Includes index.

p. 1. Basics - your decision to go pro -- Section 101 : introduction to Tinseltown -- Section 103 : dealing with rejection -- Section 107 : fundamentals of relocating to L. A. -- p. 2. The script-to-screen process -- Section 207 : a glimpse into Hollywood screenwriting -- Section 215 : Specs and assignments -- Section 243 : pitches -- Section 245 : contracts -- p. 3. The Hollywood game and its players -- Section 301 : how to deal with movie studios -- Section 307 : studio executives -- Section 310 : producers -- Section 3226 : directors -- Section 327 : actors -- Section 329 : agents -- Section 330 : managers -- Section 331 : other key players behind the scenes -- p. 4. Ways into the Hollywood system as a screenwriter -- Section 401 : the social aspects of Hollywood -- Section 405 : solutions to obstacles -- Section 425 : the independent scene -- p. 5. Advanced career planning -- Section 501 : working the meeting to your fullest advantage -- Section 509 : screenwriting competitions -- Section 530 : alternative employement - the job-job -- p. 6. Extra credit -- Section 605: q&a -- Section 612 : resource list -- Section 627 : handy glossary of industry buzzwords.

Screenwriters, listen up! Breakfast with Sharks is not a book about the craft of screenwriting. This is a book about the business of managing your screenwriting career, from advice on choosing an agent to tips on juggling three deal-making breakfasts a day. Prescriptive and useful, Breakfast with Sharks is a real guide to navigating the murky waters of the Hollywood system. Unlike most of the screenwriting books available, here’s one that tells you what to do after you’ve finished your surefire-hit screenplay. Written from the perspective of Michael Lent, an in-the-trenches working screenwriter in Hollywood, this is a real-world look into the script-to-screen business as it is practiced today. Breakfast with Sharks is filled with useful advice on everything from the ins and outs of moving to Los Angeles to understanding terms like “spec,” “option,” and “assignment.” Here you’ll learn what to expect from agents and managers and who does what in the studio hierarchy. And most important, Breakfast with Sharks will help you nail your pitch so the studio exec can’t say no. Rounded out with a Q&A section and resource lists of script competitions, film festivals, trade associations, industry publications, and more, Breakfast with Sharks is chock-full of “take this and use it right now” information for screenwriters at any stage of their careers. -- Back cover