkTip–well researched. We do average between 6 and 8 options, sales, hires or reps per week (depending on the time of year), so thank you for pointing out the relic verbiage on our pricing page from yesteryear.
Hey, anybody who uses words like “relic verbiage” in an email is all right by me!
very insightful. Thanks! I hope that other screenwriters who may have sold their specs through InkTip, will chime in here.
cheers.
I used to be repped by Abrams, and while they have offices in LA, they don't have literary offices in LA, just for acting … Lit was mainly a nyc office … though that may have changed since I left them (they brought on a lot of new agents, both Amy and Ron weren't at Abrams when I was there … ironically enough, Ron repped me as a playwright when he was with Rosenstone-Wender, before I moved to Abrams) …
If I know this issue, Scott – this thread is going to get really interesting.
Just to throw in my hat before everybody else does, I think these services can be a real lose-lose for writers. The only value the service has is in the value of the work you bring to it. And even then there's still a lot of ambiguity. If the service stinks, it's not that the service actually doesn't work, it's that your work sucks. If your work is brilliant and (as brilliant work would in any other method) it brings you some kind of industry attention – the service works. I don't see how that's any different than those agencies that want cash up front.
There are other "query" services that provide greater transparency if you're looking to drop fifty to a hundred dollars, and they don't make you sign a two-page contract giving them explicit rights to use you as a marketing tool should your work ever snag a sale.
…and just fyi, from someone who has worked in data mining; if you want to know the real dirt on any service, try what I call the "fuck or sucks" method. Go into Google and in quotes search "Fuck Inktip" or "inktip sucks". You'd be amazed at what you can floating around the web this way.
It's like everything else, it won't work for most people, but it will for some. That's life. I know a guy who had some luck with it and got a really cool horror produced. I think there short scripts section is great. I sold a short horror through there to a promising filmmaker. Got nothing bad to say about inktip. There's no silver bullets in this industry only werewolves.
People can familiarise themselves with the kind of business inktip does by signing up to their free newsletter which sends out usually around 6-8 leads per issue in the form of "Company A is looking for a family-oriented holiday film…" etc etc. You have to pay to subscribe to the version that tells you who Company A is. Most of the stuff that passes through seems pretty low grade, more options than actual deals etc., but there do seem to be people making useful contacts and getting paid work out of it. I subscribed one time to find out about one of the leads, only to discover that the producer had two credits both of which were critical duds. The leads never seem to match up with what I'm working on (and a lot are for Canadian writers only for tax reasons), and so I haven't renewed. Waste of money for me, but not necessarily for others I'm sure, and I don't doubt their 'legitimacy'.
I'll echo what terraling says. I still receive Inktip's free newsletter, but most of the opportunities don't apply to what I'm writing. But, on the other hand, I've been inspired to try other genres based on some of the requests I've seen.
I did subscribe to the paid newsletter for three months. I found a couple of opportunities that matched what I was doing, but I didn't receive any script requests.
I would recommend the free newsletter, which is a snapshot of what's going on with smaller and indie production companies.
If you see a lot of requests in the free newsletter for the type of scripts you've written (or are writing), then maybe try out the paid newsletter.
Remember, any time money is requested… do your homework.
I also get the free e-newsletter and I would reiterate what's already been said — far too many requests for Canadian writers, for female leads, for scripts with less than 6 characters or limited to just one or two locations…
Clearly, most of the leads in the Inktip e-newsletter are for independent driven screenplays or for independent producers looking to throw out a very small amount of cash with the hope of making a little more back.
With that said, I just won the Creative World Awards screenplay contest and one of the many prizes is a free 12-month subscription to Inkip. So I guess I'll be discovering the what they really have to offer in the coming months. Hopefully, something will come of it. Either way, I'll update here.
I have some experience from InkTip.
I have listed one of my feature scripts there and it wasn't asked for even once. This was observed by their admins and they tried to help me find more fitting categories. But that particular listing ended up as a waste of money.
They have a service for short scripts as well and what I listed here (three short scripts) was asked for several times, although nothing sold (but that isn't InkTips fault).
Old thread now, but worth mentioning greenwriter.org has now gone public and has the opposite business model to inktip: they charge industry access to screenplays which writers get to upload for free.
The site will doubtless be flooded with content, but will professionals want to pay for access to the slush pile?
Check out their terms of service if thinking of using them, esp #9 which for all the materials (screenplay, loglines etc etc) you upload to the site "you automatically grant to Greenwriter and its affiliates an irrevocable, royalty-free, perpetual, fully paid non-exclusive right (including moral rights) and worldwide license to use, copy, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, communicate to the public, perform, display, and distribute such Content (in whole or in part) on the Site."
That's enough to put me off for the time being at least. At least inktip makes no claims on your work.