Get it to the producer for whom it’s perfect

Believe it or not, it's not enough to write an amazing
screenplay. You still have to get it to the producer
who's ready to say "Yes" right now.

Most new writers think getting their idea to the producer is the key to success. But producers are buried under ideas and screenplays — they simply don't have the time (or money) to pay someone to write (or rewrite) yours. That's why they rarely accept unsolicited material — 99% of submissions are just not ready for serious consideration, so, statistically, it's not even worth looking at them.

But make no mistake — the entire film production process revolves around the screenplay, so producers will always need to find amazing new projects. It's a Catch-22, and they feel the struggle as much as you do.

So now that you've got a production-ready screenplay that’s actually aligned to their needs, you become the solution rather than a time-wasting problem. In the final phase of the process, you’ll map out a one-of-a-kind path to the producer for whom your production-ready project is perfect — a step by step path directly to the sale.

The Payoff Phase has
2 Movements:

1. Create a Marketing Strategy

   Just as you grew your story organically out of your idea back in the Focus Phase, you'll now use your production-ready screenplay as your starting point, to develop an irresistible, one-of-a-kind path to the sale. You'll create loglines, synopses, pitches, and so much more — in a way that makes it almost impossible for them to say No.

2. Move Forward as a Professional

   Finally, you'll map out the exact steps to the producer — the one that's perfect for you and your project — and discover ways to reach them that have no competition. If you've done everything throughout this system, you're in a league of your own now. And as you snap the final puzzle pieces into place, you'll even discover how to adapt this system the next time through to your unique personality, to carve out a professional screenwriting career built upon the very thing that makes you an original.

When you've completed the Payoff Phase, you'll have a clear path to the sale that's specific to you and your project.

You'll also know the next steps to take, how to determine the areas you need to grow and improve, how to carve out a voice that only you could ever have (so you'll have no competition), how to use other screenwriting tips, tricks and formulas to amplify this system (and vice versa), and how to launch and grow your professional career.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn, do, and master in the Payoff Phase

It would be impossible to list everything included in this phase, but here's a small taste of what's in store:

• How to create loglines that really grab the producer (and the mistakes almost every writer makes that destroy their chances)
• How to design a marketing plan they can't say No to (even if they don't buy your script, they'll want you)
• How to get an agent (yes, really — there is a right way)
• How your project's title will make or break your career, and how to create stunning original titles that open doors
• How to write a one-page synopsis that hooks them, and makes them eager to read your screenplay
• How to query different types of people (and the mistakes to avoid)
• How to pitch your project (and how to avoid the verbal blunders that make them tune out)
• How the screenwriter's deal works (so you don't sound like an amateur when the big day arrives)
• Why you'll always waste money on script assessment services if you use them before you've mastered this process (and when investing in them can work in your favor)
• How to win screenwriting competitions (and why you'd want to when most competition-winning screenplays will never sell)
• How to find and connect with producers and production companies (even when they're trying to avoid writers)
• How to grab your target's attention in 30 seconds or less (guaranteed) without being intrusive
• How the order in which you hook them is key to your success (and which order actually works)
• How to be sure you're ready before you knock on doors (knock too early, and you're just like everyone else)
• Why every successful writer gets their big break in a different way, and how to learn from others to find your unique way
• How to avoid looking desperate (and why most writers don't even realize they do)
• How to determine what producers are really looking for — without asking (or when even they can't put it into words)
• How to expand your network, even if you're an introverted recluse (and why it's absolutely necessary to your success)
• How thinking beyond Hollywood will help you in Hollywood (and how "writing for Hollywood" may be killing your career)
• Why technology is transforming every corner of our industry, and how to spot the unlimited opportunities it's creating (it's the greatest time in history to be a screenwriter, and almost no one is taking advantage of it)
• How film industries work in other countries (and why it's vital to know, if you really want a pro screenwriting career)
• How to analyze yourself objectively and spot your strengths and weaknesses (so you know exactly how to position yourself)
• How to carve out a career that has no competition (hint: you have to tap into what's special about you — which you'll have mastered if you've completed the earlier phases)
• How (if you've done all the steps up to this point) this system has made professional skills intuitive — and how it will transform every project you write from this point forward
• How to create powerful marketing plans in minutes, and blast through the steps of the Payoff Phase in days on every future project
  
  ...and we haven't even scratched the surface!
  
  
  

We turned all that
into this:

A marketing plan as unique as you, step by step.

With a screenplay they can actually use (and pro quality alignment skills), you become a problem-solver — an asset rather than a nuisance. The Payoff Phase guides you step by step from a market-ready screenplay all the way to the sale. You'll build a marketing plan that's unique to you and your project, and carve out a professional career.

The Payoff Phase literally pays off everything we've set up throughout the process. Many writers want this information first, but if you attempt to connect to the industry before you have an industry-ready project, you'll kill your own chances and contribute to the producer's problems (digging through screenplays they can't use).

For this reason, it is strongly suggested that writers complete each of the prior phases of this system before examining the Payoff Phase. Misuse of principles in this phase (or use before the writer is ready) will have the opposite effect on one's career. (It's not about "tricks" for connecting to the producer; it's about giving them something they can actually buy.) Take your time and create a production-ready screenplay first, and the Payoff Phase will snap the "whole picture" of this system into place, enabling intuitive mastery of the professional screenwriting process.

 

Now... you can do the whole system within weeks

The final revelation in FAST Screenplay is how the system snaps together as a whole. Creative writing is an intuitive process, yet FAST Screenplay is designed to break that process down into bite-sized chunks. It's like videotaping a pro golfer's swing — you'll study its nuances in slow-motion, and then practice each nuance (but using this metaphor, you're doing it as you're playing the game). Once you've mastered all the little nuances, you'll start swinging at full speed.

The first time through FAST Screenplay, you're learning the system. But it's impossible to learn something and master it at the same time. So when the final pieces snap into place at the end of the Payoff Phase, you'll see how every step of the entire system snaps together — enabling you to "fly through" a system of mastery on every future project in your mind before you ever write a word.

It's in this way that you'll develop the intuitive mastery required for a professional career. And that's when FAST lives up to its name.