As a writer, you can get so close to your own work that an outside perspective can be instrumental in helping you to craft your very best story. Script coverage gives a writer unbiased constructive, actionable feedback on every aspect of your screenplay.
We recommend you get as much free feedback on your work as possible. That’s friends, family, peers, writing groups, online communities, anyone. The more skilled the person is in reading screenplays, the better. Understand which pointers to take, and which to ignore. Remember, non-readers will often try to tell you how they’d change your story, rather than how you could help improve it. Once you’ve exhausted that, getting a professional to read your script is what’s going to help you take it to the next level.
Industry readers know story structure inside out, they’re adept at development, and they understand the market.
Here’s our list of the best coverage services out there that we believe gives writers the best value for their money.
But first, we couldn’t not mention ourselves when talking about coverage. We’ve got some pretty compelling reasons as to why Shore Scripts should be on your radar for script coverage.
- 2-5 Day Turnaround Times
- Top 3 scripts submitted each month to our Coverage Service are sent with the writer’s approval to SEAN DUBRAVAC (Ent Lab), SCOTT STOOPS (Good Fear), ZACK ZUCKER (Bellevue Productions), DANIEL SECO (Empirical Evidence), STEVEN RUSSELL (Collective Talent), & PETER KATZ (Story Driven) who are actively looking to rep new writers.
- Free Guide to Pitching your Screenplay sent to every writer who submits.
- We have an experienced Team of diverse readers who have read for Studios and major production companies.
- We offer a wide range of coverage services: First 10 Pages, Treatment, 3 Page and 6 Page full script coverage, and proofreading. So, whatever you are needing help with, we’ve got you covered.
SCRIPT READER PRO
Transparency on who’s on their team and what their relevant experience is helps instill confidence that you’re getting quality readers (or should I say writers, as they claim to use pro writers “not an anonymous reader”) to view your work. They also have a really great blog that covers everything film and screenwriting, should you need any extra resources, often showcasing great screenplays to download and read for free.
COSTS
Basic Feature Film Coverage is called ‘Classic’ and comes in at $169, with a longer ‘Deluxe’ package available at $449. They also offer margin notes (aka line notes), which can be extremely useful, as well as script doctoring and mentorship.
COVERAGE INK
Their website may look a bit old-fashioned, but they’ve been giving out high-quality feedback since 2002, so if it ain’t broke, why fix it, right? Again, there’s lots of info on the reader’s bios (something always worth looking for), and there’s a great selection of more than qualified readers on their roster.
COSTS
There are a lot of different types of analysis on offer here, from a free query letter analysis to Zoom consultations. Standard Feature Film Analysis starts at $155 with a 10-day turnaround time. There’s the ability to get double analysis by two different readers, which is a great way to spot reoccurring comments.
SCREENCRAFT
Screencraft is a great place to go if you need coverage tailored to a specific genre. You can choose a reader with the most experience in your script’s genre to get an even more in-depth piece of feedback.
COSTS
Packages are limited, meaning it’s either Shorts, TV, or Features, all of which come with two options, Standard Notes or Development Notes. Feature Film notes start at a very reasonable $145 with Development coming in at $295.
SPEC SCOUT
This company has a very respectable rating on Best Alternatives, but it’s more than just a bog-standard coverage company. They don’t only read your script and write coverage on it, if a script rates highly enough, they’ll promote it to their Industry Pro members too. Now, what qualifications it takes to be added as an Industry Pro, we’re not too sure, so do your homework first, but by all accounts, being added to their Coverage Library seems to be leading to some good things as described in their success stories.
COSTS
The Standard Spec Scout Submission comes in at a rather hefty $395, but a script will be read by three independent readers who will then score it in 11 different categories. Scripts that score over 70 are listed in their pro database for free and all subsequent scripts will be hosted for free thereafter too.