What do you all think about paying for a critique...

Depends on the "pro" I guess. I've been paid to do critiques before. If you think you'll greatly benefit and have all obvious errors out like spelling, grammar, basic formatting so they don't waste the ink and time on those, and you feel it's worth your money. Well, it's your money. If you are going to go that route, I suggest making the script as good as you possibly can or you'll get feedback on the obvious glaring issues that you could have fixed on your own, if it's not already past that.

There are quite a few directions you can go to have your script critiqued for free - Zoetrope, TriggerStreet, your local Meetup and our SYW section, just off the top of my head. Now once you've run that gauntlet, if you feel you need more stringent professional help, then you can hire a script doctor or guru or whatever they call themselves. I would search the individual on the internet and garner their reputation, if they have an imdB or other industry credentials, and the like.
My two cents.

Many people give coverage at the cost of
more than $100 dollars and my last script fetched me about
Rs3000. Whle I am thankful for able to sell my script the coverage
cost is more . I am also on the lookout of a person who give coverage at a low rate
padma

What I've seen happen, both here and at another site, is that people who stick around a long time, are generally helpful and well-liked, and who post meaningful stuff, including critique/coverage for others, can quite often arrange for free coverage from those whose expertise is way up there. I don't lurk on this board as much as I could (aren't you glad?), but at the other screenwriting board I visit often, the handful of working screenwriters will occasionally reference the work of someone who's also a daily presence, mentioning something that was good about it, or sharing how good it was when the person reports they've gotten an agent or made a sale.

So it might be well worth the effort to make yourself a fixture here, absorbing what the others know and sharing what you know.

Maryn, rubbing online elbows with working screenwriters

$60.00 notes

If you would like 3-4 pages of notes from a legit Prodco Reader check out this link: http://sixtybucknotes.blogspot.com/

I used him and was very happy with the results.

Who is the person reading your script and why is he qualified to charge money? Simply because he has a blog or opens a website and creates a fee structure?

There are people who are, at least, equally as competent to read your script for free and give you feedback. People that you can befriend right here in this neighborhood.

If you feel the need to pay money for a critique or believe that you have no other options available to you, then go ahead. It's not all that different than spending money to attend a class or buy some books.

But, make sure the notes are of a general nature. Some of these services want to charge you more money for "development" notes, which often means rewriting the script based on their vision. That's fine and acceptable when a producer buys your script and has you rewrite it. But it makes no sense to spend money out of your own pocket on the "development process" when a producer could later buy your script and delete all the previous work that was done anyway.

Just attack general elements like characters, structure and story logic.

Also, receiving feedback from a "professional" consultant is not always a healthy experience for all writers - especially new ones. Newbies often don't know how to interpret feedback - taking it at face value. They also don't rely on their own instincts (often because they don't have any) to determine which part of the feedback to use and which to discard.

Also, I wouldn't send the script to a consultant after the first draft. Continue to work on it and fiddle with it. See how far you can take it before seeking another opinion.

Remember that as a writer, you're the expert. Executives and producers turn to YOU for answers to script problems.

How can you learn that valuable skill if you don't allow yourself to chew on things, brainstorm and crack problems yourself?

So work on your script until you've hit a wall. Develop the tools and confidence to examine, critique and strengthen your own work before resorting to outside influences.

This is a very good piece of advice.I have posted it on Zoetrope
and got some good reviews. Based on it I made some changes
but some I could not follow as my whole plot changes.
As it some Indian producers have commented that it is a nice script
but I am keping my fingers crossed.
padma

Unfortunately there are as much fake script doctors and fake agents. If you ever choose to use them, do your research. I'd personally exhaust all the free options mentioned earlier before I'd even consider paying.

I agree on using free options - I like Agent Query, and I have friends that are fellow writers - tough critics, and I finally got a couple of agencies to at least ask for our manuscript. Incidentally, I attempted to get into Zoetrope. they took my name and added it as a memeber, but I have yet to receive a password. They have not answered any of my emails or my one phone call. It has been three days. Anyone ever have similar difficulty?

creativexec said:

But, make sure the notes are of a general nature. Some of these services want to charge you more money for "development" notes, which often means rewriting the script based on their vision. That's fine and acceptable when a producer buys your script and has you rewrite it. But it makes no sense to spend money out of your own pocket on the "development process" when a producer could later buy your script and delete all the previous work that was done anyway.

Click to expand...

I'm going to have to disagree with CE on this point, a rare occurrence, indeed. I can't speak for others, but I often provide development suggestions in my evaluations, and it's never about my vision, it's always about providing examples of how the writer can execute his own vision. You'd be surprised how often newer writers in particular think that they told a certain story or explored a certain theme or created a particular character arc - but it's not on the page.

I have my clients fill out a questionnaire that clarifies their intentions (which I read after I read the script). Then in the areas where they missed the mark, I explain why they missed the mark, what they need to do to hit it and offer examples - that are not only designed to meet their stated intentions, but whenever possible are development ideas that come from things that are already in the script. Making the most of a conflict or character or subplot.

Story development is in my opinion intertwined with craft. You can't develop a story the way you want to if you don't understand what to do with the different elements of the craft. So suggesting to a writer that they may want to consider using a specific character arc and need that will help them explore their stated theme, is as much about educating the writer as offering a development solution. Sometimes with something as complex as story, teaching by example is the best way and using examples from the script you are analyzing, rather than just looking at other scripts, can speed up the learning process. I'd estimate that over 90% of the writers I've done evaluations for are in need of some amount of craft education.

The bottom line is that no producer is going to option or buy a script if the story is not well-developed when it's submitted. Yes, scripts go through further development once they are bought, but they need to be at a certain level to get into development. And that level includes things that would fall under the banner of "story development". And that is something that some can do innately, but the vast majority need to learn.

I think whether you're paying or not, a critique is only as good as the knowledge base and instinct of the critiquer. If you walk away from a critique, knowing more about the craft than you did before, then I think the critique can be considered a success.

It's probably a bad choice of words on my part ("their vision").

Regardless, development is a much more detailed and specific process that it seems counter-productive, IMO, to develop projects with someone who isn't planning on producing the screenplay. I'm using the word "development" in the traditional sense.

Case in point, I once read a script that was developed with a script consultant (one of best known) for $1600. When I met with the writer, I pointed out all the things that, IMO, didn't work. Some of those bigger plot elements were all added at the suggestion of the consultant. As a result, I passed on the script. The script remains unheralded in any way.

I have scores of these kinds of examples.

Since the writer's goal was to invest the money with the hope of seeing a return when she sold the script, it was a bad investment. While there was a learning curve (mostly from me, which she didn't pay for), she could have taken a class at a college for $300 and saved herself 1300 bucks. This business is so subjective that I'm not sure spending that kind of money is a smart investment. And there certainly isn't empirical evidence to prove me wrong.

I agree that most new writers lack craft, but I've been around long enough to speculate that if the writer is learning fundamental craft while developing a script, it's probably not going to sell.

It's all so subjective that an exec or producer may have been happier with the script in its raw form - before it's been developed by an outside entity. I have read MANY first drafts followed by subsequent drafts. Often subsequent drafts get over-developed. Many times in my career, we have gone into production based on the first draft, shelving subsequent versions. It's not uncommon.

I don't judge these services. How can they be bad if writers find enjoyment, enrichment and satisfaction in them? But I do think there are probably ways to achieve the same results that are more affordable and equally as satisfying.

However, many of these services suggest other things than education. I haven't seen many advertise, "While the odds are overwhelmingly against you selling your script, the $1600 you spend on development will bring you personal satisfaction."

Many of these services exploit the dream. The writer is led to believe that development notes will make the script more saleable - which is not always the case (almost never the case since most don't sell).

While I do question the efficacy of these services, I hope that interested writers do their research and ask the consultant lots and lots of questions before shelling out money (even if it's $60 for coverage).

We're just going to have to agree to disagree, CE

I'm sure you've come across scores of bad examples. Just like I've come across scores of good examples. Scripts that were developed with the help of a good consultant that were high quality and commercially viable.

And often the problem lies not with the development suggestions made by the consultant, but by the execution of those suggestions by the writer. I've come across this even when working as a development exec with pro screenwriters. Perhaps some of the problems you encountered were execution-oriented as opposed to suggestion oriented.

The chances of success with any project are miniscule whether you lay out cash for feedback or not. But I do think that you can often up your chances of improving your writing and getting your script into marketable shape with professional feedback. It's the same thing as getting help with your golf game from your neighbor who has a slightly better handicap than you or from your club's tour pro - who has supported himself playing golf and knows the mechanics of everything from driving to putting to reading a green inside and out. A qualified professional script consultant often has knowledge and experience that a layman just doesn't have - and this knowledge and experience gives him insight into both the craft and the realities of the marketplace.

There are a lot of very good, reputable, well meaning, competent script consultants who offer development input and there are many writers who have benefited from such input.

And often the problem lies not with the development suggestions made by the consultant, but by the execution of those suggestions by the writer. I've come across this even when working as a development exec with pro screenwriters. Perhaps some of the problems you encountered were execution-oriented as opposed to suggestion oriented.

Click to expand...

I remember reading ADAPTATION and loving the third act climax when the swamp monster (or whatever it was called) rose out of the water and killed Chris Cooper. The monster had been set up earlier in the script as a probable myth.

When I saw the film, I was disappointed that the swamp monster had been deleted in the third act. I thought it was a big mistake, since it helped elevate the tone to lunacy - which was crucial for that final stanza. I couldn't understand why C.K. would delete that important beat.

Later, I saw an interview with Robert McKee (the script consultant portrayed by Brian Cox in the film) and he spoke about how he advised C.K. to remove the monster.

And I thought it was the single worst piece of advice I'd heard in a long while.

I liked the script much better than the film.

I haven't read all the comments on this but if someone hasn't suggested it already, post in the beta forum here.

I know that in Australia a few years ago, it was suggest to me from two producers before they would read the script, as I had no real writing credits, to get a crit from the Australian Society of Authors and then submit that to them prior to the the script. Because I was a member it was something that I did and the cost wasn't minimal, and I did received some valuable feedback about the entire script. Although at the end of the day the script never got picked up, the crit did provide me some great suggestions, and point out some issues, I wouldn't have known prior to submitting the script

I wouldn't suggest you necessarily pay for a crit, but by placing a couple of small sniplets on the SYW forum will give you a bit of an idea of where to go with it.

creativexec said:

I remember reading ADAPTATION and loving the third act climax when the swamp monster (or whatever it was called) rose out of the water and killed Chris Cooper. The monster had been set up earlier in the script as a probable myth.

When I saw the film, I was disappointed that the swamp monster had been deleted in the third act. I thought it was a big mistake, since it helped elevate the tone to lunacy - which was crucial for that final stanza. I couldn't understand why C.K. would delete that important beat.

Later, I saw an interview with Robert McKee (the script consultant portrayed by Brian Cox in the film) and he spoke about how he advised C.K. to remove the monster.

And I thought it was the single worst piece of advice I'd heard in a long while.

I liked the script much better than the film.

Click to expand...

In some sick, perverse way, I dig the fact that CK actually took advice from McKee that made the script worse. It just feels right for that script.

I think that no matter who you get notes from or how you get them, you need to sift through them, sit with them and see what suggestions do or don't resonate with you.

Michael Crichton once advised me that when I went into a story meeting, I should listen intently, nod in agreement a lot and then go write exactly what seemed best to me. Use the notes that made sense and seemed like good ideas, ignore the ones that didn't, and submit the best draft I could.

That's how I've always functioned as a writer and that's how I expect writers to function when I work with them as a development exec or script consultant. Even when I know in the depth of my being that a particular direction is the most fresh, dramatic and commercial, I don't expect the writer to necessarily see it my way or take the suggestion.

Working as a writer, I have received some absolutely brilliant notes and some god-awful ones that made me scratch my head and think "did this dude actually read the script I'm rewriting?" "Does he have a clue what it's about?" But just because some ideas may not resonate, doesn't mean that others will not only resonate, but tap into the essence of your story and/or theme and allow you to take your script to another level of quality and depth of story, character and theme. Also many times a suggestion that doesn't work for a writer, will trigger a different story solution that does. It's more about jump starting creativity than boxing someone into your ideas.

I've worked with so many writers on so many projects and I've worked with close to a dozen producers as a writer and I have found that more often than not - getting or giving development suggestions, even bad ones - helps the writer in the creative process.

curious1980 said:

I'm in the process of revising my screenplay. I was wondering if it was too much to ask for someone to read it, actually pick through it with a fine tooth comb, and point out things that they see as flaws? Have any of you ever had someone critique a whole screenplay without purchase? I was recommended to pay for an in depth critique from a "pro" but I'm kind of skeptical. What do you all think?

Click to expand...

You need actors to read it. Lines you thought were great, or obvious as to their meaning will probably sound less great once acted.

Recommendation

If anyone would like to pay for a good evaluation, I recommend Victoria Lucas.

She's definitely legit.

She charges $200.00 for a thorough evaluation and she also calls you for consultation - no matter where you live in the world and there is no time limit, and is willing to answer additional questions you may have via email at no additional charge.

She comes from a family of Hollywood writers/actors with a decent list of credits:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0524300/
http://lucasscript.com/index_files/lucasbio.htm

Hope this helps.
D

Some one stated here $100, but by selling a script itself I never got so much amount.
padma