Loglines for Specs that Sold in 2012 (& What You Can Learn From Them)

The year-end market scorecard is out over at The Scoggins Report, and 132 spec scripts were sold in 2012. While this number feels depressingly low, it actually matches the 15-year high of 2011. Erik Bork has analysed the common features of the sold scripts in a great new article on ScriptMag:

The point of this post is not to discourage you – as you consider how many tens of thousands of scripts did not sell, so that these 132 could. My point is to offer a few observations about those scripts that sold, and especially about their content – as evidenced by the logline and genre information the “Scorecard” includes.

I think reading these loglines can be incredibly helpful for aspiring professional screenwriters, to get a sense of what makes a marketable concept. It’s one thing to hear that “a great logline is important, and the first thing to focus on.” Which is true. It’s another to read the actual loglines of scripts that actually sold, in the last year.

Quote of the Day: Laurell K. Hamilton

I always treated writing as a profession, never as a hobby. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will.