How to be a TV Writer and Producer

On a TV series, a writer-producer is any writer who has a title with the word producer in it. Current titles include co-producer, associate producer, producer, supervising producer, co-executive producer, consulting producer. Whether the writers bearing these titles do much actual producing depends entirely on individual circumstances. As with every writing title in television, no uniform job description applies for writer-producers from show to show or even within the same show.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer, probably a laptop
• Scriptwriting software

1. Know that although this is a definite step up from being a staff writer or even a story editor as a writer-producer, you may be the “go-to guy or gal,” or you may be treated not much differently from the greenest staff writer. You may be writing furiously into the night or enjoying a well-paid “fellowship,” courtesy of a non-delegating showrunner.
2. Be aware that the most valuable service that any writer-producer can perform beyond writing individual scripts is running the writers’ room in the absence of the showrunner. A common frustration for showrunners is the sense that no meaningful work gets done in the room unless he or she is there.
3. Know that working with your fellow writers in the writers’ room is a bit like being on an extended tour in a submarine. Certain protocol is required if you and your colleagues are to avoid destroying one another. A writers’ room should be a collaborative environment in which ideas, not egos, dominate. Keep your comments and tone positive. Offer criticism, but if you have a problem with a story, or a line, or a scene or a script, don’t just register it, pitch a solution.
4. Know that managing writers is a different discipline than banging out a script on your own. There is no inherent correlation between literary and managerial skills. Television writers are initially promoted on the strength of their writing, with virtually no regard to their ability to supervise the work of others. There is no simple remedy to this problem. So long as shows are profitable despite management issues, the studios and networks will see little reason to change.
5. Be aware that if you can move stories forward when the showrunner is gone, if you can write and rewrite scripts to his or her satisfaction in addition to that, it won’t be long before you are running a show.

Tips & Warnings

• As a staff member, you are now a representative of your show to the cast and crew, the studio, network, and public at large. As such, your words and actions carry a greater weight than you might be aware. A critical remark about an actor might cause a brouhaha on the set. A juicy tidbit on the Internet might be read as an official communication from the show.