wales@CS.UCLA.EDU (Rich Wales) (02/07/91)
Some time back, there was some discussion about the requirements for joining the Writers Guild of America. My understanding had been that a writer was eligible (and required!) to join the WGA as soon as their first script was sold. Someone else said they had heard at a conven- tion that a writer didn't have to join the WGA until his third script. Well, I phoned the WGA-west office the other day, and they mailed me their membership info. In brief, the answer seems to be that a screen writer can/must join the WGA as soon as he has sold =two= complete one-hour teleplays. A single project doesn't qualify one for Guild membership unless it's =longer= than an hour. The Writers Guild uses a point scale to determine the significance of each specific writing job. Once a writer has accumulated 12 points on this scale within a two-year period, he is eligible to join the Guild, and indeed =must= do so within a month of qualifying. The "Units of Credit" scale is as follows (I've rearranged the catego- ries for clarity, hopefully without changing the meaning): Script for TV or radio: > 1 hour: 12 units >= 30 minutes, <= 1 hour: 8 units < 30 minutes: 6 units (prorated, 5-minute increments) Story for TV or radio: > 2 hours: 12 units > 1 hour, <= 2 hours: 8 units >= 30 minutes, <= 1 hour: 4 units < 30 minutes: 3 units (prorated, 5-minute increments) Script for film: Feature-length: 12 units Short-subject: 8 units Story for film: Feature-length: 12 units Short-subject: 4 units Miscellaneous: "Bible" or long-term story projection: 12 units "Created By" credit: 6 units Format or presentation for new TV series: 6 units Week-to-week or term employment: 2 units per week Rewriting: 1/2 the normal number of units Polishing: 1/4 the normal number of units Selling an option: 1/2 the normal number of units, with a limit of 4 units per project per year Collaboration: each writer gets full number of units I assume, from the above, that a teleplay for a single episode of ST:TNG counts as 8 units. If a writer did nothing but ST:TNG episodes, then he or she would presumably become eligible/liable for membership in the WGA upon the sale of his =second= script within a 2-year period. The one-time "initation" fee for the WGA is $1,500. Thereafter, the dues are $25 per quarter, plus 1.5% of one's writing income. I have not been able to determine what would happen to a writer who did not join the WGA after selling his second script. It seems quite cer- tain that such a writer would not be able to sell a third script -- but whether refusal to join the Guild would jeopardize his earnings from the first two scripts (e.g., future residuals), I'm not sure. I asked the person at the WGA-west office this question, but she wouldn't give me a straight answer. As for whether Paramount (as someone suggested in r.a.s) gives raw deals to first-time writers who have not yet accumulated enough writing credit to join the WGA: I cannot say from first-hand experience, but the accounts I've heard suggest this is =not= the case, and so I will assume it is not true until/unless I hear otherwise from someone in the know or find out for myself. By the way, I recently completed a ST:TNG script, and today I finally managed to get it into the hands of an agent (who is a friend of a friend). I'll let you all know what becomes of my effort. Please don't start deluging me with referrals to this agent yet; that would clearly be inappropriate at the present time. Rich Wales <wales@CS.UCLA.EDU> // UCLA Computer Science Department 3531 Boelter Hall // Los Angeles, CA 90024-1596 // +1 (213) 825-5683 "I could be chasing an untamed ornithoid without cause." -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edited by Jim "The Big Dweeb" Griffith - the official scapegoat for r.a.s.i. Email submissions to trek-info@dweeb.fx.com, and questions to trek-info-request@dweeb.fx.com