2016 Barter Deals and Discounts

Happy Holidays!

Save 20% on Professional Analysis or Snapshot Service or 10% on coaching or Mentoring. Mentoring clients also get a free copy of my 10-hour DVD set Complete Screenwriting: From A to Z to A-list. Sign up this month and use the services anytime in the new year.

UPDATE: Get in touch with me before January 2 and you can extend the discount for a week.

Here are some reasons to take advantage of this time-sensitive offer:

• If you sign up this month, you may be able to take a deduction on this year’s taxes.
• You can save money now AND later. When my book comes out next year, I will be raising my personal consulting rates and offering services for beginners through a couple of my associates. However, my current clients will have my current prices fixed for them for at least six months after any changes to my prices.
• If you want to change the life of a write in your life, purchase a gift certificate for my Coaching or Mentoring services. Don't compare Mentoring to notes. Instead compare it to a semester at film school or a yearlong certificate program. With Mentoring and either my Complete Screenwriting DVD set or a seat in an up and coming class, writers receive up to 100 hours of close attention with more than half-of-it being one-on-one.
• If you want to give loved ones or family members a little hint about your Holiday Wish-List, send them here. Let them know if you're interested in the DVD Set or Story Analysis Services. We can set up a gift certificate.

REGIFTING CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

I like being creative in my dealmaking… especially this time of year when it might allow you or someone you care about to get feedback that could really impact a script or career. PayPal invoices allow you to pay for your services with any credit or debit card. We can also work out payment plan. And of course…

My yearly barter needs list that can be all or part of a deal:

LOW END

Gift cards for Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Zingermann's (And Canters, Katz’s, Juniors and Jerrys, I guess, too), Lowes/Home Depot (300 max...let's not create too much more work), Chipotle, Kohls, Apple Store (could turn to middle end), Verizon, Mortons, Ruth’s Chris, PetSmart.

MIDDLE END

Gift card for Guitar Center. Frequent Flyer Miles, used Mac Laptop (mostly for Web and Word) for my assistant, Web Design which also includes things like SEO, marketing, etc.

HIGH END

Flight vouchers, time shares, divorce/family attorney services in New York for family member, used car on East Coast for lifelong friend in need. Places to stay while visiting Paris or Italy.

Save $100 on DVD set until January 10

 Use Discount code 2016 and save $100 on the 6-disc set, Complete Screenwriting.

THE TRAILER

"Complete Screenwriting is more information-dense than anything ever recorded. It's so head-and-shoulders above what anyone else is teaching that It'll take a while for it to sink into most people's heads. That's actually my favorite thing about what you teach. It takes re-reading or re-watching a few times for such big concepts to integrate into your screenwriting consciousness. It's like learning algebra for the first time." - Devin M

Email me to make a deal or ask any questions!

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Notes on Shorts

Notes on Shorts

A Champion entrant asked me about a notes service on shorts.  We didn't have one, but I made one up.  Here are the details.

A PAGE OR SO OF NOTES FROM MY DEDICATED CHAMPION SHORTS READER
Six pages or less: $65
Fifteen pages or less: $80
Email me at info@champio---eenwriting.com.  Paypal is Jim@a-lists---enwriting.com

NOTES FROM ME FOR 15 PAGES OR LESS
Comprehensive Shorts Analysis: $200
Professional Shorts Analysis: $400
Take a 5% discount if you were a 2011 Champion Entrant, take another 5% if script is less than seven pages.  Discounts are cumulative.

Q: OMG!  Why are the prices 30% of what a feature costs when the page count is only one-tenth?

A: The set up for the notes, the discussion of style and story takes just as long for shorts.  I gave 12 pages of notes on the last 3-page script I read. I would imagine these notes would be in the range of three to ten pages.

Contact me through my consulting site: www.jamespmercurio.com.  Paypal is Jim@jamespm---urio.com

Deals for ISA Folks and a New Testimonial! Good till end of Month!

Thanks for checking out my site and blog.  Mention ISA or my Consultant Blast and sign up this month and you can take advantage of one of the deals below.  And check out the testimonial from one of my most recent clients.

FOR COACHING AND MENTORING CLIENTS

1) Free seat in one of the Champion Labs or Ellen Sandler's TV Lab near the end of the year... probably January.
2) One of the first produced copies of the Screenwriting DVD set I am working on.  4-8 DVDS, 10-20 hours...don't know the exact details yet but the retail value will be $2-400


(If we are starting with a completed script, first round of notes will be in early November and December, respectively for first two sign ups.)

FOR PROFESSIONAL OR COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSES

1) Free copy of Killer Endings or Theme.  (Professional = both)   ($50/$100 value)

2) 10% AFM Discount.  Save me some time...let's do a lunch or coffee meeting at AFM as a way to save 3-4 pages of notes.  You will still get 8-14 pages of notes.

COVERAGES  

I am not going to be able to fit in any more coverages this year, but you can sign up for Champion Development Notes at my site. You will receive approximately four pages of notes for $250 from one of my senior Champion readers.

TESTIMONIAL FOR MY MENTORING/COACHING SERVICE

"After working with Jim for a brief time, the one word that pops into my head is - "WOW!"  I've worked with and spoken to many of the top script consultants in LA, but Jim is truly the BEST OF THE BEST!  

This is how I would like compare Jim to the other top notch script consultants in LA:

The Normal Script Consultant Approach - Find everything wrong with your script, then tell you everything that you MUST take out because it just won't work... period..  Any solutions?  Nope... but you can always work on it more, then pay me for another service. 

Jim's Approach - Find everything that isn't currently working (in a non-criticizing, non-judgmental way) then use creativity, originality, and knowledge to try to find a way to solve the problem and make it work.  If a scene, subplot, etc. just isn't working, Jim will offer a solution.   

Bottom line, Jim evaluates screenplays from an entirely different approach than all the rest.  He's the Master when it comes to character development and using the "Sequences Approach" to properly structure a screenplay.  Jim is also funny and extremely easy to talk to.  My only regret - I wish I would've found Jim 5 years ago when I started screenwriting.  It would've saved me a lot of money and a lot of time."

                                                                               Kevin Lehr

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Let me know if you have any questions.

Peace,

Jim Mercurio

CREATIVITY IN DEAL MAKING

Cutting to the chase.  The economy sucks.  This business is tough. I just found 3000 hours to direct a movie over the past 18 months for a salary less than I charge for Script Coaching, so I get it.  ;-)

I have been willing to offer payment plans for clients and even accepted a Guitar Center Gift card as barter.  But I still need $500 Gift card for the American Telecaster.  Mostly kidding.

With this idea in mind, I canvassed  parents, step-kids, wife and dog to come up with an official list of acceptable barter.  And, you know what, I don't judge.  Employee discount, Regifting...I am not going to hold that against you.

Gift Cards: Guitar Center ($600ish max), (made deal for Telecaster) Best Buy, National Sporting Goods Chains (sadly, no limit), Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Zingermann's (And Canters, Juniors and Jerrys, I guess, too), Lowes/Home Depot (300 max...let's not create more work), Chipotle (maybe 100 max), Kohls, Airline Travel, Apple Store, Verizon

Other: Frequent Flyer Miles, Airfare vouchers (A dozen or so film festivals on the horizon), Time Shares, Place to Stay in Paris for two (teenager whines about France=Stay with stepmom for two weeks), In London for Four, Steelers Tickets, Eagles Tickets (Shh, don't tell my wife), Pokerstars $$ (when it's legal again, LOL), Planned Travel Situation for Italy for the 'rents

Services: SEO, Final Cut Pro training for a friend, possibly design and am open to other ideas.

From my dog: Petsmart Gift Cards as well as gift cards to Mortons, Ruth's Chris and Cheesecake Factory.

Okay, the last one was from me.

Contact me at your own risk.

Peace,
Jim
The man who says yes to too many things

Valentine's Day Special - 10% Discount on Love Stories

10% discount on Coverage or Comprehensive Analysis for all love stories if you sign up between now and Valentine's Day!  Subplot, Friendship, Rom-Com, Revenge-against-the-ex....I am flexible...if you say there is a love story in there somewhere, I will believe you.