YOUR SCRIPT (or idea) is precious to you. It's almost like giving birth, isn't it?  Many weeks of thought will have gone into your project before you sit down and face the blank screen, or sheet of paper. Well, I hope so anyway! 

It may be that you haven't actually committed yourself to writing yet - that's fine, I can help you right away, and guide you in the early days of development, ensuring that you create a project that is going to be a success! 

On the other hand, in some cases I may be able to stop you wasting valuable time on a project that is never going to work. For instance, it may be that "inside information" I have access to will tell me that someone else is already well advanced in developing a project very similar to yours. This happens really often - they haven't stolen it from you, honest!

It's often called "universal consciousness" or "zeitgeist". What can happen is this.  A news story gives you an idea, a friend tells you a story about someone they know, or a particular social situation arises in the country which hasn't happened before. You think 'that would make a great comedy series' - and at the same moment another writer is thinking exactly the same thing! Perhaps they read the paper too - or that story of a "friend of a friend" is an urban myth ...

When more than one writer uses the same subject matter, the best script becomes the one that gets made. Sometimes a really good script that has a cast and director attached will find favour with broadcasters, rather than one that has no-one attached, but trust me, a truly GREAT script is never, ever, passed over in favour of an inferior one! Don't think for a moment that the good folk at the BBC, ITV, 4,5, Sky, Independent Production Companies, European, American, Australasian and Asian broadcasters (did I miss anyone?) don't know what they're talking about.  They do. They are dealing with scripts every day, and know the difference between 'fantastic' and 'second rate' work.

So what do you do?  Make sure that your script is in the "fantastic" bracket !  That's where I come in.

Don't delay - send me whatever you've got right away.  Don't bother slaving over a re-write first, because I will be helping you to do that anyway, and you're likely to make the same mistakes each time (and there will be some mistakes I'm afraid ...) . You will see on the "Services" page exactly what to expect and exactly what it will cost you. (Don't you hate those companies who promise breathtaking results but don't publish a price list?)

So, even if you have only a single paragraph of an idea, I will read it, think about it, and give you an honest, professional opinion of whether I think it's worth pursuing. (See the page "About Charles Garland" which will tell you why I am able to do this)  If, on the other hand, you have written one or more episodes, we'll start further down the line, and arrive at our destination sooner.

Most of all, remember this.  You thought it was a good enough idea to write down. You probably ran it past a family member or friend, and they agreed with you.  That's what brought you to this page on your computer ... so have faith in your idea, and let's look at it together. OK?

Now look at the "Services" page, to see where you are in the development chain, and then you can go on to the "Submission" page, and hopefully within a week or two, you'll have some answers.