Script coverage and feedback by industry pro’s and working screenwriters
Your screenplay has only one chance to wow an agent, studio, or contest.
Make it count.
Get your script readScript coverage from Screenplay Readers consists of 6-8 pages of expert critical feedback on your screenplay that helps you pinpoint what’s working and what’s not. Our script coverage is jam-packed with helpful, constructive insight and suggestions, and gives you a good idea of how an agent, producer, film investor, or name actor might react, before you send it out…
Our script readers have worked with some of the biggest and best studios and agencies in the film industry
Our team has provided script coverage for JJ Abrams, Warner Bros., Disney, Universal, CAA, Sundance, ICM, SyFy, Ridley Scott, Curtis Hanson, and more. Each of our script readers has been hand-picked for extensive script coverage and development experience, and is dedicated to helping you improve your screenplay. And that dedication is what has kept our clients coming back for over 18 years, and has made us the film industry’s #1 choice for script coverage.
Script Coverage Definition:
Film studios, movie producers, and agents are often overwhelmed with spec script submissions. To find good screenplays and talented screenwriters amidst the piles of submissions, they commonly employ script readers, who read the submitted screenplays and write brief memos, called “script coverage.” which allows the producer or agent to know which screenplays they should read themselves and which screenplays they should skip. Read more on Wikipedia.
Our script coverage includes:
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Comments
Our comments/analysis section makes up the bulk of your coverage. Specific, insightful suggestions and fixes, not vague, recycled blurbs from amateur readers or screenwriting blogs. Our comments are brutally-honest, and help you find what specific elements of your script need the most work.
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Reader Follow-Up Questions
Our script coverage service comes with THREE “Reader Follow-Up questions” per reader ordered. Ask to clarify points the reader made in your coverage, dive deeper into their suggestions for specific fixes, or run an idea or two by them. We’re here to help!
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Recommendation
One of 3 possible recommendations: PASS (the screenplay is not a lost cause, but it needs a lot of work), CONSIDER (the screenplay still needs work, but may be considered by an agency or studio), or RECOMMEND. Don’t feel bad if you get a PASS. Since we opened our service in 1999, right around 95% of screenplays have received a PASS, while 4% received a CONSIDER, and only 1% or less received a RECOMMEND.
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Analysis Grid
How your screenplay fares in 25 key categories, such as character, conflict, dialogue, readability, pacing, and more. Detailed criteria such as “Stakes are clear/conflict is strong and/or compelling,” “Tension builds/escalates throughout,” “Protagonist(s) is (are) likable and/or compelling,” etc.
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Logline
Your screenplay, summed up in one or two sentences. If it turns out that your logline is much longer than that, your screenplay might be too “soft concept” and more difficult to sell, market, or land an agent or manager with.
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Synopsis
Your story, squeezed down to the essentials. This 1-2 page “brief” is a sort of bird’s-eye view that helps you see how well a stranger would understand your key plot points and throughlines. If our reader missed an important beat, it’s likely that an agent or producer will too.
Samples of our Script Coverage:
How We Compare To The Runners-Up
Who?
Screenplay Readers
The Runners-Up
Quality of Analysts
A full staff of paid, expert script analysts who are screenwriters themselves. Each is vetted for at least 5 years development and/or film industry experience and must have razor-sharp critical chops. (Not to mention that some of our readers have been with us for over 10 years.)
Mostly college interns and/or amateurs (most of whom have great intentions, but have little screenwriting/development experience and work for free or extremely low pay.)
Quality of Coverage
Expert, constructive, brutally honest, detailed, objective, and insightful
Recycled cliches from popular books like Save The Cat and critiques that read like angry bloggers writing movie reviews
Coverage Specs
6-8 pages (1800+ words), single-spaced, all-original insights and notes
1-2 pages, double-spaced, fluffed up with stuff they’ve pasted from previous coverages
Support
Immediate, friendly, fast
They do their best.
Price
$69 for shorts, $97 for features
$60 – $375
Ask follow-up questions of your reader?
3 per reader
No followups allowed
Satisfaction Guarantee?
Yes
No
Turnaround Time
24-72 hours
From 5-10 days to 3-4 weeks
Years in business
18+ (Est. 1999)
1-2 on average
Non-Shady Readers?
Yes. Click here for our info on each of our readers, as well as their favorite films and genres
No. Their reader identities are kept secret, meaning you won’t know who’s reading your script.
Focus
Improving the script. That’s all we do and all we care about.
Selling “industry access,” seminars, e-courses, and other stuff
And pssst! Writers and filmmakers love us:
“I have used many readers in the past not only for my work, but for screenplays submitted to my production company for consideration, and I find Screenplay Readers’ summaries and comments to be a notch above the pack. They’re extremely thorough. Screenplay Readers clearly reads the entire script, looks for subplots and subtext, and recognizes themes, setups, and key pieces of dialogue.”Richard Botto - Founder of Stage 32 and Writer of Rockets Red Glare
“The value I received from Screenplay Readers far surpasses value for other coverage I’ve received and I’m grateful I was pointed to your site. I found this last batch of notes, synopsis and even logline to be the most creative and insightful I have yet received on this project. (and yours was not the only company I’ve tried my hand at coverage with.) You obviously have some creative filmmakers in their own right working with you.”Lance Mungia - Writer-director of The Crow: Wicked Prayer and Six-String Samurai
Read 240+ more testimonials from real customers here
What our clients use our script coverage for:
Screenwriters about to mail off their screenplays to agents, name talent, or producers.
Dozens of agents and managers looking for new writers, or keeping their signed writers competitive
Several major producers who regularly send us screenplays to find out if they’re worth optioning/buying
A dozen or more screenwriters who regularly need solid script notes before pitching at major studios and production companies
Several screenwriters who use our feedback to tweak their screenplays prior to submitting for contests, including one who made it into the Nicholl Fellowship
Many overseas distributors/producers who use our script coverage to help determine which films to finance
Several hyper-competitive screenwriters who’ve gone through our entire roster of script readers to get the maximum amount of opinions on their scripts
Producers who use our service to firm up scripts and give them that “one last look” prior to sending them out to name talent when putting together packages
“How qualified are the script readers reading my screenplay?”
Our readers come from all sorts of film industry backgrounds: development, production, post-production – you name it. Some even run their own script consultancies. Each reader is brought aboard the Screenplay Readers team only if they have 5-10 or more years of comprehensive film industry experience and a presentable, hard-copy track record of critiquing screenplays. In addition, their writing style and critical voice is vetted for several key traits: fastidiousness, insight, verbal articulation, and the ability to synthesize solutions and suggestions. If they don’t have all these qualities, we simply don’t offer them a contract with Screenplay Readers. An estimated one out of 300 applicants are brought aboard our team. Feel free to check out our reader roster for their photos, bios, and favorite genres and films.
“But what if I don’t agree with the coverage you provide for my screenplay?”
We’re writers too, so we know what it feels like to receive criticism on our work, and believe me, it’s not always fun. But it’s our view that without consistent, critical feedback on our screenwriting, from a variety of sources, we don’t get very far as screenwriters. Use our script notes and coverage to guide your next draft, or cherry pick the notes you think will help your work the most.
Script Coverage Myths:
MYTH #1: “You MUST have script coverage in order to get your script sold or represented”
You absolutely do not need any coverage service to get your script sold or represented, but without blunt feedback, you can’t know what’s making producers and agents put your script down half way, or even ten pages into it.
MYTH #2: “You need a script coverage service in order to improve your script”
We always encourage clients to get as much free feedback as possible before working with us. Writers groups, forums, friends and family – all are good. But all of that takes a lot of time and energy, and notes from non-industry friends aren’t always as honest or critical as they should be.
Not to mention, we stand behind our script coverage 100%
