Privacy for Writers: Why Writers Should Care about Privacy in a Connected World and What They Can Do About It
Facebook. Twitter. Tiktok. Snapchat. You’re a writer and you thought writing books meant, well writing books. But now you have to be online, build a platform and be accessible. But in today’s hyper connected world, the risks to an author’s privacy are exponential.
But privacy is hard and its designed to be hard by the companies that profit from surveilling our lives. How do you protect your privacy so that you can both have an online platform and connect with readers while protecting yourself, your family, and your reputation?
As an author and a privacy professor, she understands that privacy often doesn’t matter to people - until it does.
By the end of this presentation, you will be better prepared to understand what you’re giving up when you sign click agree to the terms and conditions, why it matters for actors, and specifically what the minimum steps are to take to raise the bar on personal privacy without having to sell your firstborn to hire a personal security consultant. You’ll get actionable steps to take to start protecting your privacy, cleaning up your information from the internet, and giving yourself piece of mind that in the event you end up going viral for something you didn’t plan, you’ll be better able to keep the conversation online instead of showing up on your doorstep.
This presentation will cover:
- Understanding the commercial surveillance economy
- Real world examples
- Risks of social media
- Examples of data collected from common apps
- Myths that prevent action
- Best practices
- Q&A
One-on-One with Crosby Selander
Matt Misetich, Executive Director of Pipeline Media Group, talks with screenwriter Crosby Selander about the state of the screenwriting industry. Included in the discussion is a live Q&A with the attendees.
Crosby Selander is a Los Angeles based screenwriter and filmmaker. He received a double BA from New York University, and his MFA from Carnegie Mellon University where he was the recipient of a Shubert Fellowship. After placing as a finalist in the Script Pipeline Screenwriting Contest, his screenplay BRING ME BACK (currently set up at Legendary) went on to become the biggest spec sale of 2020, and one of the biggest all-time from an unproduced writer.
Crosby went on to develop the Hugo-winning novel THE FOREVER WAR for TV alongside director Francis Lawrence for Village Roadshow, and served in the feature writing room for the MATCHBOX movie for Skydance.
He has projects in active development at Lab Brew, 193, and Weed Road. His short films have played at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Hollyshorts, and dozens of other film festivals around the world. He’s been featured in Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, and China Daily, among others.
He's repped for film/tv at UTA and Kaplan Perrone Entertainment.
All registrants get a FREE entry to any 2026 Script Pipeline contest!
*Code sent post-event.
“A movie is three good scenes, no bad ones.” — Howard Hawks
This symposium focuses on the all important rewrite, with an emphasis on reworking each and every scene in your screenplay. With tools Tom Vaughan developed over twenty years writing professionally and teaching, you will learn a consistent and repeatable process to elevate the most important building block of your story.
You won’t just have a better draft—you’ll have a sharper eye, a deeper toolkit, and a renewed enthusiasm to dig back into your own work. Whether you're polishing for a producer, a contest, or your own creative satisfaction, "Rewriting the Scene" will give you clear steps to a sharper, stronger, more compelling screenplay.
This presentation will cover:
- The change.
- Who wants what?
- Point-of-view.
- Emotion and tactics.
- The game.
- The great litmus test.
- Checklist for every scene.
One-on-One with Producer Michael Peterson
Pipeline Executive Director Matthew Misetich talked with Michael Peterson, Vice President of Development for Phoenix Pictures, to discuss the art of screenwriting and filmmaking through the lens of a producer.
As always, our Symposium one-on-one conversations are a community event, welcoming the audience's questions, too.
Relevant Symposiums Sessions:
Creative Strategies for the Changing Screenwriting Landscape
Breaking into screenwriting is not only challenging, but it can also be a complete roller-coaster—especially over these past few years!
We’ve been through so much: Covid, Writer’s Strike, Peak TV, and its demise. And now … Coverfly going away and a dramatic change to The Nicholl—which for years had its place on many a writers' bucket lists—has completely upended many screenwriters.
However, at the same time, the feature market is gaining momentum we’ve not seen in years. Not only did Sinners do something in the box office that’s not happened in 16 years (or ever for a horror movie), but specs are also moving in the professional space with more momentum and excitement than we’ve seen in a long time.
To adjust to ongoing changes in industry dynamics, our symposium with Screenwriting Coach Lee Jessup will seek to help you define your most effective next steps in order to work smart and move your screenwriting career forward.
We're proud to announce Lee Jessup's new and exclusive coaching offer through Script Pipeline.
What attendees have said ...
Lee has abundant knowledge and a rapid fire delivery- it’s hard to keep up!
Great session! I am a new screenplay writer and this was so FULL of wonderful information. I have pages and pages of notes. Thank you again!
Fundamentals of the TV Series Bible
*This event is not available on-demand but will be rescheduled for an encore at a later date.
Every television show has an engine; the consistent heartbeat of story that brings the narrative pieces together to make a series run smoothly, episode to episode and season to season.
But what does that mean practically for writers? How do you build an engine so it works flawlessly? And then, how do you pitch it on the page so simply that anyone from another writer to a producer to an executive can understand it clearly?
That’s what this class is about.
The TV bible is the script for your series pitch. Bibles range in size and shape, but one thing is the same. It will be the answer to this question:
How does your TV show work?
You’re going to learn how to define and execute the different pieces of narrative engine for a television series. And while that may sound academic and kinda daunting, after this class, you’ll walk away with simple, practical, and effective tools to use to break down existing shows, and to write the Bible script for your own.
Get ready to work with Merridith Allen, an instructor who has helped hundreds artists craft their show ideas—from emerging writers to staff writers, producers, and feature writers breaking into TV.
After this class, you’ll be next on the list!
*CONFIDENTIALITY: In an effort to best facilitate event participation, the recording will only be shared with the registrants and not available on-demand.
What attendees have said ...
Merridith is an excellent presenter and provided information on developing a package, TV series Bible, that is very helpful to me. She also offered insight to what to have ready in addition to a pilot episode such as additional episodes and seasons.
A jam packed presentation delivered with great energy and a wealth of vital info.
I was very happy to hear all these topics. Made me work on the bible of my series, and the logline again.
Thank you again for the symposium. It was very helpful. I have a clearer picture now of what to include and what to flesh out in my series bible. Merridith was a great speaker.
Writing for Comics: Finding an Artist and Comic Distribution
Recently nominated by the Chicago Reader as the best comic book writer in Chicago, comic writer and founder of Avina Comics John Aviña will demonstrate how to find an artist, spot common scams, how to be a good collaborator with an illustrator, and also share best ways to distribute your work once your project is complete, whether that be in traditional publishing or as an independent comic creator.
The following topics will be discussed:
- Finding an Artist
- Social Media
- Test Pages
- Contracts
- Scams
- Design out reach
- Manga vs Comics
- Distribution
- Traditional
- Indie
- Diamond Publishing
This session is a wonderful compliment to John's first "Writing for Comics" Symposium available on-demand.
What attendees have said ...
The session was packed with useful information and timed well.
I loved the instructor's level of experience and his obvious love of the comics world.
Really appreciated John sharing his knowledge and experiences. I found it all enormously helpful, specifically the stuff you can't really research but is only learned by doing.
How to Determine the Best Medium for Your Story
It's never been more important to a writer's survival to learn to create in other mediums.
You know the basics of storytelling. You’ve mastered the art of imbuing the Who with specific needs and desires. You’re expert at the art of structuring the What with conflict and reversals. You’re old hat at using verisimilitude to fill out the Where and interrogating the spectrum of ethics for the Why.
But what about the How?
Author, comic writer and screenwriter Joshua Corin will help you determine what medium is the best fit for your story? Is it a play? A screenplay? A TV show? If it’s best told using narrative prose, should it be a short story? A novel? Somewhere in between?
We'll go over the specific strengths and weaknesses of each medium, using successful (and less-than-successful) examples to highlight the importance of marrying the right content to the right form, as well as the additions and sacrifices required for adapting a story from one medium to another.
This presentation will cover:
- The universal components all stories must have
- The specific components each medium requires
- How to meet (and subvert) reader/audience expectations of that medium
- How to adapt a story from one medium to another
- Many examples to guide us along the way
- Q&A
*Send proof of purchase to symposium@pipelineartists.com for a copy of the presentation slideshow.
How to Build Pitch Decks for Development and Inspiration
How to create a stunning deck to inspire, to help sell your feature or TV series, or to aid in financing your project.
Pitch decks are useful for more than just pitching your script. Many writers create them for story inspiration—to set the tone, help them develop characters, or create an outline. Creating a formal pitch deck can help, even in the early stages of writing!
And, of course, they're good for their original purpose ... pitching your vision.
As a screenwriter and graphic artist, Maya Zivkovich will focus on tips to help you create a stunning pitch deck worthy of any producer's consideration.
Some say pitch decks or series bibles are some of the hardest things you’ll ever write. But, with the right tools, guidance and a dash of inspiration, you can easily build a kick-ass pitch deck & series bible.
Maya will walk you through the importance of this document and break down the different components needed for your deck to truly stand out from the rest. No design experience necessary—you’ll get plenty of her best tips and tricks from her many years and expertise as a graphic artist (and no, you do NOT need to use A.I. ...)
By the end of the presentation, you’ll be equipped with the knowledge, tools, templates, and the motivation to get you on your way to creating your very own deck.
The presentation will cover:
- A brief history of pitch decks
- The difference between pitch decks and series bibles
- Key components for decks and bibles (sections/categories)
- Formatting and referencing
- Good VS bad (what not to do)
- Examples of different decks and bibles
- Q&A
*includes worksheets/templates for participants
What attendees have said ...
"Most detailed lecture on pitch decks and show bibles. Really like the Q&A and found that many questions were also my questions."
"I really appreciated that the presentation was long enough to cover all of the content and have a robust Q&A session, and that Maya provided templates for us to use so that we can implement the knowledge she shared with us. I feel confident that I can create a decent first pitch deck when the time comes!"
"The topic was covered thoroughly and the talk was full of great information and practical tips. The presenter spoke well and had clearly taken the time to organize her material in a clear and natural way. She also took the time to answer all of the participants' questions, even though that meant staying a bit over the talk's allotted time. Definitely got my money's worth on this one."
In this session with comic writer and founder of Avina Comics, John Aviña, you will learn how to tell stories in a sequential manner, and write for not only your audience but also for an artist.
John will cover panel layouts, budgeting space for dialogue and telling a character arc across one issue. The goal is to get you on your keyboard and ready to take your idea from a thought to a completed comic.
- Introduction to sequential storytelling:
- Taking a look at Familiar Dungeons
- Pacing a page
- Design
- Scripting:
- Looking at Familiar Dungeons Script
- Laying out a page
- Description
- Dialogue
- Completing a narrative:
- Looking at Familiar Dungeons arc
- How many pages should your comic be?
- Does it tell a full story?
What attendees have said ...
"John gave me an idea of how the business end of the Comics industry works. His information and examples are appreciated."
"I learned so much and feel more confident in what I am doing after coming here today."
"Unique solid content from someone genuinely willing to share a lot practical, high-value information."
"Señor Aviña presented the ideas clearly and with good examples."