What is a spec script?
- A spec script is written without a commission, on the writer's own time and risk.
- Feature specs are original stories; TV specs can be original pilots or episodes of existing shows.
- Most spec scripts sell nothing but get the writer meetings and assignments.
- Original pilots have largely replaced episode specs as TV writing samples.
- A spec is a writing sample first and a sale prospect second.
A spec script is a screenplay written without payment or commission, on speculation that it will sell or open doors. Most specs never sell. Their real function is as a writing sample: proof you can structure a story, write dialogue, and finish, which is what gets a writer meetings and assignments.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Understanding the spec's real job changes what you write. If a spec is a lottery ticket you chase trends. If it is a sample you write the thing only you could write, in the genre you want to be hired in, at a budget level someone could plausibly make. That second framing produces more careers.
Chapter ii·What to include
- A genre and tone you want to be hired to write more of.
- A budget that is realistic for a first sale, which usually means contained.
- A complete, polished draft rather than an interesting first act.
- A logline that survives being said out loud at a party.
- Coverage or notes from readers who do not owe you kindness.
- A second script, because one sample is rarely enough.
Chapter iii·Example
A writer's contained thriller spec never sold, but it got her a general meeting that led to a paid rewrite assignment on a studio project. The script did its job; it just was not the job she thought it had.
Chapter iv·Related questions
In WriteLoom
Everything this article talks about, in one project
WriteLoom's Pitch studio holds loglines, treatments, and submission tracking for scripts as readily as for books.
Not ready for a workspace yet? Get the free six-part series on winning the writing game: finishing drafts, editing in the right order, querying with real math, and launching on a runway.