I've been writing novels AND scripts for a couple years. My route was to a) learn the screenplay format/craft (from free online scripts and other guides), then b) submit scripts to some of the major contests out there - and there are a lot of them, but probably about 10 recognized and respected contests (like the Nicholl's Fellowship, Austin Film Festival, Scriptapalooza, etc). Once I placed well in a few - finalists, etc - that generated interest from managers and a few production companies. Got some meetings and representation. But even with that, I'm still pursuing that first option. In the meantime I did get a ghostwriting gig to write up a script for my manager's client, that earned some $. But I've found so far it's even harder to sell a script today than to sell a novel to a big publisher. Indie films are a possibility, and more open to new writers, but even that market has been very much near life-support in the past few years. Some signs that it's all coming back soon though...
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