News

Craig Mazin and I recorded our [first episode](http://johnaugust.com/2011/pitching-a-take-and-the-wga-elections) of Scriptnotes almost two years ago, and 100 episodes later, a lot has changed. I wanted to share a quick summary of where we’ve been and where we’re going.

For starters, we’ve literally moved: we’re on a new server now, one with room to grow. We switched right after episode 99. For most people, the switchover was seemless, but if for some reason your subscription isn’t updating (i.e. you’re not seeing episodes 100, 101 or 102), just [delete your subscription and re-add it](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/scriptnotes-podcast/id462495496?mt=2). ((Better to do this when you’re on wifi, just in case iTunes decides to download several episodes at once.))

One Cool Thing about our new server setup is that we have a lot more geodata about our listeners. For this map, we divided listeners by state population to reduce the impact of big cities:

California is still in a class by itself, naturally, but Washington D.C. comes in number two. (I suspect that’s because D.C. is uniquely a “state” that’s a city.) The west seems to have an affinity for screenwriting; compare Wyoming to Arkansas or Indiana. I also find the difference between Arizona and New Mexico to be striking.

##The Three Page Challenge

Every few weeks, Craig and I take a look at few entries in the Three Page Challenge. Last year, Stuart Friedel wrote up [his findings](http://johnaugust.com/2012/learning-from-the-three-page-challenge) from having read 500 of them.

As of today, he’s gotten 1,340 entries. We’ve looked at 50 submissions on the podcast, so that means statistically any given submission has a 3.7% chance of making it to air.

But the truth is, Stuart picks the best ones. A well-written entry has a much, much higher chance of getting on the show.

##The back catalog

Unlike a lot of podcasts that quickly become dated, most of what Craig and I discuss remains relevant — writing is writing, after all.

But because we don’t have any advertisers, there’s no one to pay for the not-insubstantial server costs of hosting all those old files, which is why we only keep the most recent 20 episodes on iTunes.

In order to help out newer listeners who want to catch up on back episodes — or anyone who’d like the whole catalog for themselves — we’re offering the first 100 episodes on a USB flash drive for a limited time. You can find them [in the store](http://johnaugust.com/store).

T-shirt sales covered almost all of our costs for transcripts, so thank you again for that. Stuart, Ryan and I learned a lot about the shipping of physical goods through that adventure, so we may decide to do it again.

But not right away. Man, that was a lot of work.

##The year ahead

Craig and I both really like audiences, so we’re excited to be doing another live episode this October at the [Austin Film Festival](http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/festivalandconference/conference/2013-panels/). After that, we’ll be looking at more opportunities in LA.

I’ve really enjoyed the episodes in which Craig and I sit down with special guests. So expect more of that. We’ll also be looking for ways to talk about more than just three pages — like how a whole movie is structured at the index card stage.

In the meantime, thanks for listening. If you haven’t left a comment on iTunes recently, [maybe share the love](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/scriptnotes-podcast/id462495496?mt=2). It helps other people find the show.