Includes index.

Introduction / Linda Venis -- Section I: writing your one-hour television drama specs and pilots. Writing the on-air one-hour drama spec: the story and outline / Joel Anderson Thompson ; Writing the on-air one-hour drama spec: the script / Charlie Craig ; Writing the one-hour drama pilot / Richard Manning ; Revising one-hour drama specs and pilots / Matt Witten -- Section II: writing your half-hour television comedy specs and pilots. Writing the on-air half-hour comedy spec: the story and outline / Julie Chambers and David Chambers ; Writing the on-air half-hour comedy spec: the script / Julie Chambers and David Chambers ; Writing the half-hour comedy pilot / Phil Kellard ; Sitcom master class: creating comedy through character / David Isaacs -- Section III: being a professional in the television business. Launching and sustaining a television writing career / Alison Lea Bingeman ; The tv year / Richard Hatem.

What does it take to go from being a fan to professional television writer? For the first time outside of the UCLA Extension Writers' Programme classrooms, TV writers whose many produced credits include 'The Simpsons', 'House M.D.', and 'Pretty Little Liars' take aspiring writers through the process of writing their first spec script for an on-air series, creating one-hour drama and sitcom pilots that break out from the pack, and revising scripts to meet pro standards. Learn how to launch and sustain a writing career and get a rare, intimate look inside the yearlong process of creating, selling, and getting a TV show made