TVSquad

Someday in the future, perhaps when the dinosaurs return to Earth to claim their rightful title as the true leaders of the planet, the Writer's Strike will be over. When that happens you'll be ready to submit your idea about a teenage, female, vampire slaying cyborg (see, there IS a difference) to the networks. The question is how you go about doing that without being thrown out on your posterior by a bunch of overweight, bald, cigar-chomping executives in pinstripe business suits and bowler hats.

That's where the website How Stuff Works comes in. In addition to having articles on removing grease stains and parallel universes the site has a pretty extensive section on television and things related to television which, when you think about it, is pretty much everything. One of the articles is about getting your idea about a television show to the networks.

The article is pretty short, but it does contain a good bit of information about meeting with the networks on your ideas (most won't even glance at you without an agent or manager), commissions that are collected by said agents and managers (10 to 15 percent) and how a production company usually works (they shop your idea around to networks or studios). The good thing about the article is that it doesn't seem to be some stale information from 10 years ago. It's so up-to-date that there is a blurb about the WGA strike and a mention that it is probably not the best time to contact the networks now.

Yet, the article says not to just stop what you're doing either if you have an idea. It mentions that you should continue to research and prepare for the time that the strike is over. As soon as that contract is signed you can begin your networking again. By that time the networks will be desperate to put any scripted show on the air to stem the loss of viewers and advertising due to their greed and stupidity.