Screenwriting : Who is Covering Your Coverage? by Philip David Lee

I strongly believe that only beginner screenwriters should pay for coverage. Those that haven’t found their voice, style, and flow.

Philip David Lee Yeah, it actually happened to me quite recently, lol.

That's why I always say, know your script & be open minded. At the end of the day, it's your work, and you can do whatever you want with it. So I always tell myself, "Let me just hear them out. If it's beneficial, I'll use it; if not, I'll scratch it.

Hey Cameron Tendaji - I would like to add to your thought about coverage to suggest even experienced writers ready to market can benefit from some coverage services that offer contact exposure for scripts that score high enough (eg: Scriptapalooza, Shore Scripts, etc...).

You try to nail them in on something specific, and there is a ninety-nine per cent chance they will not get back to you. Keep your money.

I'm with Cameron Tendaji, Charles - coverage notes from a reputable/experienced service can be a Master Class in screenwriting for up and comers like myself and far less costly than most courses and seminars. Once you have the hang of it, there's little need for coverage unless it can lead to making more contacts ;-)

It sometimes feels like many writers will do anything but study the craft. First it was trying to find direction through competition placements, then it was BL evaluations, and now its coverage.

Two things;

1) If you need direction, you are not ready for the profession. No writer for hire should need their own consultant. Within your team, you should be the expert, know you are the expert, and be seen as the expert when it comes to story. This is the common insanity of screenwriting communities. People angry Hollywood won't hire them based on their talent while paying anonymous nobodies to tell them how to write.

2) Coverage is a very inefficient way to learn the craft. You wouldn't learn to write music by asking people what they thought of random notes. You wouldn't want to become a respected painter by only doing what other painters told you what to do.

Ppl confusing coverage for notes (and script service businesses purposedly make it confusing), and if you dont know the difference between notes & coverage simply ask yourself if the person you are paying has any skin in this game to advance your career.

Whether the person writing the coverage gives you a 'consider' or a 'pass' is irrelevant (although I do empathise with your irritation). It's what you do with the learnings that count. And that's entirely up to you. If you think their comments are misguided, ignore them. But I would suggest taking something, however small, from the commentary and applying it positively. Gives you ownership, puts you back in control.

Though some are splitting a dime into nickels, coverage includes notes. In my experience, most coverage and notes have been helpful and educational, and help open doors when you can list a respected recommend coverage on your bio. It all depends on how you use the coverage information to your advantage. My take is most coverage is helpful in moving forward.

“How do you know if your scripts are good if you don’t give somebody money to tell you it’s good” lol. The predatory nature of how this industry is to writers summed up in one sentence

In my experience, the worst and best coverage I've ever got was free. The worst coming from random internet strangers on sites where you can do that. The best coming from close friends and fellow writers in writers groups who understand my voice and what I'm going for when I take big swings. However, there is a ton of value for paid coverage that comes from a random person who doesn't know you, but is an industry reader who's been reading and evaluating scripts for a long time. Paid readers at trusted sites generally know what works and what doesn't work. They're also often much more plugged into industry tastes than any given writer because they're seeing trends in material that writers can't see in our silos (AI being the big one right now). IMO paid coverage is valuable as a piece of gathering opinions, but not the whole pie. The key is to take the notes being delivered seriously and not focus too much on the grading. A lot of scripts don't get better on 2nd drafts, it sometimes takes a few rounds of notes to find the breakthrough you're looking for. I know it does for me, and I consider it a joy when I get a breakthrough note on an early read because it's so rare. All you can do as a writer is focus on collecting consensus opinions (thru paid, free, friends, etc.) and mine for those pieces that can really elevate your story, without worrying about validation, which does not come easily.

Dan Guardino You seem to be tuning down the rhetoric a bit. But you are 100% right. I would add however: How do you define a person who claims to be an expert? (And I really hate that word. Nobody has ever defined to me what an expert is. Please take note. They don't exist. The expert himself cannot define himself as an expert, even worse, neither can the person promoting or pushing him/her along.) Moving on, if this so called expert is such a knowledgeable person, what is the point of taking $45 while he/she could be making thousands more in a proper Hollywood job. For all I care, it could have been somebody who's been polishing shoes in all the Hollywood studios - it could happen! Or making cups of coffee.) Ah well, you could end up with a script with a better 'shine.' And judging by their youngish appearance they won't serve you coffee with a trembling hand (like me? ha). There are zillion notes and coverage notes about everything on the Internet. A couple of books would make you knowledgeable. I admit however, one will always be increasing one's circle of friends and influences ... and I say this with utmost seriousness, so there is a benefit.

A couple more points;

1) It's absolutely normal, as an artist, to crave validation. It makes sense emotionally and it makes sense practically - since we put years into chasing our dreams. However, finding validation within the writing scene will seldom net results, To a degree, you need to have a lot of self-belief in your voice to carry you to a stage where true validation can get back to you. For me, it was initially writing short scripts and getting them optioned. That was bigger to me than Amazon Studios making one of my scripts a notable project. People were actually getting up in the morning to turn my words in reality. Then it was having an actual feature film producer want to do that. Then it was having films I'd made get recommended by the New York times and going on to the top ten on Prime, Hulu, and Netflix. I recently had two Oscar nominated actors fight over the role in a script I've written, one of whom is also a seven time Tony award winner and describes it as a masterpiece. It's a long way from getting 2/10 from some random Black List reader. However, by far the most fulfilling piece of validation for me came this weekend. A couple I know told me that they'd seen a film I'd written and loved it before meeting me and only realised I'd written it after. They'd had to go back and watch the opening credits just to believe it was their friend. That is the ultimate level of validation; knowing you've given an unbiased audience some spiritual medication.

2) If some random on the internet is out trying to give people feedback, especially unsolicited, run a fucking mile. That's a 99% chance they are a sociopathic narcissist who'd rather pick at other people's work than develop their own. That extends a little into the cheaper side of feedback services and especially into stuff offered free with competition entries. There is nothing those people can tell you that you can't learn yourself through a couple of books.

How about A. I. coverage?

Wow, quite a range of well-expressed opinions, some of which reflect very different experiences than mine. I've paid for development notes on various screenplays perhaps a dozen times. They were from a few separate companies, all of which received several positive reviews. (And, I should add, all cost more than $45 -- that price alone makes me question the legitimacy of the company that gave you feedback.) And with one exception, my experiences have been positive. Well thought out suggestions that understood what I was trying to say and resulted in rewrites that were definitely stronger. One even suggested a totally different approach that I took to heart and ended up with a significantly better product. Early on I paid for feedback from screenplay contests but this was primarily because I knew my projects needed work, just wasn't sure where and what to fix. Now I'm more confident in the quality of my screenplays.

In any event, keep writing. Don't let one bad apple ruin your enthusiasm.

Dan Guardino Well defined.

Anonymous evaluations are worthless evaluations.

I wouldn't say worthless Drongo Bum. If paid, they can be great, so long as they're coming from a reputable place that vets and pays their readers. If unpaid, though there is a 1 in 7 chance you're getting back something useful in my experience. Of course all readers have differing tastes and the main piece of the puzzle you can't really control, is that you may get a great reader who's just not super into the genre you write. So your script might end up in the hands of someone who can give you great notes but it's just not gonna connect with them the same way it would with someone who loves a certain genre.

The bottom line is I don't know what "woke Hollywood is looking for and I don't particularly care. The Force is Female has proved it isn't. The MSheU proves M's don't care to watch it as well as the she's or even U, but I guess if you're getting paid to write slop, at least it'll keep the lights on and no one will blame you. Audiences will blame the talent and the director and the cast and crew will blame the fans which is like a salesman selling a pair of shoes and blaming the customer's feet if it doesn't fit right.

Just make sure

1) You don't have any plot holes. The minute the viewer (or reader) questions something, you've lost them for however long it takes their brain to accept the fault and get back into the story.

2) Make sure the characteristics of your characters stays consistent. If they for some reason change to the opposite of what you first presented, they'll need more of a reason than one character saying, "Then stop being a dick." (I'm sure most of know where that brilliant line of dialog is from.)

3) Keep the story moving. If it's dialog heavy, make the dialog flow, be witty (not jokey if you can't write jokes.) and moving when it has to be. Don't be afraid to put in some action. Action is not "Blowing up sh#t. Some action can be as simple as a short hand to hand conflict. Just don't let the work slip into stagnation. If you get bored when you reread it, change it.

4) Make it rewatchable. Think about some of your favorite films that you will watch until you shuffle off this mortal coil, study the elements you like to revisit and try to find the common thread to put in your work with an original twist and adding something you've learned about life. Remember, as a creative, you're not trying to write the next opus. You're trying to build a fan base that likes your style. You're like a musician that writes screenplays instead of songs.

I hope this helps.

"The bottom line is I don't know what "woke Hollywood is looking for and I don't particularly care."

Activist Hollywood failed and is now withering away. Not only was it not especially profitable, it actually cost Hollywood a lot of money. It was the inevitable result of handing budgets to people who didn't merit them.

The activist writers and producers at the MCU were quietly "let go" recently. The phase is over, although the backlog of activist product will take a while to clear.

Artists need to challenge the status quo - it is a fundamental part of humanity's growth and evolution. Sure, it could have been handled differently but I think the industry had its heart in the right place - knowing everyone deserves a voice and should have representation. There is only one yardstick - is this person or group acting from love or fear? Am I acting from love or fear?

"...I think the industry had its heart in the right place..."

The entertainment business's heart is comprised of the spreadsheets and algorithms of Hollywood's corporate MBAs. Someone persuaded them it would be profitable to sink a lot of money in activist projects, despite the fact the activists didn't have clue one what they were doing or how to do it. Thus Hollywood got badly burned.

No plot holes? Go watch literally any Nolan film LMAO.

Phillip, where can I get this $45 coverage, please? As a disabled, destitute senior writer, I am very interested. Thank you in advance.

CJ, BL Evaluations?

Who are you paying for coverage? Are they worth it? (Hint: almost certainly not.)

This was a while back so I forget the service and it was sent in by the co-author and I use that term lightly.

While I understand the frustration of paying for script coverage, I always remember that professional coverage has a role in enhancing and the story I want to tell and not just validating it. I very much welcome the external marks from others, I think its tough but necessary in writing to get that professional and external pass and advice!

"...I always remember that professional coverage has a role..."

Sure. Only, in almost every case the coverage is being provided by "professionals" who have achieved no more in the business than the people for whom they are providing coverage. Sometimes less.

If "professional coverage" is dramatically improving your script, you have no right calling yourself a professional.

LOL CJ Walley - just like a professional golf coach improving JT's game means JT has no right to call himself a professional golfer. Every professional who is self-aware will always be open to improving their skills by learning from others :-)

We don't play golf.

Matthew Kelcourse The difference is you actually have to be good at golf to be a golf pro.

It's interesting, though, that regardless of who plays golf, the metaphor still applies ;-)

It doesn't. Comparisons like this are always ridiculous.

If you are paying someone else to tell you how to write, you should not be being paid to write.