Ric Michael is our resident comedy expert. He prowls the site for funny tit-bits and moderates and judges your scripts. He also runs an advice column to dole out words of wisdom gleaned from years of experience in the entertainment industry, plus his current role as
Head of Development at Baby Cow
Manchester
Q: Where do I take my radio sitcom about a working class thirty something who is left the services of a well-spoken butler in his rich uncle's will (with hilarious consequences, obviously)? I've written the first episode. Do I:
A. Send it to the BBC / other broadcasters as is?
B. Pay to get professional feedback?
C. Send it to a production company / agent rather than direct to a broadcaster (any
suggestions)?
D. All of or a mixture of the above?
E. Forget this ridiculous comedy thing and take up Ultimate Fighting instead?
I've spent a long time tweaking etc and feel it's time for the next stage (of the script process, not my Ultimate Fighting career), so any advice would be appreciated.
Ric: If you're looking for professional feedback you can send your work to The Writers' Room. I recommend this highly as they provide a fantastic service and will give a very honest assessment of your work. They also guarantee to look at your work and respond to you in a set period of time.
As well as The Writers' Room, there's an independent site called Great Writing which offers writing tips and constructive criticism. And try Channel 4's IdeasFactory for career advice and details of arts initiatives.
Also look at the websites of the Radio stations where you think your comedy would fit. E.g. Radio 2, 4 or 7, and look at their current programming schedules. If you've written something similar to a show they already have on air, perhaps wait a while before pitching it to them. Similarly, if they are particularly looking for a type of comedy, tweak your own or talk up a particular aspect of it. While you're looking at Radio websites, also have a hunt around for the companies who are making the comedies you are interested in and try sending your work to them too.
