ASK & DISCUSS
INDEXShould I or Shouldn’t I Use a Script Coverage Service?
12 years, 3 months ago - Matthew Prince
I was reading this article: Why You Shouldn’t Use a Script Coverage Service at http://www.scriptmag.com/features/primetime-why-you-shouldnt-use-a-script-coverage-service
It got me thinking. The writer, Chad Gervich, states that he believes script "coverage" NOT "consulting" is a rip-off since you never truly know who's reading your script, it's often expensive and that the reader may not specialize in your genre.
Excerpts:
1 You rarely know who’s reading your script.
For $100, I'll read your script. Trust me, I'm qualified.
Some coverage services use “faceless” readers and consultants; you send in your script, it comes back with a shiny, professional-looking report. But you have no idea who actually did the work. Was it someone who spent 20 years as the VP of Development at Sony Television? Or someone who spent six months as an assistant for a boutique talent agency?
2. It doesn’t matter if they like your script.
Maybe you’re not looking for a “creative/spiritual coach” to get in the trenches and improve your writing. Maybe you just want a quick opinion on the quality or sale-ability of your script. Would/could your script get through the reader/evaluation process at a network, studio, or agency? Fair enough.
So you send in your script, and the coverage comes back positive. Maybe even glowing. So what?…
This means nothing. Why?…
Well, first of all, you don’t know who “liked” (or “disliked”) your script. It may have been read and covered by someone who has never developed an actual project.
3. Execs, producers, and agents do not rely on these services.
This may be the most important reason of all. Despite what coverage services tell you, most of them do not have the ear of studios, production companies, agents, or managers.
Sure, they may know people at those companies; they may have friends who work there, or old colleagues… they may even have an “open invitation” to send over material. But execs and producers do not look at these services as reliable places to find material. They may occasionally accept “submissions” from these places, but—I promise you—those submissions mostly go into the execs’ “low priority piles;” the piles of contest winners, cold queries, unsolicited submissions, babysitters’ boyfriends, etc.
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So what is your opinion? As a "starving artist" I have to be careful with my money :) but tell me of your experiences.
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12 years, 3 months ago - Marlom Tander
To read a feature script, carefully, making notes and then writing them up is a 3 hour job. Minimum.
Observe that there aren't people offering this service for poems, or lyrics, or novels, or short stories. Is it because scriptwriting is that much harder? No. It's because every scriptwriter thinks there is a HUGE CHEQUE just around the corner, and maybe a script reading service will help hook it. Poets are more realistic:-)
I'm a sceptic about reading services. But it IS good to have your work reviewed by someone who will envision it as a movie AND be as brutal as needed. A helpful friend is better than a random reader. Cheaper too, even if they push for a good malt rather than a bottle of plonk as payment :-)
Response from 12 years, 3 months ago - Marlom Tander SHOW
12 years, 3 months ago - Lee 'Wozy' Warren
What you seek are notes, not comments! Reading a screenplay is not an easy process for the uninitiated. Most people read novels! Not scripts. And when they are presented with a pile of upto 120 A4 pages of writing that looks nothing like a novel it can be confusing to feedback on. In my opinion, better a script reader with six months experience who will provide notes than a life long friend who will provide comments.
A good network of screenplay writers is a better way of sharing scripts for feedback if you have little to no money and if your work is at the point of being good, find a mentor to work with.
In the past I've worked with a mentor to hone a script prior to filming, someone with many years experience and awards for his work. In return I've exchanged services/goods in lieu of an actual payment. It works. Lack of money is not an excuse for the initiated.
Good luck.
Response from 12 years, 3 months ago - Lee 'Wozy' Warren SHOW