Elephant Bucks. Sheldon Bull
“Sheldon Bull is not only the funniest man on two feet, but one of the most brilliant when it comes to explaining how to be funny, and how to organize your creative ideas into the sitcom form. It is the clearest, best, and to my knowledge only how-to that tells writers, step by step, how to write for and break into the fabulous world of TV sitcom.”
— Blake Snyder, author, Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
“Sheldon Bull has written a comprehensive, well thought-out guide for beginning writers. It would be a pleasure to read any spec script that used these guidelines. I only wish this had been around when I started!”
— Susan Beavers, co-executive producer, Two and a Half Men
“Want a close-up look at what goes on inside a great comedy writer's head? Then you'll want to read Elephant Bucks. Sheldon Bull tells you everything he knows, and that's a lot!”
— Ellen Sandler, co-executive producer, Everybody Loves Raymond; author, The TV Writer's Workbook: A Creative Approach to Television Scripts
“Comprehensive, breezily written, and on the money. If you're interested in the business of sitcom writing, this book will definitely help.”
— Earl Pomerantz, producer and writer, The Cosby Show, Cheers, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, Rhoda, The Bob Newhart Show, winner of two Emmy Awards and the Humanitas Prize
“Sheldon Bull has gotten everything right! These are amazingly easy-to-follow instructions. Where was this book when I started writing?”
— Arnold Margolin, Emmy-winning writer and producer, Growing Pains, Love American Style, The Mary Tyler Moore Show
“Elephant Bucks should be mandatory reading for every new writer wanting to try his or her luck in Hollywood. I just wish I'd had something this clear and concise to guide me when I was starting out.”
— Dan Berendsen, executive producer, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch
“Elephant Bucks gives you a great deal of sitcom experience, and you won't even have to eat dinner with an actor. Finally, a book by a successful sitcom writer and producer, rather than a teacher who never sold a sitcom and never sat in a room until three in the morning with seven other writers trying to think of a joke to end Act One. Elephant Bucks seems to be intended for the beginning sitcom writer, but I'll bet when no one's looking, veteran sitcom writers will buy it, too.”
— Lloyd Garver, writer and producer, Home Improvement, Family Ties, Eight Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter
“The book is absolutely fantastic! It's the best writing book I've ever read — truly. It's the only one that gives a complete, hands-on, workable guide to writing sitcom. And it's not just for the novice — show runners could also benefit from following these formulas. It is, of course, extremely well written and informative — Sheldon Bull hasn't missed a thing. Now there is no excuse for anyone who has any talent to write a crummy spec!”
— Zane Buzby, director and producer, Blossom, Newhart, My Two Dads
“It's about time a book like this was written for all those neophyte sitcom writers out in the world. Sheldon Bull does a phenomenal job of explaining the business of sitcom writing.”
— Phil Klein, top Hollywood entertainment lawyer
“Now I understand what I've been trying to do for the last twenty years. Before you write another word, read this.”
— Patric M. Verrone, president, Writers Guild of America, West The Tonight Show, The Simpsons, Futurama
“Sitcoms are probably one of the hardest genres to write — but thank the heavenly muses of writing for Sheldon Bull, who has written a comprehensive, practical, knowledgeable, and most importantly, enjoyable resource on writing and selling for the sitcom marketplace. From selecting the right series to spec to what goes on the writers' room, this Hollywood vet lays it all out from beginning to end in an experienced, honest approach that makes this book a winner!”
— Kathie Fong Yoneda, author, The Script-Selling Game; executive producer, Beyond The Break
“Sheldon Bull was there, in the trenches of some of TV's top sitcoms. He knows firsthand what it's like trying to come up with a clever line while fighting sleep in an all-night rewrite session after yet another dinner of delivered pizza.”
— David Pollock, writer and producer, Frasier, Cheers, MASH, Growing Pains
“No matter what you want to do in television, you'll do it better if you understand how a script gets put together. Sheldon Bull offers insight and wisdom gleaned from years of putting the laughs on the page.”
— Craig Wyrick-Solari, producer, The Wayans Brothers, That's My Bush, American Body Shop
“Elephant Bucks is a no-nonsense guide to writing scripts for the TV comedy sitcom industry. For the aspiring writer, this is an extremely useful compendium of how to write and improve your script, how to market yourself, sell your scripts, and find your big breaks. It's a must-have guide to navigating scripts, agents, pitch sessions, and success writing for the TV sitcom world!”
— Mark Sickle, managing editor, Independent Rising Magazine
“With a friendly, knowledgeable style, Sheldon Bull offers aspiring TV sitcom writers a roadmap to Hollywood. His step-by-step approach to the subject is accessible and informative, preparing readers as much as possible for the ‘real world' of writing for television.”
— Amy Andrews, Absolutewrite.com
“I was fortunate enough to have directed many scripts that I knew were wonderful, but I didn't always know why they were wonderful. After reading Sheldon's book, I now realize so much more about the techniques involved in telling a good story. This book taught me a lot about the art of comedy script writing. “
— Jay Sandrich, Emmy award-winning director, The Cosby Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show
ELEPHANT
BUCKS
AN INSIDER'S GUIDE TO WRITING FOR TV SITCOMS
SHELDON BULL
Published by Michael Wiese Productions
3940 Laurel Canyon Blvd. #1111
Studio City, CA 91604
tel. 818.379.8799
fax 818.986.3408
Cover Design: MWP
Book Layout: Gina Mansfield Design
Editor: Paul Norlen
Printed by McNaughton & Gunn, Inc., Saline, Michigan
Manufactured in the United States of America
©2007 Sheldon Bull
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bull, Sheldon, 1952-
Elephant bucks : an insider's guide to writing for TV sitcoms / Sheldon Bull.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-932907-27-0
1. Television comedies--Authorship. I. Title.
PN1992.8.C66B85