Hopefully, you did what I recommended in the earlier discussions and got 'fresh eyes' particularly from other scriptwriters and or filmmakers (preferably some pro's mixed in there too!) If so, you also hopefully took their suggestions to heart and made reasonable revisions before finally putting the 'FADE TO BLACK' 'THE END' on your work.
So now with it 'really being done' and ready to be seen by industry pro's in the hopes someone will buy the damn thing (for why else did you write it?) you can send it off to be registered. Just so you know, excited as you will be at least wait until your certificate of registration comes in from the WGA before you start sending it out. Make sure your script is no longer than 120 pages long (that's a potential 2-hour film.) Don't forget to put your name, phone number address and e-mail (professional one not your personal) in the lower right hand corner of your cover page. If you've registered your script with the WGA, place your script's registration number beneath the other info.
All right now for the 'this is going to hurt' part. Ultimately, you want to sell your script. Preferably to the highest bidder and make a fair profit from the sale. That may happen, but rarely will it right out of the box. Yeah, yeah, there are plenty of stories about first-time scriptwriters who lucked up and got their first script into the hands of a big time director blah, blah, blah. Get it in your mind that shit is not going to happen to you. Even if by some stroke of divine lightning and the cosmos themselves being aligned something like that does happen and your script falls into the right hands it all depends on what the person(s) are looking for at the time.
The cold hard facts of trying to get your script to 'Hollywood' are; if you don't know anyone with any real connections in the industry, you're just an outsider and you'll stay that way. Even if you do know someone, they are not going to 'hook you up for free'. Scriptwriting is a business with the possibility of hundreds of thousands if not hundreds of millions of dollars at stake. Be prepared to have to cut some deals.
Other than you having to get over the 'just getting in the door' hurdle, there's that whole 'what's in fashion' thing to deal with. In the past decade, films about homosexuals, 'quirky' comedies, 'torture porn' and 'reality movies' were all the rage on the independent circuit. If it wasn't one of those genres, nobody was really hearing you let alone wanted to read your script dealing with anything else. Now it's remakes and super big budget 3D films and the indie circuit so prevalent in the '90's and 'Aughts' has died down. An unknown, unconnected and first-time scriptwriter's (if none of your scripts have ever been made, you're considered a 'first-timer' even if you sold one) best bet is the Independent Film Circuit.
Indie Producers and Directors are going to be the one's most likely to want to make your work into a film. Now before you get all starry-eyed, be advised; Most indies are just like you, struggling to get their name and work into the hands of the mainstream industry. So don't expect any 6-figure plus deals with these guys. Most likely you'll either sell the work outright for cheap or with a contracted back-end deal for more if the film gets picked up by a major outfit (be advised they'll probably try to stiff you on that.) Your other option is to become a Writer-Producer and go through the process of getting the film made yourself.
These are pretty viable options particularly since distribution isn't the issue it used to be. With the internet still the wide-open, wild-west boom town it is there are numerous options for getting your finished film seen and selling modestly. Now producing your film is a whole order of magnitude different a topic that may take an entirely separate group to cover. Yet, that is the option many scriptwriters including myself have taken. Similar to becoming an indie book publisher, becoming a producer to get your scripts made is a difficult but viable option.
So there you have it. It's not all that bleak mind you. Just like with writing novels, just writing the thing isn't going to be enough to get it to market. With scripts you'll need to go where the industry people are and network with them. Becoming a producer as well can give you an edge with indie filmmakers who may be more than interested in turning your script into a film. So go to film festivals, Scriptwriting Seminars/ workshops, conventions like the National Association of Broadcaster's Show(NAB), DV Expo and many other events. Go to the booths, chat with filmmakers as they either hawk their movie or are checking out filmmaking gear and hang out in the coffee/lunch area and make acquaintances with people working in the industry.
Of course not everyone you speak to will be what you need to get where you're going, but building a network of people in the biz does help. More often than not, it's that 'friend of a friend' who makes that fateful call to you as they remembered something you were working on and knows someone looking for just that. Those connections won't be made unless you get out there.
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