Breaking Into Television Writing: Disney/ABC Fellowship
May 11th, 2007 by DanO
The formula for getting work in television as a writer is:
Talent + Connections + Great Samples (Specs) = Work
So what if you’re new in town with the talent and the specs, but no connections? How do you possibly break in to the business if your Uncle Larry doesn’t run a network?
Three major studios in Hollywood have created writing fellowships to cultivate new talent like yours. All three have deadlines for submission looming the summer. Today, I’ll covering the basics of theprogram offered by Disney/ABC.
This is a year long fellowship where you will be put on an ABC/Disney show in production as a ‘Fellow’, as well as rework you submittied spec and write a second one. You will be paid $50,000 + benefits during that time since you will not be able to work outside the program. But you will make connections with working writers, producers, agents, studio and network development executives. And that is priceless.
Some high profile writers have received their start in this program including ‘Buffy’ and ‘Battlestar Galactica’ alumni Jane Espenson as well as Chuck Kim who currently writes on ‘Heroes’.
The deadline for submission of a spec drama script is July 1st. In October, they notfiy applicants who made it to the semi-final round. In November they interview the sem-finalists and in December they notify the handfull of finalists. The program starts in February 2008 and runs for a year.
They only accept spec scripts of shows currently on the air, not original pilots. Application forms, FAQ’s, Recommended Reading and other details can be found here at the ABC Talent Development site.
[...] The Disney/ABC TV Writing Fellowship deadline is in one week. If you haven’t started, now is the time to write your bio, a very important part of the selection process. Last week I found a link to last year’s bios and today I found the bios for the 2005 & 2006 winners. You can check them out by going to the Writing Fellowship home page, then click on the Gallery submenu. That will give you three years worth of bios to peruse. [...]
[...] The Disney/ABC TV Writing Fellowship has a critical requirement many writers haven’t come across before: you need to register your script before you submit it to them. Here are three commonly accepted ways to register your script. [...]