Your script gets one chance to impress an agent or producer
Are you 100% sure it’s the best it can be?
Get script coverage from Screenplay Readers and find out…
We’ll read your screenplay and provide you with critical and constructive script coverage, pointing out where your script needs more work to give it the best possible shot with agents, producers, investors, or contests…
…BEFORE you send it out to agents and producers!
We email your script coverage to you within 24-72 hours so you have near-immediate feedback on your script.
And our rates start at just $59.99 
What is script coverage?
Studios and agents commonly employ script readers to read submitted spec scripts and provide brief memos about the scripts called “coverage reports.” Busy agents and producers rely on these coverages to know which screenplays they should read themselves and which screenplays they should skip. Getting your hands on coverage for your own screenplay was almost always expensive and time-consuming until Screenplay Readers began providing industry-standard screenplay coverage to screenwriters, production companies, studios, agents, managers, festivals, contests, and independent producers in 1999.
We’ve analyzed scripts for some of the biggest companies in the film industry, so we know how agents and producers think
Our script coverage team has worked for CAA, Sundance, ICM, Warner Bros., Disney, Universal, and more. Our elite screenplay reading team has been hand-picked for extensive script analysis experience. No underpaid college kids or interns here.
Our analysts are insightful, thorough, experienced, and have an absolute passion for screenwriting and screenwriters. But they’re also 100% brutally honest.
And that’s the key reason that’s kept our clients coming back for over 13 years, and has made us the film industry’s #1 choice for script coverage.
So if you’re ready to get feedback on your screenwriting right away, then click here for a list of our script coverage services.
What goes into every one of our script coverages:
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Your script, summed up in one or two sentences. If it turns out that your logline is much longer than that, your script might be too “soft concept” and more difficult to sell, market, or land an agent or manager with. |
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Your script’s story, squeezed down to the essentials. This 1-2 page “skinny” is a sort of bird’s eye view that helps you see how well a stranger would understand your key plot points and throughlines. If our reader missed an important beat, it’s likely that an agent or producer will too. |
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One of three possible ratings: PASS (the script is not a lost cause, but it needs a lot of work), CONSIDER (the script still needs work, but may be considered by an agency or studio), or RECOMMEND (The script is pretty much good to go, so go ahead and get it out there.) Don’t feel bad if you get a PASS. It’s an opportunity to improve. Right around 95% of screenplays receive a PASS, while 4% receive a CONSIDER, and 1% or so receive a RECOMMEND. We’re not here to tear you down, but if you don’t want honest feedback, we’re not the place for you. |
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1-2 pages (or more) of notes on what’s working and/or not working about your characters, plot, conflict, dialogue, marketability, theme, and concept. You might not agree with all of the notes, but you can use what you agree with and discard the rest. Or, you might not agree with any of the notes, but at the very least you’ll be able to see how an anonymous script reader reacts to your script, which allows you tweak your draft so that there’s less chance of being misunderstood by a real-world reader at an agency, studio, production company, or script contest. |
How our customers are using Screenplay Readers to their advantage:
Their feedback has a terse constructive quality to it that doesn’t beat around the bush and focuses precisely on what needs to be done to immediately improve one’s script. Thank you Screenplay Readers, I’ll be back :)
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How does Screenplay Readers’ 2-minute checkout work?
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Pick which script coverage service you’d like from our services page. One reader? Two? Three? Or would you like our 10-reader package? |
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Check out with any credit card or Paypal or Google Checkout. Our shopping cart is powered by the super-secure credit card processor, Authorize.net, so your transaction and your information will be 100% safe. |
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Upload your script using our upload form. Then we’ll assign your script to your reader(s) and get your script coverage to you with 24-72 hours |
Myths about script coverage
MYTH:“You must have script coverage in order to get your script sold or represented”
You absolutely do not need script coverage to get your script sold or represented.
MYTH:“You need paid script coverage in order to improve your script”
We always encourage clients to get as much free feedback as possible before ordering coverage from us. Writers groups, forums, friends and family – all are good. Once you’ve reached a brick wall with those folks and feel your script still needs fresh eyes and fresh opinion, come back and we’ll help you take it to the next level.
MYTH:“Agents don’t read a script unless it’s received script coverage first”
Agents and producers will read anything that comes with a good recommendation, whether it’s an in-house coverage, word-of-mouth, or a favor read for a friend.
MYTH:“Script coverage is a waste of time because you don’t know who’s reading your script”
This is a favorite of high-priced script consultants, who equate vitally-important reader anonymity with “low quality.” In the same breath, they’ll say “Hire me for $500 because I can help get your script past the ‘gatekeepers.’” What they fail to mention is the fact that the “gatekeepers” at agencies and studios, by and large, are anonymous assistants and anonymous development execs.
Valid concerns many screenwriters have about script coverage:
“But what if I don’t like what you guys say about my script?”
We’re writers too, so we know what it feels like to receive criticism on our work, and believe me, it’s not always fun. But without a fresh, non-biased opinion on our work, even when it’s painful to hear, we can’t grow as writers. We want to challenge you; not offend you. We want your script to be stronger; not more cluttered with opinion. It’s up to you to decide whether or not our criticism is something you want to incorporate in your future draft. But if you’re a screenwriter who’s only interested in hearing how great you are, we’re definitely not the place you want to be.
“But who are you guys, and what makes you so qualified to give me feedback on my script?”
We’re filmmakers, screenwriters, and veterans of the film industry, from all sorts of sectors: development, production, post-production, you name it. And we’ve worked for some of the biggest houses in Hollywood: Disney, Warner Bros., Universal. But most importantly, each one of us knows screenwriting; lives screenwriting; breathes screenwriting. But let’s be honest here: if anybody on our script team were Joe Esterhauz or Shane Black, making millions of dollars selling screenplays, they’d probably be too busy writing blockbusters to be giving script feedback. And when you really think about it, so would any of our esteemed competitors. Screenplay analysis isn’t rocket science, but if it’s worth a damn, it has to be done by people who have years of film smarts under their belts. Years of cinematic insight, of breaking down plotlines and dissecting characters, of digging down to find a story’s proper focus or structure, and perhaps most importantly – of being able to translate all that into something the screenwriter can actually use.
“But such-and-such script consultant says getting script coverage is waste of time.”
Script consultants, by and large, are cool people. But some of them make their living by bashing the entire concept of paid script coverage, writing angry blogs and shouting at screenwriting conventions about how much better it is to hire a script consultant. But we script coverage folks just have to keep smiling, because we know and our customers know we’re providing a really great service, not only for screenwriters, but for agents and producers as well. The funny thing is, even though we almost never get any love from script consultants, we’re still big fans of working 1-on-1 with consultants (if you can afford a consultant, that is), because a consultant is just one of many feedback options a screenwriter should keep handy.
| Screenplay Readers (us) | The Other Guys | |||
| Turnaround |  |
24-72 hours |  |
5-7 days, even up to 2-3 weeks |
| Price | |
$59.99 | |
$75 – $275 |
| Quality | |
brutally honest, pull no punches, critical analysis of the script; not the writer | |
Mostly decent quality, but an awful lot of hand-holding |
| Analysts | |
journeyman-to-expert film industry folks with at least 5 years development experience | |
Mostly self-appointed script “gurus” |
| Peddling “Insider industry access” | |
Never have, never will. | |
All sorts of wacky promises. |
| Founded | |
1999 | |
New ones popping up every day |
| Primary focus | |
Helping screenwriters and filmmakers, with making money in close second | |
Making money, selling software and magazines, and then being helpful, if there’s money involved |
| Who runs the business? | |
Screenwriter and filmmaker with over 27 years experience | |
Most hide behind anonymity, so it’s hard to say |
| Availability | |
super-fast response via email or Skype, but we’re closed weekends | |
Good luck getting an email within 3 days |
| Guru status | |
We believe the word “guru” should be reserved for people like Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg. | |
“I’m awesome and know everything, so come to me.” |
…and here’s a just a few of our recent happy customers:
Get your script covered today and discover what could be holding it back…
We’ll be 100% brutally honest, but you have to be ready for it
Are you?
1 Reader
Our standard script coverage
- 1 Logline
- 1 Rating (PASS / CONSIDER / RECOMMEND)
- 1-2 pages of synopsis
- 1-2 pages of comments
- PDF version of your coverage
2 Readers
2 readers will read and comment on your script
- 1 Logline
- 2 Ratings (PASS / CONSIDER / RECOMMEND)
- 1-2 pages of synopsis total
- 1-2 pages of comments per reader
- PDF version of your coverage
3 Readers
3 readers will read and comment on your script
- 1 Logline
- 3 Ratings (PASS / CONSIDER / RECOMMEND)
- 1-2 pages of synopsis total
- 1-2 pages of comments per reader
- PDF version of your coverage
- FREE Word version of your coverage (.doc/.docx)
- FREE unlimited script vaulting for 1 year
10 Reader Package
Buy credits for 10 comments-only coverages and use them any time, for any script.
- Credits for 10 comments-only coverages. Spend the credits any time; they don’t expire!
- Mix and match the credits on different drafts or use them all on one.
- 1-2 pages of comments per reader
- Buying in advance saves you $200 on coverage
Check out all of our services on our services page