Reader Question: Should I write a similar but different script to one that sold last year?

An open forum question from andrewpwoodberry:

I loved the concept of a spec that sold last year. Then read it and hated the execution. Any value in doing a spec page 1 rewrite? Or can that not even be a writing sample?

Andrew, are you thinking about using the same concept, same genre, same gender for Protagonist, same target demo? If so, I’d say no. If you can genre-bend it or gender-bend it so that it’s different enough to stand on its own as a distinct story, maybe.

The main concern is that if the concept is unique and sold recently as a spec, that cuts a big swath in the awareness of buyers in the acquisition market. 

If it was me in your position, I’d feel much safer if I generated a concept that was similar in genre and tone, but clearly distinct from the original spec. 

For example, if you’ve tracked spec and pitch sales on GITS the last 8 months or so, several projects have gotten set up that are “like The Hangover” in tone. Case in point, the most recent spec sale “Ricky Stanicki”:

The story, which aims to be R-rated, is described as an ensemble comedy in the vein of “The Hangover,” and begins when three teens pull a prank and burn down a house in their neighborhood. They create a fake person to take the blame — Ricky Stanicky did it! Twenty years later, we see that the three guys have been using this alibi to get out of every uncomfortable situation in life. When their wives force them to set up a meeting with Stanicky, they hire an actor.

While the central premise is distinct — hiring an actor to play the part of a make-believe character — I can guarantee you that the reps framed their spiel about this script using The Hangover as a reference:

* R-rated comedy like The Hangover

* Three male co-protagonists like The Hangover

* Comedic tone like The Hangover

* Same target demo as The Hangover

But again the story’s core conceit is different enough from The Hangover that a buyer won’t be scared away by an obvious rip-off.

Re writing it not so much to sell but as a writing sample: There may be some value in that, however taking that approach wouldn’t highlight your own ability to generate good original stories, indeed it might suggest to a reader the opposite — that you have limited creativity re original ideas.

So bottom line, I would encourage you to generate your own original story concept and write that as a spec, rather than troll in waters that have already been fished by that particular spec script in question.

But I could be dead wrong on this one, so if anyone disagrees, please feel free to post your reasoning in comments.

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