![money-1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmP8RNvY5ALuy1p72s2wRhEV49EYnRoTWb8ugdEprHBJFe/money-1.jpg)

In 2004 I wrote a screenplay for television and submitted it to BBC Writersroom, which is a scheme designed to help unfoudned writers get into the industry. They were interested and it made it to the second stage of the scheme, in which the entire script was read and I received full feedback. 

Unfortunately it was a project not for them but a valuable experience. As my project was a one off drama for television, or television film, I had very specific routes for financing the script. Certain financial routes such as schemes offered by the British Film Institute, Creative England or Microwave will not be open to me as my script is not a feature film for cinema release and there is no director or producer attached to my project. 

Realistically I will need to focus on approaching television production companies, although this will not be an exclusive avenue it will be the principle approach. Other avenues I will come to later.

So as I have already discovered the vast majority of production companies do not accept unsolicited material. They do on occasion accept unsolicited scripts if they are submitted through an established agent, so this increases my chances of getting the script looked at if I have an agent but only minimally. Nonetheless it is something to consider. 

The principle barrier to surmount is going to be getting someone, producer or development executive etc, within a production company that has produced content similar to my script to read the script, despite that production company clearly stating on its website that it does not accept unsolicited material. How do I do it then? The answer is I need to be creative and clever. I need to somehow get these people interested in my script. Perhaps an informal phone call asking what they’re looking for at the moment, get chatting and who knows maybe I will be charismatic enough to win over someone’s favour and they may allow me to send in the script.

For the very few production companies that do allow the submission of unsolicited material, it will be a matter of finding a production company who has produced work similar to mine and submitting the script accompanied with a logline and synopsis, and a very nicely written covering letter or email. As I have already discovered all of the mainstream British broadcasters use production companies to fill their schedules with content. So it makes perfect sense that approaching production companies and trying to get their interest in my script is a key part of the financial route. If I am lucky enough to find a production company who is interested in my script they will be best placed to pitch the screenplay to broadcasting commissioners.

Other financial routes for my project would be finding various schemes that are available for first time scriptwriters. Perhaps the best example of this is BBC Writersroom, as I mentioned earlier, where one of my scripts progressed to the second stage and went to a full read with comprehensive feedback. The scheme is designed for people such as myself who are outsiders to the industry and gives them a chance to submit any original work. This can be a series or screenplay. BBC Writersroom no longer accepts scripts all the year round and now has two separate windows per year when they accept unsolicited scripts. One window is for drama and the other for comedy. So when the drama window is open this could prove to be a useful route for getting my project funded.

Lastly, I should consider various competitions that are held throughout the year which asks for unsolicited scripts such as Screenwriting Goldmine. Whilst they may not be able to lift a script into production they could prove useful in forging connections within the industry.

Good luck!