From Amazon.com

Aspiring screenwriters don't need another book on how to write a screenplay, says Karl Iglesias. What they need is a book on how to be a screenwriter. Voilà: The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters, featuring interviews with 14 screenwriters, arranged by subject. The result reads like a panel discussion, touching on such subjects as collaboration, schmoozing, discipline, Hollywood, and story pitching. The dream of winning a Hollywood jackpot has lured everyone and his gardener into the screenwriting game. Still, despite the unencouraging odds, "all you need to do is write a good script," says Scott Rosenberg (Beautiful Girls). Some of the book's best advice concerns one of the screenwriter's most formidable hurdles: getting a screenplay read. Submit it to film festivals and screenwriting competitions, or follow Tom Schulman's (Dead Poet's Society) advice and hire an entertainment attorney. After all, "most of them know a lot of agents."

—Jane Steinberg, Editorial Reviewer

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From Screenwriter Magazine

Some of the most interesting books on screenwriting are those that probe the minds of real, live produced screenwriters. Now that the market is so saturated with books teaching the basics of screenwriting, it's refreshing to read the methods and advice from professionals in that arena. There are only so many times I can read about the three act paradigm, but give me a real life screenwriter who earns upwards of $l million per script to tell me how they work, and I'm all ears.

While the title of the book is the catchy 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters, most of the text is the thoughts and methods of 14 prominent screenwriters including: Ron Bass (STEPMOM, RAIN MAN); Akiva Goldsman (A BEAUTIFUL MIND, THE CLIENT); Eric Roth (THE INSIDER, FORREST GUMP); and Robin Swicord (PRACTICAL MAGIC, LITTLE WOMEN). The author must have had incredible access to these writers because he gets explanations from several different writers on each of the 101 habits. He has also let the perspective of these professionals shape a lot of the habits.

As a result, some of the habits are contrary to each other to show aspiring writers that different methods work for different people. One prime example of this is that while one habit talks about focusing on one project at a time, the next habit deals with focusing on multiple projects at once. These bits of contrasting advice and methods from the professionals are some of the most interesting passages, and could help give a novice screenwriter several different approaches to shake up their writing process, or help a more seasoned writer develop new methods to work out problems he/she may be having.

The book breaks down its habits into six main sections, and they run the gamut from identifying your passion to write to marketing your screenplay and acquiring an agent. One aspect of screenwriting on which the book spends very little time is story and structure. There is one section on Storycraft, but it is fairly brief.

The main focus of this book is to allow these screenwriters to explain how they write and their methods and quirks, not what they write. They focus on habits such as: finding a good writing space; making time to write; and how to be aware of your constant surroundings for inspiration. While some of the writers' habits are very insightful, much of the advice we've read before in other books, and often the author gets basically the same answers from multiple writers (e.g. write every day, writing is rewriting, etc.).

Iglesias' book may be frustrating to some because it spends such a brief time with each habit. The author writes a couple paragraphs about the habit, and then gets a few screenwriters to voice their input. This pattern would not make this book a good choice for novice screenwriters looking for a howto guide.

I found 101 Habits most interesting because it effectively picked the brains of fourteen prominent screen­writers whose specialties run the gamut from sappy romances to big action movies to top-notch dramas. Everyone who is a serious fan of screenwriting will certainly count at least one or two of the contributors on his list of favorite scribes, and that alone may be worth the cover price. While this book is by no means a necessity, it is a nice addition for someone who really wants the insights of those who have achieved success in their chosen profession.

—Reviewed by Josh Levine

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From Poewar.com

Does everybody want to be a screenwriter? That depends on how you define everybody. If you look at the entire population of the planet, then very few have a half-written screenplay hidden under their bed. If you're standing in line for groceries in Los Angeles, however, chances are that half the people in front of you have at least thought about writing a script. Thinking about it, however, is as far as most people get. Quite a few less have actually written something. Even less completed a script, and half of those never sent it out. Most of the remaining people had their script immediately rejected due to poor writing. The remaining few are somewhere in the mix, just about ready to give up if they haven't already.

So, the bad news is that you have a lot of competition if you want to be a screenwriter, but the good news is that most of your competition isn't worth worrying about. They are either unable to put the time and effort in, or they give up because they don't understand the process or they are unable to handle the initial obstacles. If you are willing to put in the work, not just on your first script but your first dozen scripts, and you are intelligent about how to write and market a screenplay; your chances of being a successful screenwriter are quite reasonable. Before you vow to put in that time and effort, however, you should do your homework and figure out if this a career you can and want to work toward. If you are considering a screenwriting career, then The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters is a book you should invest in immediately. It will tell you the good and bad of being a screenwriter with honesty and in great detail.

There are many books to choose from if you wish to learn the mechanics of screenwriting. Syd Field's Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, is probably the most successful, and for good reason. It is an excellent technical guide to writing movies. Interestingly though, it is not written from a screenwriter's point of view. Syd Field is not a screenwriter, but rather a Hollywood executive. His viewpoint is about what sells. His methods are probably the most risk free way to create and sell a screenplay, but Screenplay is not really about the creative process so much as the end product.

101 Habits takes a dramatically different approach. Karl Iglesias conducted in-depth interviews with 14 Hollywood screenwriters who have each written several screenplays that have been turned into high-profile films. These are not what I would call film snobs either, these people write Hollywood movies ranging from Rainman to Operation Dumbo Drop, from Forest Gump to Die Hard.

101 Habits is a comprehensive look at the entire screenwriting process: the qualities successful writers have, creative development, discipline, story craft and marketing. More importantly, Iglesias stays out of the way. Each piece of advice comes with multiple writers giving their views in their words. In some cases, writers disagree wildly on how important one part of the process is or how to best approach another. Usually though, there seems to be a consensus of what it takes. From the 101 Habits come four genuine principals: patience, perseverance, passion, and practice.

On the way to these principals, however, you get an honest, intelligent description of the frustrations and pleasures that come from being a screenwriter. These veterans have seen script after script get rejected, rewritten, misinterpreted and outright attacked. The screenwriter is not exactly at the top of the Hollywood hill. Still, the persistent ones, like those interviewed here, eventually get see something they've helped create become a feature length movie. The successful ones also make quite a good living, so there is hope.

Much of the advice in 101 Habits goes beyond screenwriting to the writing process in general. There is important advice about setting deadlines, time management, dealing with criticism, facing the blank page, editing and rewriting, creating a writing environment, understanding what makes a story great and understanding what makes a script saleable.

101 Habits is a storehouse of important technical information, but it is not a technical book. It is a realistic look at the entire screenwriting profession. It is the sort of book that you open up when you run out of ideas, just to get inspired again. These people have built themselves screenwriting careers. Reading this book will either inspire you to attempt the same, or let you know that the career isn't for you. Either way, it is an important book to read if you are looking at screenwriting as a career.

—Reviewed by John Hewitt

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For most screenwriters, life is a mixture of managing your day job, your family and your finances while finding a few precious hours to write each day. Our hopes are that our present script will be the next six-figure deal in Hollywood and we'll be whisked off to a world of wealth where we can write all day. And each year, a few of us are allowed through those golden doors.

The question is "What does it really take to get there and how do we survive once we arrive?" That's the subject of "The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters" by Karl Iglesias, a book that I found fascinating.

Karl had a great idea -- interview top Hollywood screenwriters and find out what they do that makes them successful. The book is full of quotes, tips, and advice on how you and I can become Hollywood's next hot writer. Chapters cover everything from "What makes a great script?" to "The Writing Habit" to "Acting like a Professional."

But it's the habits that had me flipping through the book to discover solutions to problems I have as a writer. For example: Habit #63 "Developing an Innate Sense of Drama and Conflict" sent me on a mad search through my latest script to eliminate any page that wasn't dramatic. Habit #76 "Gaining Value From Every Opportunity" caused me to decide to start writing reviews of the events I attend and books I read.

On each "Habit," Karl presents his overview and quotes from some of the 14 screenwriters he interviewed. Here's some of the other habits:

Habit #4 Being a Natural Observer
Habit #17 Setting a High Standard of Excellence
Habit #23 Becoming Possessed by the Story
Habit #24 Being Aware of Your Muse's Favorite Activities
Habit #39 Silencing Your Inner Critic
Habit #55 Be Determined to Make the Script As Good As It Can Be
Habit #58 Discriminating Between Good Writing and Bad Writing
Habit #62 Knowing What Makes a Great Story
Habit #69 Evoking an Emotional Response
Habit #71 Learning the Business
Habit #78 Getting the Right Agent the Old-Fashioned Way
Habit #81 Rehearsing the Pitch until It's Flawless
Habit #89 Not Being "Difficult" to Work With
Habit #91 Adapting to the Hollywood System

To me, this book is addicting. I challenge you to open to the table of contents and skim the habits and try, just try to resist the urge to read the habits that interest you. If you're committed to your screenwriting, you'll find yourself skipping from habit to habit, devouring the comments of Hollywood's top screenwriters.

I give this book an "A" and recommend it highly.

I have two shelves of books on screenwriting. What I really like about this book is it makes it much easier to imagine myself as a pro-writer and prepare to be in that position. It's like taking a tour through 14 professional screenwriter's lives and deciding how you want to be when you get there. It provides a lot of solutions that I've never seen addressed in other screenwriting books."

—Hal Croasmun, Editor High Concept Newsletter