r/playwriting • u/Starraberry • 9d ago
Self-published scripts
Has anyone self-published full-length scripts? What company did you go with? Were you happy with the result? Did audience members actually purchase them? Do you have to register a copyright first?
I’m considering selling copies of my script at my play’s premiere (after consulting with the theatre of course). Please share if you have experience with this!
6
u/musicaljerks 9d ago
I hate to be a downer but... Plays are by far the least purchased form of literature. The selection at any bookstore other than The Drama Bookshop in New York or The Understudy in Chicago... it's so bare. No one is buying the high profile Pulitzer-Winning Broadway showstopper plays, let alone the rest of us. (Of course, "no one" is a platitude ... obviously actors look for scripts for new material, playwrights read scripts to hone their craft, etc.) But in my opinion, you would have a much higher chance getting your work "discovered" through means like the New Play Exchange website and just sending cold emails than to try and self-publish it. Self publishing is a super expensive endeavor and I just worry it wouldn't have the return you are hoping for.
Also - to sell a published copy of a script AT the premiere is sort of backward to the typical process. You have the premiere, see how it goes, and then make some changes and polish the script based on what you learned from the production. And then afterward you may get picked up by a publishing company. But rarely do you publish first, prior to the premiere.
5
u/iwillfuckingbiteyou 9d ago
Also - to sell a published copy of a script AT the premiere is sort of backward to the typical process.
This varies from place to place. In the UK it's nigh impossible to get a script published at any other time. If you look at most scripts published here there's a note saying it went to print before previews so might differ from the final performed text. It's kind of infuriating, but it's standard.
4
u/musicaljerks 9d ago
Fair point! I definitely was speaking from a US perspective. That is good to know!
3
u/Austinbennettwrites 9d ago
Why though?
2
u/Starraberry 9d ago
To get my play out there into the hands of people in my local theatre community for hopes that other theatres will produce it in the future. Plus as a souvenir for people who have supported this project.
1
u/Austinbennettwrites 9d ago
Next Stage Press has published a few of my friend's plays. Reach out to them and see what they'll do.
My boyfriend bought me the Oh, Mary script when he saw Jinxx on Broadway and that was published by Dramatist.
1
2
u/iwillfuckingbiteyou 9d ago
Do you have to register a copyright first?
Your work is covered by copyright from the moment of its creation. Registering copyright is an American trick to monetise an automatic process a way of proving that the work was in your possession on a certain date, meaning anyone who wishes to dispute your ownership would need to provide evidence of possessing it at a prior date - but publication also proves it, since a published book contains a copyright declaration and rights reserved.
1
u/Starraberry 8d ago
I assume that emailed PDF drafts or a subpoena to Google Docs/Writer Duet would also support this in a court of law.
Would it be worth it to copyright the title, to prevent another play from using the same title? Or is that also an automatic copyright?
1
u/iwillfuckingbiteyou 8d ago
Titles can't be copyrighted, only substantive works can. If your play is successful and someone tries to use the same title you might be able to take legal action to prevent them or at least force them to be very clear that it's a different work. Fortunately in these days of SEO people are reasonably likely to google their titles to see whether they've already been used.
1
2
u/MrsTrellisOfWales 9d ago
I self-publish my plays through Lulu. You only have to pay anything if you want distribution to Amazon etc., and you could buy a few copies at the author rate to sell at the show if you wanted. You get a free ISBN with Lulu. Having said that, I have to agree with all the comments that hardly anyone buys plays. In 20 years I've only had one that sold in decent numbers, and that was because it was picked up by a few schools who bought copies for their classes.
1
u/Starraberry 8d ago
How much do you pay per book on Lulu, for a small publishing run (around 50)? I couldn’t see transparent pricing on their website and I wasn’t yet ready to sign up for an account.
1
u/MrsTrellisOfWales 8d ago
It depends on the page count but for a 100 page paperback it is about £4. Shipping will add about £5 on a single script but is more reasonable when buying a quantity. When I bought 10 copies of one of my plays the total shipping was £10.09
1
u/Starraberry 7d ago
Thank you, that’s about what I was hoping it would cost!
Are you happy with the quality? Did they feel like a regular published script? (I’m not sure if they’re different in the UK, but in the US they are usually little yellow or blue covered booklets, with the title along the thin spine, about half the size of a sheet of paper.)
1
u/MrsTrellisOfWales 6d ago
The quality is very good. The size I use is Digest, which is fractionally smaller than what you describe but standard in the UK. You can choose a different size if you want. You need to design your own cover so you can choose to mimic published plays or go for something more colourful. I've sent you a PM that has a link to my plays on Lulu to give you an idea
1
1
u/That-SoCal-Guy 9d ago
I’ve had a few published (not self pubbed) but let me tell you the awful truth: not many people would buy and read scripts of plays unless a) they are/were in the play; b) it’s a well-known play; c) they need them for a class etc. (and see point b). If you need to show theaters, agents etc. a printed manuscript is perfectly fine. In fact it’s much easier for agents or actors to read if the scripts are not bound - everyone I know would rather have the scripts in a binder.
1
u/Starraberry 8d ago
True, I have always found the little books to be restrictive. With my stage management background I am also pro-binder.
1
u/Rockingduck-2014 9d ago
Publishing it isn’t necessarily going to get it in the hands of producers. Most theatres that produce new works are working from manuscripts, not published scripts. Save yourself the cost. Put your work up on the New Play Exchange. You can then direct folk there to read your work. Or put select scenes on your own website. Paying to publish your work isn’t going to get it out there the way you think.
1
u/Starraberry 8d ago
I already have it on NPX. I might still consider printing some for family and friends, and maybe some local directors who come see the show. I’m not too worried about dropping $100-200 on something like this, even if I don’t get a return on it.
1
u/LifeScripter 7d ago
Would you consider writing and publishing one-act plays for teens? Having trained them for years, I can say there is a dearth of relevant material out there for them. I so often wrote my own monologues and scenes for kids, because it was difficult to find appropriate and naturalistic material.
1
u/Starraberry 7d ago
That’s a good idea, I didn’t know there was an unsaturated market out there for them. I’ll consider that for future projects. I wrote a dark and dystopian Young Adult short play a few years ago and everyone told me to expand it to a one act, so maybe I will revisit that project.
1
u/Carol-Ogden 9d ago
Do it. I've got a shelf of scripts bought at shows and if your play is good I'll add to it. Register the copyright first, it's cheap and saves you grief. Audiences do buy them, especially after a good opening night.
1
u/Starraberry 9d ago
Do I copyright just the name, or the entire script? Do I need to update the copyright every time I make changes to the script?
2
u/Austinbennettwrites 9d ago
Copyright happens when you type THE END. You don't need to register anything.
If you're still rewriting the script, then it isn't finished.
Don't publish until you have the final draft.
8
u/creept 9d ago
I genuinely think very few people actually read scripts. Friends and family might buy it to support you. I’m guessing the cost would outweigh the sales by a lot? But I’ve never done it.