Advice from the Script Reader

If you’re reading this post, chances are you want to take your script from page to screen; you’ve sacrificed time, talent, and treasure to complete that draft, and now you’re ready to dazzle the world with your talent. You type “FADE TO BLACK.” Hit print. Bind your pages. Package them. And mail your script to the studio or the contest you believe might be interested. Now, the journey is underway. In your heart, you believe your script is the best version of itself because after you finished typing, you gave it to your Aunt or Uncle to read, and they loved it. However, would your screenwriting stand up to the scrutiny of THE SCRIPT READER?

I currently work in the independent film industry as a professional script reader, and have read my share of dramatic works over the years. Some good and others not so good. Holding an MFA in screenwriting, I know from experience that facing the blank page is no simple chore. Take my advice. Having a loving family member with little to no experience as a script reader analyze your masterpiece just can’t compare to having it scrutinized by an experienced professional—a person with a niche for craft elements who knows what producers are looking for in a spec script.



When it goes out into the world, your script must stand on its own merit. After your script has been deconstructed by the script reader, you will not have an opportunity to say, “Well, see what had happened was . . .,” or “What I meant to say was . . .,” or “See, you don’t understand because her back story goes like this . . . .” By the time your script makes it into the hands of the script reader, excuses are unacceptable. The screenplay has become a reflection of the screenwriter, and either you will be perceived as an amateur or a professional.

So the last thing you want to do as a screenwriter is send out a script that is anything less than what it should be. Professional writers have suggested that a script shouldn’t go out until it is pitch-perfect. Yet most of the scripts that I read from week to week don’t fall into the pitch-perfect category, and could have used a critical read prior to submitting piece, which may have been the difference between the script’s success and failure. 

My job as a script reader is to write COVERAGE, which is an unbiased, in-depth analysis of a screenplay submitted for production. It may also include suggested courses of action for market level revisions. Ultimately, this coverage provides busy motion picture executives and screenwriters with a written, comprehensive assessment of the strengths and weaknesses a screenplay. Simply put, coverage is like a report card for your script, and on that report card, a grade is given. That grade is called a rating. The script reader rates your screenplay according to the industry standards of PASS, CONSIDER, or RECOMMEND.

After the decision makers on the production end review the coverage, either your script moves up the ladder of development, or it’s added to the REJECTION PILE. Unfortunately, the rejection pile is always higher than the recommend pile. What’s the reason for this? In my experience, the script itself can become a victim of its own demise, which makes my job a lot easier. The last thing a screenwriter wants is to receive a pass rating, for it means “Move on to the next script because this one doesn’t work.” Poorly constructed scripts have great intentions, but suffer from weak characterization, wild structure, on-the-nose dialogue and plot punctures, and these screenwriting errors are easily spotted by the trained eye.

Therefore, if your eye is not trained to recognize when, where, and how screenwriting goes awry, it may be time to seek out a professional script consulting service. This kind of expert advice will provide you with the insight to improve your next draft, and will likely increase your chances of success in the market place. Since getting your script approved by the reader will be tough, you want to make certain your draft is polished.

Idris Elba as Heimdall, Thor 2011

If I were to create an analogy for the process of a script being recommended, it would be like one struggling to get into Asgard. To enter the capital city of the gods, you must first be approved by the gatekeeper, Heimdall. He is first in the line of defense in keeping all bad screenwriting out! I know that this illustration may be a bit over the top, but you get the point.


We all want our script to be the one that goes through the gate into production. However, understand that the script reader is the first obstacle in going from page to screen. There have obviously been scripts in the past that have gone on to fulfill their cinematic destinies. Why can’t your script be the next one? Maybe what you need is a bit of favor with the gatekeeper, and one way to find that favor is to write the best script possible.

In addition to writing a great script, having a professional analyze it before you send it out could be well worth the effort. Why? Because applying the feedback to your next draft will improve your screenwriting and increase your favor with the gatekeeper. Here are a few areas in your screenplay that you might want to consider before submitting the final draft for production:

1.)    Weak characterization

2.)    Wild story structure

3.)    On-the-nose dialogue

4.)    Plot punctures

Remember, there are no magic formulas that cause a script to triumph in the market place, but by creating compelling characters, writing stories with sound structure, and crafting witty dialogue, you have already begun to separate your screenplay from the pedestrian scripts in the lot. And doing so brings you closer to the goal of going from page to screen. This bit of advice was brought to you by screenwriters for screenwriters who understand that you can never know enough about your craft.

--Keith. A. Nixon