Hey guys.

Thanks for the comments.

I spent last night doing research into queries. It seems there are many different ways to go about this ( a lot of them conflicting too). I found the main thing is just making the logline as good as possible (which I've been doing tonight) and being prepared (I think tomorrow I'll do some one-page synopsis' just in case they ask).

Matt Taylor - yeah. I read that you should always have at least three really great scripts.
And 3 treatments. All in one genre (so you’re easier to brand).

I never really thought about treatments - I know you can potentially sell them. I always found what is considered to be a treatment confusing but the usual page count is 20-30 right?

Mark Renshaw - That’s really cool. May I ask - do you have an agent? Manager? I ask because I read this eye-opening article earlier - it got me a little cynical about trying in the UK...
https://shootingpeople.org/discuss/view/4667becbfa5560d81cece10a

Quoted from The Dark Horse Hey guys. Mark Renshaw - That’s really cool. May I ask - do you have an agent? Manager? I ask because I read this eye-opening article earlier - it got me a little cynical about trying in the UK... https://shootingpeople.org/discuss/view/4667becbfa5560d81cece10a

No, no agent or manager. After getting several films produced, winning some awards for them (and for some screenplays) and after having a few short stories published, I finally bit the bullet and applied to a bunch of agents last October. I didn't get a single reply.

I knew it was a  long shot and I'm not a big enough fish yet. So I'm gonna keep on writing and keep on making films until I am.

Hey guys.

My evaluations came back...

7. 6. 5. 7.

I’m very proud of my 7s. However, basically all the reviews had grammar/spelling mistakes, missing words and factual errors. I have a character called “Jack” in one of my scripts - somehow he turned up in the other two? So yeah - I’ve sent a complaint for each one. I’m guessing I must’ve got the same script reader and quite possibly he/she was rushing.

I didn’t mind the criticisms but having proofread them 9+ times (despite that, I was still finding plenty to nitpick ha) - it’s quite annoying to find plenty of errors/faults in the reader’s evaluation. Especially missing words.

Anyways, to potentially soften the blow of criticism and rejection - I spent two hours beforehand writing my own list of criticisms/nitpicking/things I didn’t like. I even scored myself ha. It’s interesting to see what the script reader picked up on and I picked up on. I think my weak areas are dialogue and plot (perhaps I need to study David Mamet for dialogue?).

Regardless - I’m very proud of all of them. I put an equal amount of work and energy into each and tried my hardest. I took chances - some worked and some didn’t. And my greatest hope is I’ve grown as a writer and have more colours to use now. I am proud of my 7 for my "runt of the litter" - it was bold, took a lot of risks and I genuinely thought no one would get it ha.

In conclusion, I see Blacklist as my way of seeing where I'm at (I tried it when I was starting out and got 6 and 6). I know people have sold at 7 and people with 8s whose scripts have gone nowhere. Or people who get 8, 7, 6, and 5 - on the same script. I suppose it goes to show how unpredictable and subjective the industry is.

I’m considering using a coverage service next time. Maybe script reader pro? Does anyone have any suggestions? I know a lot of competitions do them as well.

MarkRenshaw - I sent you a PM.

Purely a suggestion but why not post it here on SS?

I'm assuming you want to keep your scripts under wraps but you could benefit a lot from feedback from some terrific readers/reviewers right here.

The Blacklist is one source, one set of readers. You can get totally different responses from other sources.  

That script that got me in the top 4% of the BBC only scored 5 on the Blacklist, yet their review was full of praise. It also got into the semi-finals of Page and the 2nd round of Austin. Entering comps is very much like a lottery sometimes.

I second the suggestion to put your work on here for feedback, it’s free!

Quoted from The Dark Horse Hey. Got a reply from Blacklist - they said it's perfectly acceptable. Anthony - I looked over your series. Some great, valuable stuff there. Thank you. What I got from them: marketing, feedback, services, competitions. Rinse and repeat. As far as my masterplan... I'm going to research/try to write the perfect query email/letter and make a long list of screenwriting managers/literary managers. Go after the young, hungry ones who have time for me. Fire away and forget. It'll probably be an idea to write a 1/2 page synopsis for each too - in case, they ask. Lastly, as I'm waiting for the result for four scripts on blacklist - I might just use and send off which ever gets the best result. Regardless of the rating. Do you think including a blacklist review/excerpt in the query is a good idea? I know at this point I'm basically selling myself/marketing but I don't want to come across as pompous. Same time - as far as I know there are no hard and fast rules to queries.

IMO:

You should do a one page (500 word) and a two paragraph synopsis for all your features. Every time I have gotten a request for a script they have requested one or the other so it is nice to have it in the can.

Spend one week really tweaking each log-line - it is the first thing they will notice.

You will need one query letter for production companies and one for Agency/Management because you are asking for different things. Also make sure you have both in email form.

LC - Oh yeah. I deeply regret not putting them up here first TBH. I posted a couple earlier this year and most likely will in the future. It's always good to get an outsider's perspective/feedback.

Mark - To some extent, I don't mind my BL scores and criticism but it's the evaluations that annoyed me. Getting names wrong, spelling/grammar wrong, details wrong etc - it all suggests they (most likely the same reader) didn't read them properly or perhaps too quickly. But yeah - I complained about all of them so hopefully I'll get some kind of compensation.

Eldave1 - Thanks for the advice. Yep - I spent a week tweaking my loglines. Looks like I'm off to do some synopsis'.

Thanks guys.

Quoted from The Dark Horse LC - Oh yeah. I deeply regret not putting them up here first TBH. I posted a couple earlier this year and most likely will in the future. It's always good to get an outsider's perspective/feedback. Mark - To some extent, I don't mind my BL scores and criticism but it's the evaluations that annoyed me. Getting names wrong, spelling/grammar wrong, details wrong etc - it all suggests they (most likely the same reader) didn't read them properly or perhaps too quickly. But yeah - I complained about all of them so hopefully I'll get some kind of compensation. Eldave1 - Thanks for the advice. Yep - I spent a week tweaking my loglines. Looks like I'm off to do some synopsis'. Thanks guys.

Best of luck