A Timely Rant...
Taking the temperature of the screenwriting cottage industry.
The pursuit of writing. Screenwriting.
Want to make it in this industry? I mean, do you really want to make it in this industry?
I can help you. If you have a script, email it to me along with $75 and I’ll give you notes. I’ve worked in the industry for over ten years and have experience on the front lines.
Have I written a script that’s been made into a film or tv series? Not yet but people are talking.
Does an agency rep me or do I have a manager? Not yet but I have some meetings lined up.
Now about those notes you want. I have some solid opinions about art and know what makes a great film check out my Letterboxd if you have any doubts.
I digress. The purpose of this post is to bodycheck aspiring screenwriters. Screenwriting is more popular than it’s ever been with the advent of streaming even as production budgets are reeled back. The voices and ideas are many but how do we know if any of them are good or worthy?
Enter. The screenwriting cottage industry. Pitchfests. Gurus. Coaches. Coverage sites. Scriptshadows.
There is an entire industry of experts out there competing for your hard-earned dollars and fragile dreams. Every other post on r/Screenwriting asks what they should do with their Blacklist evaluation or if they should pay the $100+ to have their first draft reviewed.
There is a gulf between the savvy person and the idiot. The dreamer and the realist. The person that can spot a scam from a mile away and the sucker that wants to believe the gatekeeper.
We’re all looking for validation. Does scoring an 8 on the Blacklist mean you’re a successful screenwriter? Does Carson’s genius rating on his decade-old blog make you an Oscar contender? No, and no.
But man does it feel good.
So what’s this post about? Well, it’s an unhinged rant. However, some of the case studies here can be utilized to evaluate any competitions, gurus, and labs you might apply to in the future.
In other words…
I hope it can be used as a guide or rather a tool to help calibrate your bullshit detector.
We all need a BS detector in life. Now more than ever. Especially, if you choose a life in the entertainment world then buddy you best be ready to sharpen those instincts daily.
This is the stuff of dreams and baby it’s scary how easy it is to squeeze real dollars out of dreamers.
First off I want to recommend Lauri’s list of Screenwriting Fellowships, Labs, Grants, and Contests. It’s a great resource.
Before diving into the world of evaluations/coaching/paid notes, let’s start from scratch. We all need to be at baseline here:
You did the outlines. Notecards. Listened to Episode 403 of Scriptnotes. Debated how to screenplay structure theory. You’ve done everything but…
Write. Write. Write the damn thing. Get a first draft out. On the goddamn page.
Good job. Now go over that pile of vomit. And produce something called a second draft.
Take that second draft. Find some people in your world that you trust. Ask them if they can donate their time to read your work. Buy them a coffee. If you don’t know anyone look for local writing groups. If that doesn’t exist, do some script swaps on Reddit or seek a Discord.
Take those notes and do another pass.
Great. We’re on the same page then. We have at least a third draft in front of us. The writer is always writing to improve their work.
Now let’s take a look at some websites. That’s why you’re here right?
*Notes can be valuable. Even paid ones! I just want to be clear that some of these sites have no business selling their wares. Maybe it’s because a sucker is born every second.
WeScreenplay
Notice they are Hollywood’s #1 Script Coverage Service. (Did I tell you I’m the #1 mailroom intern at a top three Hollywood agency?)
I’m not sure how they reached that conclusion. Following this banner they get straight to business. Price packages.
Before we talk about what you get. Who are the readers of this coverage service?
From their FAQ:
All WeScreenplay readers have relevant industry experience – this means they’ve worked in a reading capacity for an agency, studio, management company, or production company. Nearly all of our readers are still working these jobs and read additional scripts on nights and weekends. When you get your coverage back, you’ll receive a brief bio about your specific reader.
Vague. As. Fuck. But I’m sure this won’t be the last site that utilizes this vague language. Fine.
For the feature package, you’ll find that $60 is the entry price to a world of upsells with an upper range of $200. For those with extra money to burn, you can save money when you go for bundle deals. Fantastic.
WeScreenplay is something I like to call an entry-level coverage service. They charge a nominal fee for detailed notes. Their Classic package also offers qualitative ratings that result in Pass/Consider.
What is this rating system? They’re referring to the standardized system Hollywood utilizes to adjudicate every script ever written.
Obviously, that doesn’t exist folks. Sorry. It’s a creation of WeScreenplay and their “relevant industry” experienced readers.
Another thing to take stock of is their Writing Labs (Or Contests). These contests are meaningless.
For the Features contest:
The lab will select a minimum of 6 winners to participate in a three-day interactive virtual screenwriting lab that's like no other.
As writers, you should be hyper-aware of language.
What the hell does that pull quote even mean? Pay the $90-145 to find out.
My thoughts: I could build a more attractive website this afternoon with SquareSpace and launch it by this evening. I’ll hire some readers on Fiveer and have a nice little side hustle set up.
WeScreenplay is a validation service and cash grab. I can’t comment on the quality of the notes nor do I think it’s wise to waste your hard-earned money experimenting to find out.
Hard facts. If a cold query letter mentioned they got a Consider rating from WeScreenplay that is tantamount to saying their mom liked it on Facebook. That is to say, this service holds no merit.
Look at their blog section. Red flags abound. Cookie-cutter clickbait.
Similar Sites:
https://www.shorescripts.com/
https://screencraft.org/
A few more Google clicks and you’ll discover that WeScreenplay and ScreenCraft formed the CoverFly umbrella. They centralized script coverage onto a platform before selling it to Backstage in 2021. Brilliant piece of business. One of the co-founders has moved on to tinker with ai and stuff.