"A SCREENWRITER'S JOURNEY TO SUCCESS" with screenwriting career advice

It's a long haul journey to reach any level of screenwriting success. If your passion drives you to embark on this crazy adventure of a  screenwriting career, you’ll need to prepare for survival in Hollywood’s trenches. Talent is important, but so is your professionalism and ability to endure criticism, rejection, and failure over the long haul. The odds may be stacked against you, but the way to standout in this  very competitive business is to create a solid body of work and build a reputation as a team player and collaborator. The rest is just luck — a prepared screenwriter who meets with an opportunity and delivers the goods. "A Screenwriter's Journey to Success" will help you prepare for  your own journey with the necessary, tips, tricks and tactics that I've developed over the past twenty years of working in the film industry. It's time to start living your dream as a screenwriter in Hollywood.

EDITORIAL REVIEWS: 

"I have known Mark my entire life, and he is absolute living proof of the grit and tenacity it takes to make it as a writer in this business. Take your first steps toward your own career by reading the words of this true fighter."

-- Matt Reeves, writer/director
 (Dawn Of The Planet of the Apes, War For The Planet of the Apes, The Batman) 

"A great book for anyone who ever aspired to become anything; Sanderson reminds us how important it is to have a life passion, how important it  is to work hard at it, and how that, in itself, is a victory."

 -- J. J. Abrams, writer/producer/director
(Lost, Star Trek: Into Darkness, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker)
 

"Mark's work as a screenwriting guru is as thorough, as painstaking, and as insightful as his actual screenwriting was on Tides Of War,  our submarine drama. As aspiring writers soon learn it's a complex, changeable, lonely field of endeavor, so Mark provides not only valid  professional advice but also meaningful emotional support for all those who stare into the abyss of an empty page. Read Mark, and your keystrokes will accelerate."
-- Brian Trenchard-Smith, producer/director
 (Dead End Drive In, BMX Bandits, Drive Hard, The Man From Hong Kong, and 40 others)
 

"Not only have I collaborated with Mark as a writer, more importantly I have found him to be a true artist who walks his talk. Whenever the chips are down, whenever I've needed some creative or inspirational, perhaps technical help -- even if it's at 3:00 in the morning -- Mark has been there invariably. Infallibly. As a screenwriter, director, or producer,  this book is the very next best thing to having Mark in your corner at 3  A.M."
-- George Mendeluk, writer/producer/director
 (70 credits, over 300 hours of television, and 9 features including the epic Bitter Harvest)
 

"Mark is a journeyman screenwriter, my good friend and collaborator on several projects. This is a must have book of reference for those not only about to embark in a career in the entertainment industry, but also  for those who want to learn from someone who's been there and done that. Mark is extremely candid about what it takes and how hard it is to 'make it' in this business. This should be on everyone's desk right next to their computer."
-- Greg Grunberg, actor and writer/producer
 (actor Alias, Heroes, Big Ass Spider, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker)

“Mark’s book starts off as an adventurous tale of a boy’s passion and love for the world of storytelling and this world effortlessly morphs into his accomplished career as a screenwriter. He shows how passion, perseverance, and hard work not only make an amazing screenwriter, but it also strengthens one’s character. Mark cleverly creates a great story out of his journey through the world of telling stories.”

   — Rawle D. Lewis, writer/actor/stand-up comic 

  (actor Cool Runnings, Spy Hard, K-Pax, The Hybrids Family, Narcos)

“Arguably the first screenwriting book in decades to offer anything new or useful, Mark Sanderson's treasure trove of keen, salient insights and invaluable advice arrives at a critical time for the beleaguered film industry. It is nothing less than a career lifeline for aspiring and seasoned writers alike.” 

  — Wade Major, producer/host 

   (DigiGods Podcast, Film Critic NPR FilmWeek)

“As someone who has collaborated with Mark on several projects, as well as benefited from his insights and inspirations on personal works, I can tell you he is worth his weight in knowledge gained by doing the work. In A Screenwriter’s Journey to Success, Mark has taken the years of banging his head against a wall, as well as his many triumphs, and boiled his experience down to an easy to follow map to the promised land. Now stop reading these quotes and start reading the book! Time to do the work.”

 — Chad Savage, producer 

 (NYPD Blue, Alias, Friday Night Lights) screenwriting career advice screenwriting survival guide