Stage Writers Handbook: A Complete Business Guide for Playwrights, Composers, Lyricists and Librettists

Dana Singer's "Stage Writer's Handbook" is probably the most helpful overall resource I have purchased as a playwright. "The Dramatists Sourcebook" and Dramatists Guild publications are, of course, indispensable, but Singer's book helped me understand the business and legal side of pursuing a career in playwriting.The book is well-written and very accessible to those less versed in legal jargon. I can't recommend this book enough!!

Although one reviewer here bitterly insists that you must "know someone" in order to be published or produced, this is far from the case...as my own career attests! I was a complete newbie and managed to get published on the first try (and got reasonable pay, too). But back to the book. It is invaluable. Period.Here you'll learn everything you need to know about copyright, contracts, publishing and producing, and much, much more. If you want to be a working writer for the stage, you're gonna need this book. :)

I just found this book to be very concise and very helpful. It broke down every aspect and is an excelllent resource to go back to. I jus tbelieve that now Dana needs to provide another edition since things have changed so much with the internet so we know what is and is not acceptable as far as submitting and using the internet for specific deals. I got the book 5 years ago and am still finding that I use it.

I've been telling everyone about Dana's amazing book. The biggest surprise for me was that it's very readable--even enjoyable. It's not only a reference book to turn to when you have a question. I've read it through twice and gone back to specific sections when I needed them. It's already saved me from making a couple of big mistakes, gotten me off my duff to take care of some business I'd let slip and given me direction in areas I never quite understood. Give it to a friend - student, novice, mid-career or even established playwright, lyricist, theater composer or book writer - for his or her birthday. It'll be the best present they'll get.

Outstanding book, helped me negotiate a favorable contract for my first regional production, prevented me from accepting another offer that was VERY tempting, but according to Dana, just as unacceptable as my instincts told me, and helped me know just what to look for and ask when I secured representation. Incredible help for someone like myself who had absolutely no experience with the "biz" end of things