tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post5730697593631594658..comments2024-03-07T20:15:45.996-08:00Comments on The Bitter Script Reader: Knowing when to send it outThe Bitter Script Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16575166527272639709noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-39692222669891384002012-10-13T17:17:08.574-07:002012-10-13T17:17:08.574-07:00Thanks for the answers folks. I've decided to ...Thanks for the answers folks. I've decided to complete another project and let some time pass. Freshen up the eyes.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12917994627898754577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-73030281151033980822012-10-09T08:33:11.654-07:002012-10-09T08:33:11.654-07:00When you give your script to a fellow writer and t...When you give your script to a fellow writer and they say "this is so good I'm mad at you." That's when a script is ready to go out. When you feel it's the absolute best it's going to be. <br /><br />Anything short of that, you're wasting the reader's time. Steve the Creephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10265147408563991491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-24654306497117690402012-10-09T06:33:23.783-07:002012-10-09T06:33:23.783-07:00http://thebitterscriptreader.blogspot.com/have-you...http://thebitterscriptreader.blogspot.com/have-you-ever-paid-for-it-coverage-that.html<br /><br />Bitter - link is dead.<br /><br />One other way to get notes without paying exorbitant fees is to enter contests that have notes options, although that can be a crap shoot, depending on the contest.Momohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17697293134515088133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-35688502295238826142012-10-08T23:37:48.976-07:002012-10-08T23:37:48.976-07:00Seek for people near you, who you can trust. Find ...Seek for people near you, who you can trust. Find a mentor. Find screenwriting friends. Hell, a copyeditor will do more for you than coverage.<br /><br />Never pay for coverage.<br /><br />A lesson from my days in a rock 'n' roll band: "Never pay to play."Nicholas James Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02628254869079344173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-29773027488777969642012-10-08T20:21:28.519-07:002012-10-08T20:21:28.519-07:00This old post covers most of my thoughts on the ma...This old post covers most of my thoughts on the matter:<br /><br /><a href="http://thebitterscriptreader.blogspot.com/have-you-ever-paid-for-it-coverage-that.html" rel="nofollow">http://thebitterscriptreader.blogspot.com/have-you-ever-paid-for-it-coverage-that.html</a><br /><br />I would NEVER pay for coverage from anyone who's actively a manager. That seems faintly unethical for them to run a coverage service on the side. They have to assume that some people are going to pay them not for the notes, but more for the hope that they'll like the script and want to rep them. I once asked a development exec I worked for about advice in getting repped. His response: "Never pay someone for a read."<br /><br />And I get that in this case you'd be getting notes and not just a read, but I have a real problem with the ethical tangle there.The Bitter Script Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16575166527272639709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-46529778420625208432012-10-08T18:27:27.980-07:002012-10-08T18:27:27.980-07:00Absolutely. Mentors and writing groups who won'...Absolutely. Mentors and writing groups who won't hold back are a must.Nicholas James Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02628254869079344173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-67517582909185128512012-10-08T08:43:44.948-07:002012-10-08T08:43:44.948-07:00I'm planning to send my current spec to severa...I'm planning to send my current spec to several writers for notes. I'd also like one or two professional opinions. What are your thoughts on paying for coverage? <br /><br />I would never pay hundreds of dollars for notes. However, spending 75 dollars or so, on someone who also works as a manager, seems pretty reasonable. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01175985544002285736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-18213490401243863222012-10-08T07:32:47.983-07:002012-10-08T07:32:47.983-07:00Agree with Bitter and Nick 100%. It's incredib...Agree with Bitter and Nick 100%. It's incredibly important to be able to send out your draft once you like it, rather than sit on it and tweak it constantly, over and over, perhaps even obsessing about what everyone is going to think. It's important for your own sanity -- as well as your career -- to call a script done, send it out, mentally check out from it, and begin working on a brand new script. This takes some discipline and objectivity in knowing when to call it; obviously, if you call it done after the rough draft, you may just be lying to yourself. But if you've written a script that YOU like, that YOU feel is ready, it's time to push that sucker out of the nest...<br /><br />My own test for done: I read the script fully once a day and if I don't find any major items that immediately want to change, I call it done.F. Scott Frazierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482385979009829422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-7233085745339399322012-10-08T01:41:41.935-07:002012-10-08T01:41:41.935-07:00Agree with Nick, your intuition should tell you if...Agree with Nick, your intuition should tell you if it is ready or not. But getting at least one other opinion before you do that (and not from a friend who will tell you what you want to hear) is the way to go.<br /><br />More important is working out WHO you want to send it to.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-8359409431192264872012-10-08T01:03:53.382-07:002012-10-08T01:03:53.382-07:00My two cents: If you're feeling good about you...My two cents: If you're feeling good about your draft, get it out there. See what happens. It will teach you to deal with rejection.<br /><br />If it gets passes all around, start your next project. In time, if the gods favor your story, it may have a second life. Or it just might be a step in your journey to becoming better.<br /><br />Great question.Nicholas James Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02628254869079344173noreply@blogger.com