The 8 Rules When Asking A Pro To Read Your Script

Back in 2009, screenwriter Josh Olsen (𝐻𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑂𝑓 𝑉𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒) wrote an article for the Village Voice titled: 𝐼 𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝐹*%!𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑡. Recounting a time when someone who was barely an acquaintance begged him to read a 2-page synopsis and be brutally honest. The result was a pretentious, ego-blown yet scathingly hilarious essay recounting how Olsen mentally spiraled trying to give this guy notes, only to be called out for being a ‘dick.’

His thesis: damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

If you haven’t read the piece I recommend you do, while I completely disagree with a lot of what Olsen says or how he says it (personally, I find his boorish flippancy and arrogance both cruel and eye-rolling), there is something of note in the piece.

Specifically this part:

“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓 — 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍, 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 — 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒔 — 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆, 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌. 𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔.”

While this is a bit of an oversimplification, and it reeks of 🃏cards-close-to-my-chest🃏 thinking there is some truth to this.

As a professional screenwriter, I have two commodities: My time 🕑 and my imagination. Thankfully, my imagination is limitless. My time is not.

Now, unlike Olsen, I am much more inclined to read a friend's screenplay without all the drama or false indignation. I understand that it was other professionals whose time invested, notes and tutelage helped me and whenever I can, whenever it’s feasible, I try and pay it forward. I have been very fortunate to have been mentored by brilliant screenwriters and I am even more fortunate to be able to mentor a few rising stars 🌟

That said, my time IS limited, so if you’re going to ask a professional screenwriter to read your screenplay, please keep the following points in mind:

1. 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭/𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲. Once you send it. Leave it alone and WAIT for the notes. Most screenwriters will tell you when they’ll get notes back to you, be patient. Do not hound them, do not send a ‘hey, just checking in’ reminder, and for the love of god…

2. 𝐃𝐎 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐚 ‘𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞’ 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬.

3. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫 (𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫), 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥. We professional screenwriters can be just as insecure as aspiring ones 😜. Even if you disagree with the notes, or you feel they’re harsh… a little gratitude, goes a long way.

4. 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬. Don’t get offended. Every professional who charges will be upfront about this, it’s not a scam, it’s a job. We’re not offended that you asked us to read your screenplay, please don’t be offended if they ask you to pay.

5. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰… 𝐃𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇. Audition them. If this is a job, remember? YOU are their potential employer. Ask them: Have you sold any screenplays? Have you made movies? Remember: IMDb is your friend.

6. 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐚𝐬 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. We are ALL writers. We’ve all been there, friends. By getting notes from a professional screenwriter, you are getting much more than simple suggestions, you are gaining insight from their professional experience. And while that may be true; a note from your fellow scribes in your writer’s group, is just as valuable. Check my blog post on How To Take A Note.

7. 𝐃𝐎 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲. The worst anyone can say is ‘no.’ So ASK. Just remember to be respectful of everyone’s time and show gratitude when the job is done.

8. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫… 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐤. Aspiring screenwriters look up to you, want to learn from you, and be just as courteous and kind as they will be when they thank you for your notes.

   Oh, and after you've read Josh Olsen’s article, read “David Cronenberg’s” brilliant response 😜.