www.usps.com offers discounts on priority mail, deals from stamps.com

Wow, great info!
Thanks.

that's good advice. people need to do the math first, though. is saving forty-five cents really any savings if you use up that much in printer ink and paper? do you have to use pay-pal? i know a lot of people have issues with them. as far as postage savings, i wonder if you can use a postage meter on that? i'm guessing you can. if nothing else, using their flat-rate system may be a better way to go. for something small like a script, this may be something to look into. if you bundled everything up, what's that weigh? about two pounds?

post offices have free seminars about sending mail and various ways you can do it. i went to one years and years ago, took about four hours to sit through. (as an aside, you'd be surprised at how many free seminars are offered about taxes and starting up businesses and such.) so, if there's an actual post office near by (not a branch), it might be beneficial to check it out. personally, while the clerks are very helpful and knowledgable, i wouldn't use them as my main source of information. i'd call the post office and talk to someone about something like this.

if i can hijack the thread for a minute, what are some money-savings methods you use? i don't know how many scripts you print out, but it seems to make sense to me to use a copier if you find one for ten cents per copy. 120 pages would only be twelve bucks, which saves a lot of printer ink and paper. while i'm happy with my printer, a copying machine is just so much faster, plus it's no wear and tear on my own stuff. (a lot of branches have copying machines, and i believe all libraries do.) off the top of my head, a single copy of a 120 page script sent through regular priority mail with no special offers *and* delivery confirmation shouldn't cost twenty bucks, assuming you don't pay three bucks for a box.

is delivery confirmation important? it's really kind of a bell and whistle thing for the most part. i sell on ebay, and have yet to feel the need to pay for it. maybe something like this it's wise to do, i don't know. i assume d-con is only a few bucks, if that. i guess it's the wisest thing to do, but on average are you just pisssing your money away by paying for it?

there's a print shop by me. i should stop in and get a quote.

I just mailed my script off Monday, but I'll keep this in mind for the next time.

Thanks for the info, Justino.

Never would have thought of that myself.

Thanks justino, for the good informashino.

my cost saving 2 pence advice: be very selective to whom you send your script. imo mass mailing is a waste. send 100 scripts to just anybody and it'll cost you a whole lot of money and probably only 1 or 2 will look your way. send 10 script to producers who are actually looking for the type of script you have to offer and you'll get the same response from 1 or 2. the odds are so much greater if your selection process is tight.
it's the same process when you're looking for a job and sending out your resume.

Thanks Justin. Every penny counts.

having not sent a script out before, i didn't know. how much does it typically cost people to ship a script?

my printing cartridges for my HP printer/scanner/copier are on the expensive end. boxes i was more thinking along the lines of what a publisher would expect. are there any expectations about the container when you send in a script? if you wait for a sale and load up on paper, sure, you can get it fairly cheap, but is there any expectations on the quality of paper? i'm sure there is to a certain extent, probably the same as what an editor expects, no?

more as an aside, what most ebayers do is offer insurance. if they refuse, that's tough on their end. losing things in transit will happen, things will happen, and no matter what you do things will get jumbled up occassionally. that's why there's a feedback section there to keep people honest. with insurance, there's a tracking number, and it removes the seller's liability. to have the USPS track an item, though, costs several dollars and there's a waiting period. basically it's a hassle to track an errant item. with reputable dealers, delivery confirmation really would be a waste of money because they offer insurance, some even insist on it, and if you use UPS you automatically get $100 insurance that the USPS charges $1.30 for. d-con for real people doesn't really work out that great as most people aren't around to sign for things in the middle of the day when the mail arrives. a studio where people are guaranteed to be at, well, that's another thing. not everyone has easy access to even their branch, so if they have to go down to the PO or branch to sign for their package just b/c they were at work when it arrived, they're not going to buy from you again. of the hundreds of things i've bought on ebay over the years, i've yet to sign for any of them and have had a total of one item that there's been a conflict over. maybe my experience has been different. being a reputable seller, there's never been a conflict with someone saying they haven't received an item, but then again that's why i insist on insurance for most items.

do people use USPS for their scripts or someone else, like UPS or fed-ex? UPS is a pain in the arse as they have this overly complicated method of having the customer fill out their own account information on a computer terminal. just a hassle.

Just to clarify Justino's post.

If you use USPS.com and print out a label through the website (even pay for it through there if your wish), delivery confirmation is FREE. And the label makes your package look neat and professional.

Ebay may be great and all, but getting a bad rep point for losing a vintage Lee Majors Action Figure with bionic punch is pale in comparison to a producer saying he never got your script and ten months later goes into production of a similar story.

As for packaging I use priority envelopes I get for free at the post office. I always have a stack here on hand. I log on, print out labels and put them in my mail box for my carrier to take care off-- all for $3.85.

Let's keep the thread on topic-- which is saving money when sending scripts out.

preyer said:

i don't know how many scripts you print out, but it seems to make sense to me to use a copier if you find one for ten cents per copy. 120 pages would only be twelve bucks, which saves a lot of printer ink and paper.

Click to expand...

The fastest way you can WASTE money is to bulk copy your script. We are always tweaking (or you should be) and even after you send a script out and maybe get a comment back or a note, you make a change for the next person you send it out to.

Also,

aren't scripts supposed to be laser printed?

Sometimes when you use a copier the print can be slanted.

I print inkjet. Laser to expensive and not much of a difference to Courier type. As long as it is black and crisp.

Another way to save money (and because it is more acceptable and the sign of a pro) is to only use two brads and not three. Leave the middle open. Use only Acco Brass Fasteners #5 - 1 1/4" as they have the best weight and not sharp on edges. Washers are also acceptable and give it a tight lock and a pro look.

Ahh the secret art of screenwriting. You'd think it'd be as simple as "Hey, I got a great idea for a story!"

Print it, send it, make a zillion bucks!

::whistling sound followed by an exaggerated explosion::

Between the confirmations, fasteners, who to send it to, how to send it, how to package it, etc, the presentation of their script is obviously where most people crash and burn.

And I don't know that for a fact, I'm simply assuming because well, I never thought of that aspect, having not finished a script myself.

Kudos to those sharing this info.

Think of it this way. You wouldn't go to a job interview in ripped jeans and a T-shirt (unless it called for it) even if you are the best person for the job.

The same holds true for your script. It is your calling card, your resume. Your words leap forth from the page and tell the reader who your are.

Will your script (perhaps the best ever written story of all time) get passed if it was written in crayon?

No, but the better question is would they read it in the first place.

Using the right cover stock, fasteners, paper and formating shows the reader in a quick glance that you are serious about the craft and business and take pride in the appearance just as much as the content of your work.

The fastest way you can WASTE money is to bulk copy your script. We are always tweaking (or you should be) and even after you send a script out and maybe get a comment back or a note, you make a change for the next person you send it out to.

Click to expand...

This brings up another issue (still related to sending scripts out) : How do people handle version control?

OK - I'm an engineer at heart, and the idea of having to different versions of the same script (even with just a minor tweak) with identical cover pages just seems wrong. In engineering you would NEVER have a document or 'schematic' where you couldn't glance at the cover and know if it was the latest revision or not. And since the script is the 'schematic' for the film ...

A purist would use a revision number on the cover - but perhaps just the date (and time!) it was printed would do? Continual 'tweaking' means it isn't simply 'Draft 1', 'Draft 2' etc

Yes - I know it isn't industry standard to do that. (Well, engineering industry = yes. Film Industry = No) But the engineer in me dies a little every time I print a script.

Mac

I would never print anywere on the script that it is a draft or revision. A reader knows you worked on this long and hard, but to show it is just bad form.

After all, would you enjoy a a fine dinner at a resteraunt if the plate of food had a label that said "36th made tonight. I think I got it right this time?"

Seriously, never send a script out with any markings that indicates how long or how many attempts you made to get it to this stage.

When I tweak a script (or a draft revision for that matter) I rename the file with the date (final draft does a nice job of that for me) and then I create a scriptnote (a hidden page visible only to me and not printed) that summarizes the changes I made to this particular draft.

When I send a script out, I always keep a record of who got which.

One time a producer called me about a script and I didn't know which draft I sent and made an a s s of myself when talking about things that wasn't in the version I sent him.

'The fastest way you can WASTE money is to bulk copy your script.' ~ that's good advice, i didn't think of it that way. people don't tend to revise novels unless the editor asks them to or there's some feedback saying what's wrong with it. in that, i think scripts are probably much easier to tinker with along the way.

i didn't know if there was some kind of binding or not. obviously, with novels there isn't. i would have thought there was with scripts only because whenever you see a character read one, it's always bound.

dumb question #47: how many copies do y'all average shipping out, revisions and all?