For just a moment, I'm going to leap over issues of writing the script and look at something I get asked about on a regular basis: money. Let's be honest ­a lot of people think about writing screenplays because they think there's a lot of money in it. They read or hear about big multi-million dollar sales and think, I'm gonna get in on that too.

Well, first of all, those sales are rare and growing more and more rare as time goes on. There was a period in the early to mid-90's where there were lots of spec script sales of high concept ideas (the most notorious may have been THE TICKING MAN, about a sentient bomb disguised as a human), but many of those films bombed and the bull market on scripts dried up. These days, any script that sells for a million dollars has a well-known writer who is already established in the business attached.

Most sells are for the low six figures, as VARIETY reports it, and the truth of that is that while that might sound pretty decent, those six figures are spread out over several stages of the process: a quarter of it or so upon the initial sell, another percentage on the requisite rewrite, and about 30% if the film ever gets made. Those low six figures -- which usually means about $100,000 ­really only means about $25,000 or so upfront with the possibility of the rest coming over the course of one to several years, if ever.

And don't forget the 10% your agent will get of that and the 15% your manager receives.

If you're looking at screenwriting as a way to get rich quickly, I have some better advice for you: play Lotto. The odds of you hitting pay-dirt may actually be better. And it's a lot less work!

So don't write screenplays thinking about the money or the fame or the awards ­ write because you HAVE to. Because it is the only way you can truly express yourself, because to not do so is more painful than doing it. Because it can be a pain, trust me.

And if that is your choice, then prepare for the long haul of the professional journey. A friend of mine wrote a script in 1995 that got a small option in Hollywood. For 10 years he struggled to make it as a writer, getting small writing jobs here and there. But he kept his head down and stay focused and wrote because he loved to write. Finally, in 2006, he got a shared credit on a produced feature film. Then another one 2 years after that. Who knows if and when the next one will come, but he set his sights for the long arc, stuck it out and will continue to do so.

And oh, he's one of the best scriptwriters I know. The script he sold (which to this day has not been made) still ranks as one of the 10 best scripts I've read. So let's get back to the things you should be focusing on if you want to be a screenwriter: bettering your craft!