Screenwriting : Coverfly by Bill Albert

Congrats. I know of a writer who's had some success with his features on Coverfly. They're just nibbles of opportunities but that's what to expect when trying to break in.

Congrats Bill! I also received a Coverfly notice that my script was in the top 19%. Haven't figured out the value of that yet.

I'm sure there are exceptions to every rule, but the Coverfly ranking system is largely fluff unless you're in the Top 1%. I've made the monthly Red List two or three times this year. I have a script that at its peak was Top 20% (down to Top 22% now, last I looked).

No industry interest. No download requests. Silence and tumbleweed. I can't say that surprises me as it didn't get the ranking from contest wins. It got it from a Recommend from WeScreenplay (that I'm almost certain is kinda worthless) and a QF in Stage 32's Sci-Fi competition. The other contests it placed in aren't recorded on Coverfly.

And I think that's the thing. Coverfly themselves are upfront about it: half the scripts on there don't get anywhere. They can't even get a Consider from a coverage service tracked by Coverfly. They won't place in a contest. They're just sitting there with not even a placement to bolster their ranking.

Thus getting Top 20% if you're a decent writer, and willing to spend money on the things that bump that ranking (eg. contests and some coverage services) is almost guaranteed to put you ahead of most other writers on there.

But the opportunities are generally (although again, I'm sure there are exceptions) reserved for those who are winning contests, have scripts in the Top 1% or are getting selected for Coverfly's Pitch Week.

I think John Austin hit it on the nose. The more you enter (and advance) in contests, the more likely you are to see breakthroughs.

I agree with what everyone's saying. I have a "Top 6%" script and am meeting with someone on Coverfly's "Development Team" this week. Mind you, I haven't entered this into a competition since 2019, so why they're reaching out now remains to be seen. I'll come back to this thread and let you all know how it goes and what exactly they offer in terms of development/exposure!

I have two scripts in the Top 1% apparently. One of them was in the top 20 drama features for last month, and this past weekend I received a notification that I had an industry download, my first one. I was named one of the Screencraft Fellowship finalists in June, so I think that accounted for the bump. I'm not feeling extremely positive that anything will come from any of this though, but I guess it's something.

I have been thinking too of submitting my screenplay to Coverfly. Interested to know others experiences with it. Was the feedback worth it and helpful?

Hey Bill Albert - I get this question a lot. And I have to agree with many of your fellow writers. I find that most of the folks who end up on Coverfly become frustrated with a lack of movement or momentum. Sure there are "industry downloads" but then nothing. And there is no transparency on many of these hosting sites and ranking sites. Meanwhile they are happy to take the money. It has always been FREE to post your loglines on Stage 32 and it is FREE to post your scripts on Stage 32. And those postings result in real successes for writers.

When getting notes or sending out a script, I always advocate for writers to take charge and send your script directly to industry professionals for notes and coverage rather than trying to play the lottery of rankings and ratings. Why not invest in the call or the notes with someone who YOU choose? At the very least you will get notes and feedback from someone you chose.

And I have heard time and time again from writers who sent their project to an executive through Stage 32 that they are now in business with that person. I encourage everyone to check out our success story blogs here: https://www.stage32.com/blog/tag/success-stories and our testimonials and success here: https://www.stage32.com/scriptservices/success-stories

Jason, Thanks for your comments and input about script coverage. I will rethink my initial inclination and look for input here within Stage 32.

Hi Alice. I'll just add that I've used Coverfly's recommended script coverage service (WeScreenplay, which is owned by the same parent company) on a few previous occasions. Their notes seem to me to be very geared towards flattering the writer's ego, rather than helping them develop their script.

I'm not sure why this is, although I have read on Reddit from somebody who claimed to be a reader for WS that they are given bonuses when they get good feedback. The cynic in me wonders whether that means their readers are reluctant to be too critical for fear of upsetting writers and not getting good feedback?

Yesterday, I received notes back from S32 (using their standard $99 service) and even with a Recommend for the script and Consider for the writer, I received more constructive criticism, suggestions, craft notes, etc. than I have previously received from WS. Not everything in the S32 notes I feel is applicable, but there is definitely material I can use in there to improve as a writer. I can't say I feel that any of the notes WS provided have given me that.

I am on Coverfly, and if you haven't personally been on the site for a least a few years, I wouldn't comment on Coverfly. So far no one has said anything about what the site actually does.

What Coverfly does is list writing contests and host your script so you can submit to these contests in a one-stop-shop. Second Coverfly doesn't recommend any "coverage" service as that would be a conflict of interests. Each contest recommends their own stuff Coverfly just hosts them. That's it. Also, Coverfly is blatantly straightforward with its rating system and what it means and how it's site works.

For your reading: "Coverfly was born when the teams behind ScreenCraft and WeScreenplay partnered in 2017 to solve some serious problems they saw with Hollywood's decentralized and messy screenwriting talent-discovery process."

Anyone that says "lack of movement or momentum" and "Sure there are "industry downloads" but then nothing." obvisouly have not been on coverfly or is straight up lying.

I use Coverfly, I am not a spokeperson, I'm not selling you anything. It's a site where you can list your scripts for free and submit to contests. Do peer-review script notes (script exchange with someone just like you) and apply for OWAs. They have free contests at times. Workshops. It's alot better than Stage32 in my opinion. The only thing Stage does that Coverfly doesn't is have the pitch sessions.

If you want to know more about Coverfly, go to the site sign up. Don't ask people that don't know or the "I heard from someone else"

https://www.coverfly.com/

My very first experience was through Coverfly and to my surprise my little first 1/2 hour TV episodic script landed on the Red List for an entire year! That motivated me onward along with Writer Duet who let me write it for free and that was through The Script Pipelin'e's free contest. It's been a while since then and now I have a feature script that is swirling around where it's getting a lot of attention and consideration including getting through the second round of a major contest with a major studio.. I know it's going to land somewhere and at some time but I get this gig fully at this point so who knows when that will happen. But Coverfly helped me get to this point. = my take on it.

My experience with Coverfly is pretty much exactly like Jay's.

I joined because when I was submitting to two contests, both recommended using Coverfly. I liked that I could host a script and just be able to use that site to pay a contest fee, click the project I wanted to submit and be done.

I like it for three reasons.... #1: It streamlines the submission process significantly.

#2: It tracks submissions and makes it easy to remember when milestones/deadlines are going to be.

#3: It aggregates how your script is doing, if you've been submitting it out to multiple contests.

Getting on the Red List is a nice ego boost (got on there twice for two different scripts) but as nice as the Red List is, as is the notion of getting downloads, ETC; the main reason to join Coverfly is the ease of submitting to most screenplay contests, even the ones here on Stage32.

It's just a another tool in the arsenal, IMO.

"The only thing Stage 32 does that Coverfly doesn't is have the pitch sessions"

And you know, provides a completely free LinkedIn style networking facility along with a wall to post on, lounges to chat in, a jobs board, plus webinars, seminars, and everything in the Writers' Room.

At least be fair when making the comparison, which isn't really needed in the first place.

Coverfly is great, Stage 32 is great. We're blessed with lots of great options these days but the nature of the business means some people will see zero traction while others see significant wins.

Jay - Coverfly clearly does recommend a coverage service as every time you go to your project's insights right at the top is "Polish With Coverage" and a link to WeScreenplay's coverage. Since WS's coverage is the only service that is listed under Polish With Coverage, one can assume they're recommending it.

Before they redesigned the user admin part of the site recently it was even more obvious, with a link to WeScreenplay's coverage service on nearly every page.

And you know what? That's absolutely fine. I would expect Coverfly to list a coverage service that is under the same Red Ampersand banner that they are, the same way I expect S32 to point you towards their coverage service. But the quality of WS coverage, in my actual experience, isn't that great. I've used it multiple times before, but I doubt I'll use it again unless I'm just trying to bump my Coverfly ranking (which WS coverage can do).

Pretty incredible business by IT tech dudes. Who predicted math algorithm would replace human readers searching for new writers?

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/inside-coverfly-plan-reinvent-hollyw...

barry, folks use math for pro sports now. Imagine Ent fellowships use an algorithm to filter candidates.

Coverfly isn't really replacing human readers. It's applying an algorithm to weighted scores given by human readers. You have a script. Script gets a good score from WS Coverage. The algorithm decides to elevate your script. As the script places in competitions, the algorithm boosts your script's score based on the weighting Coverfly has given to each contest.

To me, it's more gamifying the process. I've got scripts at 22% and 29% on Coverfly, and they've also given me badges. There is an encouragement to "play more" (ie. enter more contests) to try and boost that score, earn more badges and get a place on the Red List. They've even set the Red List up in such a way where I've made the Month-to-Month list three times, but obviously, the only way I can make the Annual List (the one that really matters - the leaderboard, if you will) is with a higher ranking.

But like a video game, I don't know the weightings they use per contest (Coverfly have said they don't release them so as not to offend their partners), and I don't know which contest might actually go for my scripts so it's almost like an RNG or Loot Box-style mechanic. One contest might place me and give me the lovely bump, another contest might not place me and I get nothing.

I'm not criticising Coverfly for this approach. I can see how it might even benefit some people because it gives them goals and such. But there is definitely a carrot and stick approach that turns it into a game of sorts.

The thing is, the nature of trying to align scripts to industry members is inherently gamified.

What's important to me is how a service impacts customers on a financial and psychological scale. Just like here on Stage 32, Coverfly users seem highly motivated to keep going and don't feel priced out of trying to break in.

That can't be said of some other services where their customers seem to leave like refugees, drained of hope, believing they don't have what it takes, and that they can't afford to keep buying exposure. I get about one writer a month reaching out and opening up to me about how one service in particular has destroyed their mental health, drained their bank account, and nearly caused them to give up on their dream because they thought it was the only viable way into the industry.

We tend to obsess over who succeeds on these platforms the results they get without considering 99.9% will fail and how they will be impacted.

Coverfly is, as far as I'm aware, a true do no damage system too. If you don't place in one competition, that doesn't take away from your finalist status in another. If you get a poor scores on coverage, that doesn't drag down your good scores with other readers. That's how it should be.

Plus, Coverfly aren't interested in people creating as many competitions as possible with zero regard for integrity. They are scrutinising the ones who want to be part of their system and turning down the ones they feel aren't high enough quality. That's a big deal given that some other platforms have been actively encouraging people to create random unknown competitions and festivals and cash in on the submission madness.

The only question for me now is if there's much future in screenwriting competitions. All this is proving how inefficient and clumsy they are compared to feedback/coverage/evaluations. Why wait months for a script to die in the second round when you can have someone read it tomorrow and give their score? Why would anybody want to sit and wait for a list of winners when they can validated material by searching a database?

Finally, no system, no matter how clever, can force the stars to align on a script and this notion needs to be put to bed. At best, things are entirely subjective and at the mercy of the right script and right person crossing paths at the right time. At worst, little can be done to help material that's objectively poor in concept, craft, execution, and or voice.

I won't dispute aspects of the industry are gamified, but I would argue that Coverfly has taken it to the next level. The ranking system, the badge system, and the diminishing returns they've implemented are all designed to keep people entering contests to try and boost the score. It's pretty much the same psychological system that 'pay to win' video games use. I don't blame them for that, it's their business model, and it isn't that far removed from what the Blacklist does (has people chasing 8's).

I'm not against what Coverfly does. While I rarely use Coverfly to enter contests (as a Briton, it's generally more cost-effective to use FilmFreeway), I can also see the value in having a unified submissions platform rather than have to track submissions across multiple sites; or not be able to track them at all.

I do have some concerns about the leniency of WeScreenplay's coverage potentially encouraging people to spend money that they wouldn't have otherwise. I freely admit this is my fault completely, but I entered a script into a handful of contests, including Red Ampersand ones, off the back of a Recommend on WeScreenplay. That didn't go well, at all, and when every coverage I've had from WS comes back with a Consider score at a minimum, I have wondered whether via accident or design, it's encouraging people to take punts they shouldn't have. At the very least, it means I don't trust WS not to BS me.

Now, I'll suck that mistake up as a "live and learn" thing. Obviously, I accept now all that means is that one reader loved something I wrote, and everybody else thinks it's crap - which it probably is! Haha! And of course, Pass/Consider/Recommend means nothing really - nobody is considering these scripts, and they're not being recommended to anyone either.

I don't dislike Coverfly. They've provided a rather valuable learning experience and helped me reassess what's realistic.

I tend to agree with Walley Wu in that if a writer can get faster coverage and evaluation of their script why wait months for results from a competition, unless one prefers to receive designation and rating from a Competition. Maybe being a more impatient person is the reason I feel this way. I would prefer to get script evaluation and critiques and get on with it to revise and rewrite as needed.

I think people submit to competitions because they're stuck with what to do once they've actually got a script they're happy with. It's cool to get evaluations, write, polish and the rest but there comes a point where you don't feel you can improve it anymore, and if you're a newbie or outsider, you hit a wall.

Most agents/managers don't take unsolicited submissions. Most studios, prod co's don't either. Most people have no experience with pitching or sending out an unsolicited submission if they can find someone who will actually take one.

For example (and ignoring that I already figured the script wasn't worth pursuing), I've got a script sitting here with a Recommend this week from S32's Coverage. It also got 9/10 elsewhere (with a breakdown in plot, dialogue, etc. also ranking it solid 9/10 or 9.5/10 across the board).

So two different coverage services rate it highly. Great! But let's say I wanted to pursue it... now what? I don't have the experience with pitching to risk $300 on S32's pitching service. I don't know anyone who might be able to get it in front of somebody who would give me the time of day. I don't know anyone in the UK who takes unsolicited pitches, and I definitely don't know what it's like to deal with Americans. So I'm at that wall, with no idea of how to climb over it.

Theoretically, that's where contests would potentially help. I wouldn't be needing further notes to polish; rather, I'd need to get someone's attention.

The problem with contests as an option, however, is you're competing for places among thousands of others. You generally get one shot in front of the first-round script readers (there are only a handful I know of that use a minimum of two readers) and if they hate what you've done, that Recommend or 9/10 means zip because you're getting chucked in the first round.

And most contests don't carry that much weight. Coverfly does indeed vet contests far more than FilmFreeway does, but the majority of those contests still don't get you anything unless you win.

It's all a bit of a mucky mess to navigate, and while I may not be Coverfly's biggest cheerleader, I can appreciate what they're trying to do. They're trying to give those people who won't win contests but will consistently place in them a leg up, but it's still a big gamble and takes a fair amount of cash.

john, you can read coverfly's boss here on stage 32 thread. They had some growing pains pissing off writers with mining contest info without permission but it looks like they have rebranded their image and made themselves look legit in the script services business, partnering with corporations and other screenwriting websites targeting the same customers.

https://www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/RED-LIST-on-Coverfly

I don't disagree regarding the capitalisation, John Austin. The point I'm making is that I'm seeing much happier writers coming out of Stage 32 and Coverfly than I am out of some alternatives.

I've spent ten years trying to raise awareness of how easy it is to fall into a gambling mentality when it comes to validation and exposure and I've learned there's only so much you can do to help writers help themselves.

Anyway, here's a nice little article in MovieMaker Magazine about the big script hosting databases.

I have a few screenplays up there. Also on the Red List and... well, that's about it. It didn't gain me anything, yet. But as far as I know, Coverfly is a good place to be on. But you are right, what is the next step? I have five shorts now and I am in the process of writing a feature, but none of the websites have gained me anything. So, I think you can use it as portfolio building.

CJ Walley, I would imagine most writers are happy when they're achieving success, or at least they have the perception that they are edging closer to achieving it. Coverfly is set up in such a way that it's making people believe in the latter with its rankings and badges.

I'm not saying there is anything inherently bad about that. I'm sure for many writers it's a strong motivator. That 10% bump from a contest placement might be just what they needed when they needed it to keep going.

For me, however, and freely admitting to being Captain Cynical, I don't see what Coverfly does as particularly helpful because chasing the top couple of per cent to actually get noticed looks like it's going to require far too much of a financial investment. Top 20% for a script sounds great and all until you realise it means it's around #11,318. Doesn't matter what someone's after, they're not going to be looking that far down the list.

Again, I don't disagree but it seems Coverfly has 7-10 success stories to post about per month so it's certainly helping some people. I had a look at the profiles for those success stories and the accolades varied. Some had just one competition placement before they saw success, some had over thirty.

Paid for services will always favour those with the most capital to invest but, again, Coverfly does have some free programs.

I don't have access to the industry side of the site but I know scripts can be searched by meta-tags. I can imagine being the highest ranked script within a niche still being valuable, even if it's thousands of placements down in the general listings.

I'm not saying nobody finds success through Coverfly, just as I wouldn't argue that even the minor competitions don't help someone on their way from time to time. Good on those people!

But for me, I'm on Coverfly solely because there is no reason not to be. If I enter a script into a contest on FF, there is a good chance it'll be pulled straight over to Coverfly anyway so it'd be boneheaded to take things off Coverfly - least of all because doing so would withdraw the entry!

As for niches, yes, that is a fair point, although it's still going to require a fair investment, I'd think. For example, I've got a one-hour horror TV script that (rough calculation) is probably around #144 in that particular niche. I don't think, that far down and given the relative rarity of horror TV shows compared to action, sci-fi, crime, standard drama, etc. it's high enough to get any attention.

I haven't entered it anywhere. It's where it is solely because of WeScreenplay coverage so if I wanted it to get noticed on CF, I'd have to spend the money on contest entries. Is it wise to do that? I don't know. Part of me thinks I should take the punt (it's always a punt). Even ignoring that WS seems to like any chuff you shove in front of them, S32 gave it a Recommend and another place gave it all those 9's and 9.5's, so maybe I'm thinking of it too critically and it's worth spending a couple of hundred quid to try and get it to Top 20/Annual Red List in its niche? Then maybe it (or you know, more importantly, me) might get noticed?

None of those questions you or anyone else needs to answer. They're totally on me to figure out, but they arise because I'm not sold on the idea of chasing the ranking... and that's what Coverfly is trying to encourage me to do.

Once again, I don't fault them for that. They are a business and that is their model, and while it's great other people are finding success through that model, it leaves me with a bit of a conundrum, shall we say?

I know the feeling but it's only a conundrum if you keep these options open.

Personally, I made the decision to stop entering competitions or buying evaluations very early on into my attempts to break in. Year two or three, I think. It was playing havoc with my mental health and I felt like was effectively helping fund some really predatory and elitist organisations.

I put my energy into networking, blogging, and listening to the advice of successful filmmakers instead.

Right on CJ.

I'm with you, too, CJ, about entering competitions. Last month, I decided to quit doing contests...and, instead, not only keep on writing, but also using IMDBPro to find people who might want to look at what I've written.

Bill, the jury's still out for me when it comes to Coverfly...but that's my tough luck. You've had more success with it than I have, and I salute you for that!

Bill Albert - Do you know what boosted your script's rating?

Richard Buzzell - I believe it said something about getting selected in festivals meaning I was getting noticed a bit. Honestly it had been so long since I first uploaded and hadn't heard anything I completely forgot that I had even been there.

Bill Albert - Are you saying that your script's ranking went up, not due to anything related to the script, but due to your success with films in festivals?

Hi Marty. Yep, that's how it works. If Coverfly can match a script by title and writer that placed in a competition that it tracks, it'll add that accolade to the writer's profile and use it to calculate the script's score.