Okay, so how do I approach this subject without making mortal enemies. There are a lot professional feedback services these days. Many of these services will grade your script like a Hollywood reader based on its elements. They will give it a pass or recommend, or in most cases, they will give you a “consider with revisions” because they want you as a repeat customer.
I paid for feedback in the early stages of my career and after reading the synopsis of my own script, I wouldn’t want to see that movie. It’s the difference between a coverage service and a good writing group. I don’t need to read a summary of my script. I know what it’s about. I wrote it. So if there’s a feedback service out there that does it differently, maybe they are worth looking into if you can’t find a writing group.
There’s something you need to know if you’re a beginner. Once you are doing this a while, you will be on all kinds of bulk email lists. You will get messages from everyone in the industry looking to make you their customer. If you read subject lines like – What’s wrong with your script? Why your script got a Pass! – Just delete them right away. These are psychological business ploys meant to attack the writer’s self-doubt. Then you open the email and they convince you that you need whatever they are selling. Don’t buy it!
Next time I’ll talk about contests…