Screenwriting : Screenplay coverages by Toua Her

Pros...you get coverage. Cons ... you might not like it.

Maybe find a few other film friends to exchange scripts for notes?

Better to put up your logline here for feedback Toua Her and the Writers room here on Stage 32 as well.

We used script coverage for a contest submission. We'd lost a little objectivity on the work after a couple of years. I'd taken a S32 webinar that emphasized newer format approach RE: streamlining sluglines from standard format and the coverage reader returned 4 pages of notes about the format change ie: was not acceptable. I revised back to the original and resubmitted. Amazingly, in addition the coverage was super positive (impressive, amazing, great script etc) as far as plot, character, and story. That was super uplifting but led to a super letdown when the work didn't even make the quarter finalist cut among 50+ other scripts that did! I agree with the writers above - find friends to read for feedback and from my experience do not spend money on coverage!

In my experience, no matter what site you use, you are gambling on wasting your money. You are receiving advice from a blank face. You don't know who the person is, or what their credentials are. You could receive advice from a guy/girl who's made ten of the worst movies you've ever seen, or barely any movies, or it could be Martin Scorsese giving advice and you'd never know. They use a template, so every coverage follows along correctly and sounds professional, whether it's really a "professional" reader or not. They cling to being anonymous so you can't see their real credentials, though they will say it's because they "just don't want eager writers blowing them up about feedback."

Pros: you can use any coverage site and potentially get great advice. Also, like it or not you kind of have to because you need second opinions.

Cons: you could be paying a terrible writer who never made it to give advice on where you need to improve, which is you paying money to take a step backwards.

This is all coming from a guy who used every site, and I felt like 9/10 coverages received were a complete waste of time and money. Any "recommendation" or "high score card" from any site genuinely meant nothing when I took it out to network. Nobody cared to hear about that and looked at me funny for suggesting all my recommendations should mean something.

Those 1/10 though? Glad I did. It went from a random script to winning a big contest in less than a year with that help and taught me the fundamentals to continue writing new things.

I prefer the strategy "I am willing to read your screenplay if you read mine". I have received many useful comments on my new screenplay in this way. And noticed how different opinions can be. On the whole I find it better to receive short comments from 10 persons than to receive plenty of comments from one person.