Hi,Went to hear Tom Malloy speak last night. Wow! The guy is seriously high energy. I'm ready to write 1, 2, maybe 3 scripts . . . this morning.
I know he doesn't look high energy here in this photo, but that's because he was jumping around so much, this is the only picture that is relatively in focus.
Feedback On Your Script
Tom had some great advice for writers, but the piece I'm going to put to good use right away is how to get inexpensive and great feedback from professional readers on your script -- before you send it out there.
He said to go to Craiglist in LA and say you're looking for a reader to give you feedback on your script. You'll find plenty of folks who have read for studios and they will give you coverage inexpensively — like from $50 to $250.
Next, you send your script off to three different readers and see what you get back. The idea is to look for "trends". If they all tell you that your script needs stronger characters — your script needs stronger characters.
Reader Different From Writer
He has had great results with this process and it's helped him really hone his scripts. He's got the stats to prove it — he's sold or produced 5 of his last 9 scripts. (I think that's the stat, I don't have my notes in front of me right now. But it's something completely insane like that.)
He believes you should get feedback from readers versus writers. Readers know what studios are looking for. Plus, if the writer is your friend, you might be getting biased feedback.
I don't know if I'm explaining this well. But in short, if you find 3 readers at $50 a piece — for $150 you could get quality studio coverage and feedback to help you rewrite your script before sending out there for the world to read.
Sounds like a deal to me. :-) Can hardly wait to give it a try.
di
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3 comments:
I am so sorry I missed him. Was stuck in bad traffic and knew I would never get to the train station in time. Could maybe have tried to drive all the way on my own, but absolutely hate to be stopped on the freeway for excessive amounts of time only to end up late anyway.
He was AWESOME. Next time you should just drive on through. We get there REALLY early, probably 45 minutes ahead of time, so you'd have a hard time being late. :-)
Sounds like you picked up some good tips from him.
I ended up at home last evening cooling my heels (instead of watching the play, that I'm *supposed* to be writing a paper on, since tickets sold out :() so I could have been there. I instead opted for a quiet night in since the rest of the family went to Red Lobster.
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