Script Consultants: Are They Worth it?

Should you pay someone to read your script? Money is tight enough as a filmmaker, is it really worth the extra outlay? How do you know if their opinion ill help or hinder?

You get bad script consultancy and good script consultancy, and as someone who has paid for consultancy from multiple people and companies, as well as someone who has in recent years consulted on other writer’s scripts, I feel like I’ve clocked what makes the difference.

I don’t want to waste your time, so let me cut right to the key points:

what makes a bad consultant:

• Vague, generic, and short feedback
• Finds problems but can’t explain why it’s a problem
• Makes you feel like you have written a bad script not worth working on (a consultant’s job is to help you improve your writing, not stop you from writing)
• Does not bother to get to know your characters
• Leaves you wondering how you can apply anything they have said beyond this story

What makes a good consultant

• Specific and nuanced feedback regarding your story, world, characters, and writing
• Can clearly ariticulate why something is or is not working, so you learn how to improve continuously
• Makes you feel inspired to tackle your next draft and fall in love with writing
• Cares about your characters as much as you do (and can explain why their actions do or don’t align with their goals/fears)
• Gives you enough ideas on ways things could develop, but leaves you with a feeling that you are the one to find the right route forward
• Provides feedback you can come back to again and again, so its value lives beyond the draft/script it is consulting on

In essence, the difference between them is a bad consultant leaves you feeling puzzled, whilst a good consultant leaves you feeling excited and better able to complete your own puzzle.

So how do you know if they are good before buying?

The only real way is to ask those who have used that consultant for their opinion, or ask the consultant for a sample (although many will probably say no unless they have a mock screenplay/feedback or one that the writer has given permission to be shared). Outside of that, it really is just about trying until you find the right one for you.

A good way to try is to enter a few screenplay contests that offer script feedback and see how they differ, with the benefit of also being in with a shout of winning a screenplay award. My first time receiving script consultation was in the form of script feedback from a Bluecat screenplay contest, and the feedback was incredibly useful. The feedback highlighted issues I had an inkling about myself, but helped me to understand why they were issues. The slight issue with this approach though (using a company rather than a person), is that the consultant may change. I have read another person’s experience from the same contest and they felt completely different.

Generally speaking, getting script consultancy from an independent consultant will allow you to build a relationship with a human being and give you confidence in the level and style of feedback you can expect. This is why I personally prefer receiving consultation from individuals rather than companies; once you find someone who can tap into your story world and help you refine it, you want to use that person again and again.

One factor that can impact the breadth of feedback when receiving feedback from a company-based scenario, is that fact that those consulting often have to stick within a framework designed by the company, which can limit the amount or format of feedback the consultant might want to give. That said, you might prefer a company that has lots of consultants so you get a new perspective every time, or a company that promises a certain turnaround time.

Ultimately, once you find a service or consultant you like, you will probably want to go back to that service or consultant, it just might take you a while to find it or them.

How much do they cost?

I wish I could give you a clear answer but the truth is that script consultancy is a mirky water at the best of times. It varies so much and price is no indication of skill. I have paid small amounts of money for exceptional feedback and large amounts of money for average feedback. Some will charge you per page, per hour, or within certain parameters, i.e. a short screenplay up to 15 pages, or a screenplay 15-30 pages etc.

The benefit of going for a company is that they may offer a subscription or discount codes throughout the year, so you might be able to manage your payment more easily. The benefit of going to a person is that you can build that personal relationship and possibly get a discount as a returning customer. This is another reason I personally prefer a person over a company, because if you are going to spend over £100 on some feedback, I at least want the assurance of knowing I can trust the insight of human at the other end.

As an example, I was quoted both £150 and £350 for consultation on my 17-page screenplay. I ultimately ended up paying for both as bot consultants were looking at very different aspects of the script and I was curious to see how the level and quality of feedback would compare. In the end, both sets of feedback were useful and ultimately helped pave the way for the script to receive a commission and funding. So was it worth it? In my case, yes, but you have to decide whether that higher number is worth it in your situation, and if so, why? It might be that the higher figure quotes are from people with key lived experience, are in positions of influence, or are just damn good script consultants.

Why does it cost so much? Is it worth it?

I can’t speak for everyone, but here is my process as a script consultant, which will hopefully demystify why a script consultant might be charging more than you are hoping for as a broke and budding screenwriter.

1. I read the script, making no notes. I leave it a day or two, process it, and then I read it again.

2. On the second read, I annotate/make notes as I am reading.

3. I find references and examples that will help me illustrate various points.

4. I turn my notes into a (very long) document, broken down by: Story & Structure, Characters, and Technical.

5. I go through my annotations and make them legible so I can send the annotated script along with my feedback.

6. I have in the past also offered a video call one week later to discuss further, but this 40-minute call often turned into an hour and I have stopped doing this lately without an extra fee.

So if you imagine someone charges £150 for a 17-page script. You could look at that as £8 per page, or you could look at it as maybe £37.50 per hour, presuming that it takes them half an hour to read the script (twice=one hour), an hour to make their notes, and two hours to write their feedback.

The way I look at it is neither time nor page count, but does the money I pay a consultant create clarity that saves me £150 of time, missed funding opportunities, and stress?

I consulted on a short screenplay once that went onto secure £50,000 funding…the screenplay was excellent anyway and probably would have secured the funding either way, but the two writers were incredibly grateful for my contribution and in some cases, that consultation could be the difference, at which point it becomes a no-brainer. £150 against £50,000, you’re still £49,850 up.

You can’t bank on this happening though, so if you are to pay for a consultant, you have to make peace with the investment and value what it brings to you, regardless of any future outcomes. I, myself, will never read a script and tell you “don’t make this, this is crap”. I will steer you towards the best possible version of that idea you have, but whether that idea is enough to get commissioned rests on so many variables outside of a consultant’s control, possibly even beyond yours as the originator of the script. We all have to contend with nepotism, dubious processes, and commissioners with taste very different to our own.

I can’t afford a consultant…what are the mistakes I am probably making?

It is easy to get stuck in the weeds as a writer and struggle to see the simple errors we make. I think good consultants are almost always worth the investment, purely for this reason of opening our eyes to our obvious mistakes, but I also understand the financial realities of being a creative and sometimes it simply isn’t an option. So what are some of the usual suspects that I catch as a script consultant in other’s work?

A major culprit is that we have made choices for the characters because we know their motivations, but to an outside reader, the actions of our characters feel illogical, unjustified, or downright confusing. Striking the balance between visual storytelling that avoids expositionary dialogue and clarity of character mindsets is tricky, yes, but if your character has seemingly done a 180’ for no reason, you’ve missed a step. A likely cause is that you have developed your script through several drafts and deleted scenes that helped bridge the gap, so now your character has gone from angry enemy to loving ally in the blink of an eye.

Another common area I address is simple structural changes that help fix the problem above, but also can help develop intrigue and keep an audience invested, i.e. you have six scenes that are ordered in a way you felt was natural, but actually causes issues with flow and story logic, which can be fixed simply by switching around some of the beats.

Lastly, and most probelmatically, is page-long monologues where characters volunteer information. Characters should only have information pulled from them. Forced, helped, coerced, tricked, enticed, convinced, re-assured, any of that is better than a character just offering up internal feelings. If I am pissed off, it’s very unlikely I will walk into a room and say “I’m pissed off”. More likely, I’ll strop in and someone will say “What’s all that about?”, to which I’ll reply “nothing” at first.

Spelling and grammar? Sure, these exist in everyone’s work, but these are small details compared to the issues above.

So in summary?

The bigger point to takeaway is that it is only worth it if you are the sort of person who can receive feedback and appreciate the truths in it, even if it hurts your ego or means killing off that character or scene you really love. You shouldn’t do everything a consultant might suggest, but if you see their feedback and know in their heart it is true, then you have to be brave enough to action it.

What I have loved about both receiving and giving consultation is the moments where the feedback helps consolidate the writer’s thoughts. Sometimes, as writers, we doubt ourselves and change things that were actually working fine, and our gut knows we should have left it but the expectation of progress meant we are too scared to change it back. When a consultant picks up on something that you yourself are already feeling, it really does give you the world of confidence about your own instincts. What I have loved even more, is that outside perspective giving clarity and letting me confront the challenge in my own way.

Like I say, you don’t have to listen to everything a consultant says, but you should be open to everything they might say. If you can’t bear the idea that someone will suggest your script makes more sense with scene 3 and 5 swapped, or without the giant monologue, or by re-evaluating how one of your characters is currently coming across, then you are spending a lot of money on advice you are going to ignore