TELEVISION WRITER

By Chris Doke

What you do

You and a group of other talented writers come up with a story for a TV show.

You write characters and plot for each episode that many people will see

Education

Getting a good education can be very helpful for an aspiring T.V. writer

Some schools in Ontario that offer good classes are: Humber college, The Toronto film school, Centennial college, Niagara college and Algonquin college

Get hands on Experience

Getting hands on experience will be a big help if you want to go into the industry

Try to become an assistant writer.

Most of the colleges in Ontario offer Co-op programs for those wanting to get writing experience.

Getting into the industry PT.1

Start writing two different scripts. One should be for your own original piece The other script should be for T.V. show that’s already on the air

This will show production companies that you are creative, and that you can write stories for someone else.

By doing this even if you own show isn’t picked up you could still be hired to write for another show

Getting the industry PT.2

Make sure the person editing your work will be honest with you. It is very important that you know what works in your script and what doesn’t.

This way when you do find someone in the industry who wants to see your script you’ll be able to send in your very best work.

When you write scripts make sure you have someone edit them for you.

Getting into the industry PT. 3

Move to Los Angles

Salaries

Salaries for writers varies depending on your role in the staff. They also make residuals.

Assistant writers make $3000 a week plus residuals.

Staff writers make $5000 a week plus residuals. They make an extra $20 000 -$30 000. for each episode they write a week

The salary for the head writer varies. If the show is okay then they will be paid a bit more then staff writers plus Residuals. If the show is a hit the head writer can make millions plus residuals.

Pros and cons

PROS CONS

You get to work with very talented people.

If your show is a hit you will make a lot of money.

You can also write for online shows, podcasts, and many other areas.

It is a very difficult business to get into.

Not every show is going to be a huge success.

You can sometimes be limited by TV. networks on what to write (censorship)

The End