What The Press Gang does

The Press Gang (operating under the legal name Skip Press) is a sole proprietorship run by a single individual writer, editor, and media consultant based in Los Angeles, California. The business sells writing and screenwriting instruction, evaluation services, courses, and published books to aspiring and working writers seeking to enter Hollywood and traditional publishing. Core deliverables include tiered script and book evaluations priced from $75 to $999, three email-delivered screenwriting courses priced at $99 each, high-end co-writing and ghost-writing engagements priced from $2,000 to $10,000+, and a back catalog of traditionally and self-published books including the Complete Idiot's Guide to Screenwriting (50,000+ copies sold) and a more recent title that has sold over 80,000 copies.

Underlying intellectual property centers on proprietary storytelling frameworks (the "Shaping Force" concept and a "Story Matrix" that maps Aristotle, Joseph Campbell, and Elliott Wave theory onto narrative structure) and the founder's accumulated 30+ years of personal Hollywood and publishing deal-making experience. Delivery is human-only: consultations via email, phone, Zoom, and in-person, with no software platform, API, mobile app, or AI features. Distribution is direct-to-consumer across email, Amazon Kindle, Reedsy Marketplace, Substack, Goodreads, Pinterest, YouTube, and various social channels, with payment acceptance spanning PayPal, Stripe, Square, Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, checks, and barter. The customer base is a long tail of individual writers, with named case studies including a Pixar alum, a Warner Bros. animation director, a BET-winning screenwriter, and several published novelists, but no enterprise accounts or recurring contracts.

Name

The Press Gang

Legal name

Skip Press

Website

https://skippress.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Press Gang (Skip Press) is a Los Angeles sole proprietorship offering screenwriting and book consulting, evaluation, courses, and ghost-writing services to aspiring and working writers targeting Hollywood and traditional publishing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Writing Consulting and Education

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Manuscript Development Services (Coaching, Developmental Editing) (MPAJAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ghostwriting & Collaborative Writing Services (MPAJAJAI), Publishing & Submission Prep Workshops (Query Letters, Agents, Journals) (EDAMAMAI)

Keywords

• Screenwriting consultation
• Manuscript evaluation
• Ghostwriting services
• Online writing courses
• Creative writing coaching

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Consulting and Evaluation Services: Direct consultation services for books, novels, and screenplays including evaluation, notes, and marketing advice. Pricing ranges from $75 to $999 depending on service depth.
2. Online Courses: Self-paced and instructor-led courses delivered via email covering screenwriting, novelization, and Hollywood career guidance. Courses priced at $99 each.
3. Book Sales: Traditional and self-published book sales including 'How To Write What You Want & Sell What You Write', 'Screenplay to Novel', and the Complete Idiot's Guide to Screenwriting (sold over 50,000 copies).
4. Ghost Writing and Project Development: Full-service ghost writing, book proposals, and polished manuscript development ranging from $2,000 to $10,000+.
5. Editing Services: Professional editing services offered through Reedsy marketplace and direct engagement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Press Gang provides paid writing consultation, manuscript and screenplay evaluation, ghostwriting, book proposal development, and email-based courses for aspiring and working writers. Offerings are sold directly to individuals via email, phone, Zoom, and through the Reedsy marketplace, with prices ranging from $75 brief evaluations to $10,000+ full ghostwriting engagements. The operator, Skip Press, also sells multiple published instructional books on screenwriting and the craft of writing through Amazon Kindle.

Product overview

The Press Gang (operated by Skip Press) offers a portfolio of writing instruction books, online courses, and professional consulting services for aspiring and working writers. The core products include multiple editions of bestselling screenwriting guides (Complete Idiot's Guide to Screenwriting, Hollywood Producers Directors Screenwriters), writing courses (Your Screenwriting Career, End Run to Hollywood, Your Hollywood Breakthrough), and tiered professional services ranging from script evaluations to full ghost-writing and proposal placement. Services are priced from consultation-level work ($75-499) through comprehensive packages ($2,000-10,000+). The business operates as a personal services practice rather than a software platform, with no AI-powered features, API, or third-party integrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Complete Idiot's Guide to Screenwriting Comprehensive instructional book covering the history of storytelling, film, and Hollywood. Multiple editions published; the second edition was voted best of its kind by the Canadian Writers Guild. The third edition includes a chapter on writing for videogames.
• How To Write What You Want & Sell What You Write Guide for beginning writers on how to get started and identify which writing direction to pursue. Originally derived from a UCLA Writers Program class, with updated ebook versions; finalist in the first national Eppies e-book awards.
• Screenplay to Novel: Real Money from Used Pages Instructional guide on turning an unsold screenplay into a saleable novel that can be self-published.
• Hollywood Producers Directors Screenwriters Reference guide referred to by aspiring screenwriters as a Hollywood bible containing practical advice and a directory of industry contacts. Three editions published.
• Hollywood Secrets of Successful Writers Book about selling to Hollywood, covering Hollywood Rules and including a directory of industry contacts.
• End Run to Hollywood: Novelize Your Screenplay Email-based course walking writers through turning their screenplay into a novel that could become source material in Hollywood. Includes personal review of work and guidance on finding literary agents or self-publishing. Priced at $99.
• Your Hollywood Breakthrough: Rewrite and Marketing Mastery Self-paced email-based course for completed screenplays with lessons, questions, and answers. Covers personal sales techniques and contest-winning strategies. Priced at $99.
• Your Screenwriting Career Comprehensive email-based course covering storytelling history, screenplay structure, Hollywood history, and the evolution of screenwriting. Originally available in 1,500 schools. Priced at $99.
• Script Evaluation Services Script evaluation with three tiers: Script Scrutiny ($349) with production company/agent targeting, Double Scrutiny Plus ($499) with rewrite coaching and pitch advice, and The Big Jump ($999) including marketing and sales help.
• Book Evaluation Services Book and novel evaluation at $2 per double-spaced page. Includes the Know Before You Go service ($75) for outline review before writing.
• Pro Script Training Co-writing partnership to complete a polished screenplay with marketing advice. Priced at $2,000.
• Polished Pages Book writing guidance service including outline and writing coaching with marketing advice. Priced at $3,000; clients have received three-novel publishing deals.
• The Perfect Proposal Book proposal writing and placement service targeting publishers, editors, and agents. Priced at $5,000.
• Ghost Magic Full book or novel ghost-writing service with placement through publishers, editors, agents, and self-publishing options. Starting at $10,000.
• Skip Scripts Screenplay writing service for various script types with negotiable pricing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 80,000 copies sold for most recent traditionally published book
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Filmtracker/Baseline HollywoodminorOthersWorked for two years for free with the founders of Filmtracker.com which later merged with Baseline Hollywood. The platform tracked industry contacts for entertainment professionals. Ended association due to concerns about data sourcing practices.
• Triumph Publishing (Russia)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRussian publisher translated the Complete Idiot's Guide to Screenwriting into 'How to Write and Sell Screenplays in the USA for Video, Movies and Television' (395 pages). Mentioned in Pravda newspaper.
• Funnie VitalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRussian screenwriter and best-selling author met through Triumph Publishing. Connected to broader Russian filmmaking community.
• Ray Manzarek (The Doors)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned a screenplay adaptation of the Russian novel 'The Master and Margarita' for Ray Manzarek of The Doors before his passing.
• Pavel RuminovminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRussian filmmaker met through Elena Morozova connection; helped him adapt a movie.
• Everyone Who's Anyone (Gerard Jones)minorOthersPaying $50/month for IMDbPro and PublishersMarketplace but acknowledges Gerard Jones's free site as probably the best free resource for aspiring writers seeking agent and editor contacts.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Reedsy: Online marketplace connecting authors with vetted editors, ghostwriters, and writing professionals. The Press Gang explicitly offers editing services through Reedsy's marketplace, making Reedsy both a distribution channel and a direct competitor for the same freelance writing services customers.
• Writer's Digest: Long-running publication and education brand offering writing instruction books, courses, and competitions for aspiring and working writers. Closely comparable to The Press Gang's combination of instructional books (Complete Idiot's Guide) and online courses (Your Screenwriting Career) targeting the same beginning-to-intermediate writer audience.
• Self-Publishing School: Founded by Chandler Bolt, focuses on self-publishing education with courses like Self-Publishing Simplified and Author Accelerator. Targets the same aspiring authors seeking to self-publish, with overlapping course and coaching offerings including ghost-writing and book proposal services.
• Story Genius (Lisa Cron): Lisa Cron's story coaching and methodology brand built around her "Story Genius" book and workshops. Direct peer offering competing story structure frameworks, manuscript coaching, and courses to the same fiction and memoir writer audience as The Press Gang's manuscript development services.
• Gotham Writers Workshop: Established writing school offering online and in-person courses across fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting, and publishing. Competes with The Press Gang for the same aspiring writer and screenwriter segments through similar course-based revenue model and direct-to-consumer pricing.
• Save the Cat!: Blake Snyder's screenwriting methodology brand, with books, software, and workshops teaching the "Beat Sheet" story structure. Competes directly with The Press Gang's "Shaping Force" / Story Matrix methodology for the same screenwriters and storytellers seeking structured narrative frameworks.

Emerging players

• Mediabistro: Media-industry career education and job platform offering courses, certificates, and resources for writers and content creators. Overlaps with The Press Gang's screenwriting and publishing career guidance but serves a broader media professional audience including journalism and corporate content roles.

Others

• Final Draft: Industry-standard screenwriting software used by professional screenwriters. Functions as ecosystem participant — The Press Gang's "End Run to Hollywood" course and evaluation services reference Final Draft usage and serve the same screenwriter customers, but does not directly compete.

Broad incumbents

• MasterClass: Premium online education platform featuring celebrity-taught courses including writing categories from authors and screenwriters. Represents the scaled, well-capitalized version of what The Press Gang offers in screenwriting and writing instruction, with far broader reach and production quality but less individualized mentorship.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/skippress
• Facebookfacebook.com/GeneralLeeFunny
• Pinterestpinterest.com/skippress
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-press-gang

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Press Gang