Screenwriting : Social Media? by Lynette Willoughby

No, I don't think you are wrong.

No, you are not wrong... I am in the same situation!

Hi, Lynette Willoughby. I don't think it's a big issue. You could link your social media account(s), IMDb account, and/or your website to Coverfly though so they'll be linked as you build up your portfolio.

Coverfly is just collecting data; they're not in the employing business.

Tbh, many of my peers in show business behind camera have minimum social media; they work in silence, never publicly speak what they're doing at the present. My VFX friend worked on Avatar for two years before telling family & friends! Lol!

Hi Lynette Willoughby - I would contact Coverfly support directly: Help page --> submit request (top right) and ask if they sent such a notification. It doesn't seem like something they would send out, but they also like more complete profiles if/when they push your projects to contacts of theirs. Cheers :-)

What Matthew says, if you want to link, link, but NEVER DIRECTLY RESPOND to these messages. Likely they're NOT who they appear to be.

As noted, Coverfly et. al. data mine. Coverfly and all its associated companies should be avoided like Black Plague.

Coverfly is owned by an umbrella corporation that also operates Wescreenplay, The Script Lab, ScreenCraft, Tracking Board plus others, and also runs many competitions.

Their reach for coverage is around 80% of all paid reads including contests not run by them that contract for their bad reading services, as do most well known screenwriting websites that offer coverage.

The umbrella used to be Red Ampersand. The slippery owner creates a new company every few years, so the umbrella name has changed. The company is run by the owner and his wife from a home in LA. Their awful readers operate remotely.

The Red Ampersand site listed a Beverly Hills address and 800 number. The address is a mail drop and the number was non-operational. You'd be surprised how many well known sites use mail drop addresses in chi-chi neighborhoods and bogus numbers to appear like they're something beside a money-minting machine for their rich owners.

Caveat emptor.

Thanks, E, did not know most of this!

What you just said reads like a thriller movie!!

E, you're sure you're not MI6 gone screenwriter.

I could tell you but then I'd... you know the rest.

A screenwriter friend got burned by cut and paste wescreenplay coverage and wouldn't stop bitching about it. Their email complaints went unanswered. I helped them try to find out where they're located and learned all this.

In the end, they just denied the charge with their CC company.

Hi Lynette Willoughby I also don't have a website though I am active on IG and X. I have IMBD credits but I do not pay for IMDB Pro. What I do though, if I may suggest, is fill out a complete Stage 32 profile with my resume and links to videos including a demo reel and use my personal profile page as a website. I include a link to my profile in all entertainment business related emails. And post it on my profile page on my other SM accounts.

Thank you everyone for your responses. There is so much knowledge in this group. Love it !

You're welcome, Lynette Willoughby.

E Langley do you know if Shore Scripts is also part of this umbrella?

Hi Lynette Willoughby - my experience with Coverfly has been quite different from E Langley. I've encountered many experienced and helpful readers, it's a great way to track rewrites of my projects and competitions. They also have the Red List, which is respected industry wide. It really depends on your expectations as to whether or not Coverfly works for you and the free aspects of the site/service are a great way to network and submit to Mandates/OWAs.

I believe it may be Lynette Willoughby.

Mazeltov, Matthew Kelcourse.

I feel this thread has lost sight of the original question somewhat. The question is; does having a social media presence benefit, particularly when you don't have much of a portfolio? That's a hard one to answer.

I started appearing on people's radar thanks to my blogs, which countered a lot of what was being touted in screenwriting communities and warmed me to people within the industry. That said, we're going back five years now and things have gotten a lot noisier.

I feel that, if you're going to do social media, you have to go in at 100% and sustain it for a long time, or it can look worse than not having it at all. Plus, you have to start as early as possible and not think you can just switch it on at the eleventh hour.

What is needed, in my opinion, is a path that markets you as a writer. You need people to flow into your bio, your credits, your portfolio, and your background, before finding out how they can get in touch with you. While I appreciate established people get away with next to nothing, the key point there is that they are established. They already have the networking in place to get work.

As for Coverfy, they have actually made it a lot easier to validate award wins and they've consolidated a lot of previously scattered data. The staff work hard to promote the top percentile of their members too. Leverage what you can. I've wasted far too much time and energy on various crusades.

I agree CJ Walley there is no point launching a presence if you don't continue to have something to say ! And yes, Coverfly does make it easy to see consolidated entries etc. so kudos for that.

If X is anything to go by, the social media accounts of aspiring screenwriters are used for two things:

1. pretending to be a pro Hollywood guru, mentor and insider ("Fake it 'til ya make it");

2. boasting about placing in one of the thousands of screenwriting competitions.

Those pretenders are everywhere, and closer than you think.

"Those pretenders are everywhere, and closer than you think."

We're through the looking glass here, people.

Cheshire Cat grin.

I agree with some of the folks on here Lynette Willoughby that a social media presence isn't totally necessary. If it's not you, then no need to be someone you're not. Just let you work speak for itself and lean into communities such as this one, in which you ask for and receive feedback such as this, find that support system that is so critical in this business, and further evolve as a writer!

I don't have time for social media because I write screenplays instead.

Having a basic online presence can enhance your visibility, even with a small portfolio, it’s worth linking your social media or IMDB to help industry professionals connect with you!