Every screenwriter who pursues this craft has fantasies about their “big break” and their glorious life after the one success. This alluring myth causes many screenwriters to believe it will catapult them to the top and everything will come easy after that. What do screenwriters consider their “big break?” For many it can mean securing representation with an agent or manager, for others it can mean selling a screenplay or a series, being hired for a staff writing position, or being hired for an assignment job. Usually it means your first paid, professional writing job that hopefully you can use to secure a next job.

As you probably have discovered, pursuing a screenwriting career to reach any level of success comes from years of writing and dealing with the struggle of criticism, rejection, and failure. Even when a screenwriter reaches their big break, they may not realize it can be the start of a new set of challenges, responsibilities, and higher-level expectations. Every screenwriter must define for themselves what their “big break” means. You will discover the longer you pursue a career, it becomes about timing — the right screenplay to the right producer in the right marketplace and not one “big break” but hopefully a series of breaks, one after the next without too much time in between.  

The “big break” myth can also easily set up screenwriters for disappointment because of their unrealistic expectations. Remember, Hollywood works on its own time, not yours and it may take longer than you can expect for any project to move forward. You will learn how different your expectations of “making it” can be from the reality of the film business when even a simple contract negotiation drags out for months. I think back to the days when I worked at a law firm for two years when the writing opportunities slowed down. During that period, I managed to secure a screenplay assignment job, wrote the drafts, and the film went into production, but the money was not enough to quit the firm, and I had to continue to work there. Was that film my big break? No, it was a break in a long series of similar breaks, but you should never underestimate the time between writing jobs. Many times, a deal does not fall into place when or the way you need, and even when I was hired to write screenplays, not every one of them made it into production. It becomes too easy for screenwriters to believe everything will soar just because of one break. Realize that after you complete the work, you now must get busy securing your next break.  

This highlights the importance of screenwriters honing their skills and working at the top of their game to be ready when an opportunity arises. What if you receive your big break and it comes when you may be ill-prepared to handle it? You could ruin your chances for success, and it may harm your image as a professional. What you thought was a golden ticket to Hollywood turns out to be a nightmare because of timing and your lack of experience. An example could be that you secure an agent or manager, but you do not have the ability to create a solid body of work, you do not pitch well, and you cannot write a screenplay under a strict deadline because you have not spent enough time training. Do not be too eager to put your work out in the marketplace until you can back it up with your writing ability and a solid body of material.

Any success in your screenwriting journey will come from the consistent, sustainable process of writing, rewriting, networking, building vital relationships, and growing as screenwriter. It becomes less about dreaming of a “big break” and more about trying to plant your flag on the field with a series of successes of various sizes that can sustain a career. If you overlook smaller projects or collaborations that you deem too small, any one of those might have led to your next important break. What happens if you land what you consider to be your “big break” only to discover it might not be as big as you expected? Disappointment arrives and you may feel ungrateful when you should be feeling humble and appreciative for the opportunity. Remember my humility when I had to stay working at the law firm even during the production of my screenplay? It took another year later to secure a new screenplay assignment that allowed me to finally quit the firm and never look back. Each new project becomes a steppingstone and opportunity even if it leads to a success or not. Also, if you only pursue that one “big break” it can diminish your smaller successes, and you need those to sustain your positive outlook over the long-haul journey.

If you look at your career pursuit from a bigger picture perspective, it can help elevate the anxiety and unnecessary pressure of pursuing the myth of the one “big break” to “make it.” It becomes more about the journey and not the destination as you pursue realistic, sustainable, long-term growth as a screenwriter. The key to reaching any level of success comes from how you navigate Hollywood’s trenches with your passion and tenacity while building a sustainable career from with an on-going series of breaks.

Keep the faith and keep filling your blank pages on your road to success.

Scriptcat out!

© 2025 Mark Sanderson. All rights reserved.

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It’s a long haul journey to reach any level of screenwriting success. If your passion drives you to embark on this crazy adventure of a  screenwriting career, you’ll need to prepare for survival in Hollywood’s trenches. Talent is important, but so is your professionalism and ability to endure criticism, rejection, and failure over the long haul. The odds may be stacked against you, but the way to standout in this  very competitive business is to create a solid body of work and build a reputation as a team player and collaborator. The rest is just luck — a prepared screenwriter who meets with an opportunity and delivers the goods. “A Screenwriter’s Journey to Success” will help you prepare for  your own journey with the necessary, tips, tricks and tactics that I’ve developed over the past twenty years of working in the film industry. It’s time to start living your dream as a screenwriter in Hollywood.

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“This is, if not a lifetime process, it’s awfully close to it. The writer broadens, becomes deeper, becomes more observant, becomes more tempered, becomes much wiser over a period time passing. It is not something that is injected into him by a needle. It is not something that comes on a wave of flashing, explosive light one night and say, ‘Huzzah! Eureka! I’ve got it!’ and then proceeds to write the great American novel in eleven days. It doesn’t work that way. It’s a long, tedious, tough, frustrating process, but never, ever be put aside by the fact that it’s hard.”—Rod Serling

“Seeking support from friends and family is like having your people gathered around at your deathbed. It’s nice, but when the ship sails, all they can do is stand on the dock waving goodbye. Any support we get from persons of flesh and blood is like Monopoly money; it’s not legal tender in that sphere where we have to do our work. In fact, the more energy we spend stoking up on support from colleagues and loved ones, the weaker we become and the less capable of handling our business.” —Steven Pressfield, “The War of Art”

“You must write every single day of your life… You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads… may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.”—Ray Bradbury