Written by: Ella Henke
How do you break through as a writer in the TV industry? It’s the big question every budding screenwriter is looking for an answer to. But the reality is there are no shortcuts or a one-size-fits-all approach to getting yourself a seat in the room. Everyone’s journey into the industry looks a little different, and the most important thing is not to lose hope along the way. Here are some tried and tested tips to help steer you on the right path.
1. TV Writing Labs & Fellowships
One proven approach is to enter TV writing contests; countless working TV writers today have come up the ranks through the renowned labs of NBC, WB, and more. Some of the biggest television networks in the US host annual fellowships. Most of these are designed specifically to develop their winners so that they’re equipped with the tools to find tangible work and get hired to write on shows. As an example, Disney’s program is set up to staff writers on Disney shows, and they boast a nearly 100% staffing rate each year.
Not sure which labs to go for? Here’s our breakdown of the top 6 labs to enter in 2025.
2. Cut Your Teeth in the Industry
An old, reliable way into the industry is by climbing your way up the office hierarchy of a studio or agency. Examples of entry-level jobs in TV include a Writer's Assistant, a Showrunner’s Assistant, and a Script Coordinator. One assistant success story is that of our TV Writer Program Mentor, Beth Schwartz. Beth came up under the mentorship of Greg Berlanti (ARROW, YOU, RIVERDALE), who first took her on as his assistant on his 2002 Warner Bros show EVERWOOD. By Season 7 of ARROW, Beth was showrunning.
As the saying goes, today’s assistants are tomorrow’s execs, so don’t shrug off starting from the bottom.
3. Network, Network, Network
It’s easy to dismiss networking as just schmoozing around with a canape in your hand, a task that ultimately distracts from the writing itself. But TV is an industry built on relationships (as indeed, most things are), and people want to work with people they like. If you hit it off with someone at a networking event who knows someone who knows someone, that little bit of effort you made to put yourself out there might just land you a job.
As TV Mentor Teresa Huang said in our April 6th event,
“Worry less about making connections and more about meeting your peers…The tried and true way to break in is actually to network with your peers. Form communities, get to know your community, and you’ll move up with them.”
Don’t know where to start with networking? Look online for local writers’ groups and mixers in your area. Can’t find a network around you? Make your own! In the depths of lockdown, I started a ‘Zoom Room’ through a callout on a screenwriting Facebook page, and we had writers from Argentina to Arkansas join. If nothing concrete comes from a networking session, you may at least come out of it feeling a little less alone as a writer.
4. Write What You Know - Then Become Known For It
Selling or getting hired on a show about a world you have lived experience in is another way to stand out in a sea of writers. Have you worked as a firefighter? A teacher? A social worker? TV execs value writers who have experience in their characters’ worlds, as it ensures a high level of authenticity.
The co-creators of HBO’s popular investment banking series INDUSTRY, Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, both worked in London’s banking scene for years before breaking out in TV. They credit their time in banking as the central influence for the show’s high-pressure storylines and super sharp dialogue.
What is the unique perspective your job affords you? Where is the story in your everyday? And don’t just dismiss your day job as too boring to make good television. After all, 5.7 million people tuned in to watch the finale of a show about an office that sells paper.
5. Pitch an Adapted Show
We all know that intellectual property is massive in the industry across both film and TV, with adaptations making up a reported 53% of the top-grossing films from the past decade. Finding a short story or novel and acquiring the rights to adapt and pitch it could be your hot ticket to the industry, as many execs are more likely to invest in a story that’s already established than a spec script from a new writer.
Want to learn more about how to adapt? Here, our article breaks it down for you.
6. Be Your Own Studio Exec
It’s never been easier to shoot your own content. With cameras on our phones and all the information in the world at our fingertips, there are no longer any excuses in the digital age. So, stop waiting around for someone to greenlight your script and go out and make something for yourself. The quality might be low and your reach smaller than you’d like, but if you have something to put out into the world, it could end up in the hands of a person who can give you a real shot.
Micro series on TikTok and sizzle reels are good examples of the kind of DIY content people are putting out there right now. In our recent event with AMC Development and Production Manager Sean Charles, Sean emphasized watching writers find success by putting together sizzle reels and then using every resource available: getting them seen at local film festivals, holding screenings at art schools and film schools, putting them on social media, etc. And guess what? Some of those projects found an audience and got acquired, developed, and more! Why not get together a small group of friends to film a short clip and see what happens?
7. Get Out of Your Own Way
Maybe you have a clear idea in your head of the kind of shows you want to make and what your career will look like, but this industry is unpredictable, and the TV market is constantly evolving. You need to be open to change and where it might take you.
Say yes to any writing job you can. Even the ones that feel less than perfect, because you never know who you might meet on them. Meet with smaller, less established producers about your script if it means not putting it away in a drawer to collect dust. Shoot your shot wherever you can, even if it feels uncomfortable. Write a stage play or a radio show instead of a TV series if it means actually getting something made.
There will be many jobs you have to take before scoring the ‘perfect’ one. Enjoy finding something to learn from each of them.
8. Love Writing So Much That You’re Ok Doing It For Free (At First)
Screenwriting isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. Gone are the days of the million-dollar spec sales. Recent years of striking have shown us the very real struggle TV writers are facing to stay afloat financially. Who can forget the time the writers of THE BEAR had to rent suits to go to awards season because they couldn’t afford to buy their own?
As an emerging writer, you will need to put a lot of hours into your craft without any immediate compensation or, indeed, any guarantee that you will ever be compensated. It can take years and years for projects to get greenlit in this industry, so be sure you’re in it for the long haul, and that when all is said and done, you did it for the love of writing and let that be enough.
9. Grow a Thick Skin
The most important thing you can do in your journey to breaking through as a TV writer is to grow a thick skin so that rejection doesn’t get to you. Think pragmatically, instead of personally. If a producer doesn’t like your script, then they weren’t the right producer for the project, or perhaps the market isn’t primed for your story. Process of elimination is key; keep putting yourself out there until something sticks.
Maybe instead of asking how to break through as TV writers, we should be asking how to stay motivated when we hit the inevitable walls on the way there. If you can keep that spark alive that first got you started, your dedication will carry you through.
10. Enter Shore Scripts TV Writers Mentorship Program
Our 2025 TV Writer Mentorship Program is now open! We’re offering 8 weeks of intensive sessions with showrunners and development executives, including Beth Schwartz, and Duane Luu from NBCUniversal, as well as 1-on-1 meetings and support, designed to set you up for a career in TV.
Have you had any success as a writer in the TV space? What are your top tips for other writers starting out? Let us know. Don’t forget to check out this season of our TV Writer Mentorship Program before the final deadline on May 16th!
