Rating: 
Summary: Give it a pass
Review: If you’re a complete newbie and lacking in a lot of common sense, you might find this book helpful, to an extent. To anyone who’s been around for even the shortest time and read any number of other books, this book is wonderfully underwhelming. And awfully “cute”. Like the reviewer below says, written with a huge chip on the shoulder - unsurprising, considering the author’s only screen credit to date is “Excess Baggage”, and the script up for reading on her website ... reads like it was written by an adolescent. You can feel the teenage angst, almost.Which is the way this book reads, as well. So be forewarned. She spouts epiphanies like “fire your agent if it’s not working out for you.” Gee whiz. If you find advice like that revelatory, you people have bigger problems than trying to get your scripts read. Most laughable is the chapter on how to dress. Apparently, writers have a “uniform”. Which consists of jeans, a t-shirt, sneakers and a casual jacket. Sorry, but I'm a writer too. I've been to meetings. You wear whatever you want, and nobody cares. But please don't take that as an excuse to be as sloppy as you want. Some of us, are perhaps, better put together than others. My point: don't follow advice this blindly. I've read a few of the reviews here. Especially the 5 star ones, and a lot of them seem very generic. But they do say it's a great book for amateurs. Well, do you people wish to be amateur writers, or PROFESSIONAL writers? The only reason this book seems so great to an amateur is because it sounds like it's been written by one.
Rating: 
Summary: Tells it how it is in -- and outside -- the trenches of L.A.
Review: It's funny how all the negative reviews of Max Adams's book mention that she has only one produced credit. Or that the resulting film was "trash" (hey, I didn't like EXCESS BAGGAGE either, but if you bothered to read the script on Max's web site, you'd see how it differs from the final film. And I didn't like the script either, but light-hearted romantic capers are not my cup of tea...). Folks, I have news for you: the fact that a writer gets a produced credit from a major studio is a milestone in and of itself. Many screenwriters work on a regular basis for years, make a decent living, and NEVER see their work produced! (A cynical writer in L.A. would tell you the goal of screenwriting is not a produced credit but to get someone to cut you a check for 100-120 pages; produced credits are icing on the proverbial cake). Also, most of the negative reviews here slam this book without suggesting alternatives. Why? Because there aren't many "guerrilla," "this-is-how-it-is-when-you-are-starting-off-in-Hollywood" books for screenwriters. Indeed, when I got into screenwriting two years ago, I gleaned what I could from interviews in "Creative Screenwriting" and "Fade In" magazines, as well as interviews with screenwriters I could find on the Web. Showbiz is a very closed society, and the people who have made it rarely want to talk about how they broke in. In that light, it's even more admirable Ms. Adams has chosen to even write a book about her own experiences! Having said all that.... Strengths of this book:
* short chapters (I'm a certified member of the ADD Society of America). Nice because you can just pick it up, read a chapter at random and not worry that you missed something before.
* insightful, "this is how it is" stories, tips and strategies for marketing your work and navigating L.A. and the industry, insider stuff no one tells you if you walk into Cyrano's in West Hollywood (the chapter on the WGA and how it treats new members was also enlightening).
* conversational style makes for easy reading.
* good listing of resources of all kinds in the back, such as noteable screenwriting contests to enter, organizations to join, other books to look into etc. -- a fantastic resource for those just starting out.
Negatives:
* short chapters -- some people may not like this. I did.
* breezy, so-called "angsty" tone -- I guess some folks expect the King's English whenever they buy a book.
* poor proofing by Warner Books, which is why I'm giving it four stars instead of five (there are question marks often where there should probably a period or comma. This will most likely be rectified with future printings.) This is NOT a book meant to teach you how to write a script! There are a gazillion other books on the market for that (Trottier, Hauge, McKee, Field, Seger etc.). Once you have written, honed, and polished a few scripts, this is the book you need to tell you how to market them (the magic letters are "HCD"). In addition to Max Adams's book, I'd recommend Thom Taylor's "The Big Deal" and another book called "American Screenwriters" (now out of print) for inside stories on how unknown writers got their breaks, got their work read, approach the craft and started careers as screenwriters. Screenwriting -- for features or TV -- is a tough business to break into. Anyone serious about even having a shot at making it needs this book on their shelf..
Rating: 
Summary: Great Info
Review: Max Adams' book is not a How-To for writing a script, but rather a What-To-Do after you've written that great script. I recommend this book for any writer looking to avoid the many pitfalls of marketing and pitching.
Rating:
Summary: for all writers
Review: max's book is hilarious - i loved the voice throughout. if you're a writer, regardless of your genre or whether you've published, you'll dig this book.
Rating:
Summary: All Excellent Advice
Review: Max's book provides the beginning as well as advanced screenwriter with some excellent advice. The book is a very fast read and covers everything you need to know about breaking in, getting read, avoiding common mistakes and keeping your eye on the prize, which for screenwriters means being paid. If you don't have a clue about this business then her book is for you. And if you think you know what you're doing, then read her book and get some great ideas about working with your agent, firing your agent, generating heat on your latest and making sure you remember that the old maxim is true: you're only as good as your last script. Her writing is fun and light, but the substance of her opinions is full of useful information. Read this book on the plane from anywhere to Hollywood.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your money...
Review: Of all the screenwriting-focused books I've purchased in the last several months, this is without question the least useful and most annoying. This book is essentially a compilation of bulletin-board conversations that occurred during the early 1990s between the author and some fellow writers. Aside from the fact that it gave me very little useful information, two things made the book almost unbearable -- first, she writes in a stream-of-consciousness style that's terribly difficult to follow and second, she's a constant user of sentence fragments. I found myself wishing someone would drag fingernails down a blackboard to relieve the pain. Gilles, Hunter, Lerch, and about a zillion others are all better reads and much more useful.
Rating:
Summary: A "Must Have" book for screenwriters.
Review: Okay, you've just polished off the final draft of that screenplay. Now what do you do? All the answers are right here in Max Adam's new book. Drawing on her own experience, she provides savvy advice on how to deal with each phase of the process of taking your screeplay from the printed page to the silver screen. There is a separate chapter on each phase, making the book easy to use as a reference on everything from that first nervous telephone query to signing on the dotted line. As an aspiring screenwriter with a couple of scripts in circulation, I have to say I wish this book had been available a year ago. It would have prevented me from making some of the mistakes I have made.
Rating:
Summary: A must read if you're serious about the biz.
Review: One of the best screenwriting books out there. And there are a lot out there. If you're serious about breaking into screenwriting, this is a no-nonsense, what-it's-really-like book from someone who made it. It's a fun, fast read, and full of the advice you're going to need to get "the call" and what to do when you do get it.
Rating:
Summary: Don't bother
Review: One sold screenplay does not an authority make... Sure, the author wrote Excess Baggage, and while it was produced (kudos to her), so was the Ernest Saves Christmas. Upon reading the reviews herein, I couldn't help but question the authenticity of the "5 star" ratings. Nevertheless, the bottom line is this: if you have absolutely no clue about screenwriting, and virtually no common sense, this book may be for you. Otherwise, it is not worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Thom
Review: Really found the book useful. Being a non-L.A. citizen, it took some of the mystery off of the business. And yeah, it hammered home something that a few individuals seem to either refuse to believe or just don't get. It's a business. Your talent is nice...but there are plenty of factors that influence your success. Including look and who likes you. Most people who have worked the business have clearly said it's "who you know". I found the various suggestions and tips about managers, producers and the process of working with them both enlighteng and delivered in a concise way. There was no reading and re-reading to try and get what Adams is telling you. She made it clear and straight forward. I loved that. And it's supported with great wit. I'd recommend the book to anyone with the interest in screenwriting but unsure of how to get started.
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