Automatic Pilot - Paperback

by Bill Taub (Author)

"Bill's book is the best no frills, no b.s. primer on writing for television that I've read. Consciously or not, over the years I've followed every one of his how to's, to apparently good effect. This book is as close to the truth as you get in this business." -- Rene Balcer, Emmy and Peabody award-winning Showrunner for Law & Order and Creator of Law & Order: Criminal Intent "Bill Taub is one of the best kept secrets in Hollywood. His knowledge of the industry is invaluable. Anytime I need any advice with a project, Bill Taub is my main source. Whoever reads this book will know more about writing pilots than people who spend years studying." -- Jamie Masada, Founder & CEO, Laugh Factory "In his three-decade career, Bill Taub has written for some of TV's most iconic shows, and has sustained a remarkably robust and varied career in the field by pushing beyond whatever the current boundaries of the medium might be. With Automatic Pilot, he distills his extensive writing and teaching experience into an accessible guide to developing and revising the pilot script--all the while empowering ('you will be the pilot of your pilot') and liberating ('the worst thing that can happen is that it doesn't work') writers to create with joy." --Linda Venis, Director, UCLA Extension Department of the Arts and Writers' Program. Editor, Cut To The Chase and Inside The Room An airplane pilot has to complete a checklist before taking off to avoid crashing and stay in the air. So too, Automatic Pilot is a TV Pilot Writer's Checklist to keep from crashing and stay on the air. Automatic Pilot is the definitive guide on how to create and write an original pilot. It takes you through the step-by-step process of writing your own pilot script. It is adapted from Bill Taub's very successful UCLA Extension Writers' Program online workshop, Writing A Spec Pilot, which he has been teaching to students all over the world since 2006. Up until the series Desperate Housewives, developed from spec pilot, burst upon the scene and became an instant hit, nobody encouraged writers to write a spec pilot. Since then the floodgates have opened and every writer, including some of the biggest names, is either writing a spec pilot or thinking about writing one. Like the workshop itself which crossed borders, Automatic Pilot is designed for writers no matter where they are. Whether you are writing a series about Congress or Parliament, the CIA or MI-5, a family in Bangladesh or Brooklyn, the process is the same. Whether it's a half-hour comedy, one hour drama, animation, or even a web series, the steps are the same. While the odds of selling a spec pilot are slim, the chance your spec pilot will impress those in charge to hire you on staff is a good enough reason to have one. And every writer these days must have at least one spec pilot in their portfolio. Automatic Pilot is not only an insider's guide on how to create an original pilot it's a book that will inspire you, motivate you, and help you discover (or rediscover) a sense of freedom and joy in writing, no matter what stage you're at -- whether you're new to the writing world or an old pro -- it will be something you will return to time and again.

Author Biography

Veteran TV and pilot writer, Bill Taub has a long list of credits. He's written for many popular -- and highly acclaimed -- TV series, such as: Barney Miller, Hill Street Blues, Magnum P.I, Newhart, Cagney and Lacey, In The Heat Of The Night, Kung-Fu: TLC, Friday the 13th: The Series, and Relic Hunter among others. He's written pilots for NBC, Columbia, Warner Brothers, Paramount, syndication and co-wrote the pilot for the prime time Dark Shadows. His spec pilot, Raffle Guy, won first place in the Scriptapalooza competition. He was recently honored by the Writers Guild of America for his work on Barney Miller and Hill Street Blues. He teaches TV Pilot Writing and Writing for New Media through UCLA's Extension Program.