WritingShort screenplays
Short film screenplay
Pricefrom $20
Payment protectionDetails
- Revisions within the package are free.
- If you do not respond within 3 days of delivery, the work is accepted automatically.
The money is reserved when you pay and released only once you accept the work.
Example result
Example for the Standard package
Manuscript critique: opening chapters of a small-town mystery
Overall impression
The voice is the strongest thing here: warm, a little wry, with a clear sense of the harbour town. The mystery itself starts too late. The body is found on page 19; until then we have two chapters of setup that are pleasant but low on tension.
Plot and structure
- Chapter 1 introduces Nell's bookshop, her cat, her ex-husband and the festival committee. Four threads at once, none with a question attached.
- The lighthouse keeper's death would work far better as the end of chapter 1, not the middle of chapter 3.
- The festival deadline is a good ticking clock. Mention it early and keep returning to it.
Characters and dialogue
Nell is likeable, but mostly passive in the opening: things happen near her rather than because of her. Give her one small choice in chapter 1 that has consequences later.
Dialogue is natural, but characters often explain what both already know:
"As you know, Nell, the lighthouse has been closed since the storm three years ago."
Suggested: "Still closed?" Nell nodded at the lighthouse. "Three years, and they still haven't fixed the door."
Style and language
- Strong sensory details: "the smell of tar and lemon soap" sets the scene in six words.
- Overuse of "just" (41 times) and "suddenly" (12 times) softens tension.
- Several long paragraphs of backstory in chapter 2 (pp. 11–13) stop the scene; spread them across later chapters.
What works
- The cat, Admiral, is a charming running joke without stealing scenes
- The town feels lived in; secondary characters are distinct from first appearance
- Nell's humour fits the genre perfectly
Revision plan
- Move the discovery of the body to the end of chapter 1; cut or compress what comes before
- Give Nell a decision in chapter 1 (e.g., she lends the keeper a book that is later found with him)
- Remove "as you know" exchanges; let the reader infer
- Search and trim "just" and "suddenly" by at least half
- Move backstory from chapter 2 into short flashes later in the book
- Plant the festival deadline in the first two pages
Client: first-time novelist. Text: chapters 1–3 of The Lantern Keeper, a cozy mystery, 4,800 words. Author's question: "Does the opening hook readers, and is my detective likeable?"
The client and all details are made up.
About this service
We write coverage for your screenplay or pilot in the format used by production companies and contests: a logline, a synopsis, comments on premise, structure, characters, dialogue and marketability, a ratings grid and an overall verdict of pass, consider or recommend. The notes are honest and concrete, with page references, so you know what to fix before you send the script out.
What is included
- What you getA coverage report with logline, synopsis, ratings grid, detailed comments and a verdict, plus scene-by-scene notes in Premium. You get it as text on the order page and as a Word (.docx) file.
- Logline and synopsisHow a reader would pitch your script
- Ratings gridPremise, structure, character, dialogue
- Detailed commentsWith page references
- VerdictPass, consider or recommend, with reasons
- Scene-by-scene notesIn Premium: what each scene does or misses
How it works
- 1BriefYou paste or attach the script and your goals
- 2ReadingWe read the full script and take notes
- 3DeliveryYou get the coverage report
What we need from you
The script text pasted into the brief, its format (feature, pilot or short), the genre and where you plan to send it. Documents can also be attached as PDF, Word or Excel files.
We will ask you:
- Is it a feature, a TV pilot or a short?
- What genre is it, and what are two comparable titles?
- Where do you plan to send it?
- What worries you most?
Compare packages
| Packages | BasicShort script up to 30 pages$20 | StandardScript up to 60 pages$39 | PremiumFeature up to 120 pages$75 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadline | 2 days | 3 days | 5 days |
| Revisions | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Script length | up to 30 pages | up to 60 pages | up to 120 pages |
| Logline, synopsis and ratings grid | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scene-by-scene notes | No | No | Yes |
| Order Basic | Order Standard | Order Premium |
Payment protection
You pay when you order, but the money is released only for accepted work.
- Fixed priceThe package price does not change after you pay.
- The money is reservedWhen you pay, the amount is only reserved. It is released to the service once you accept the work.
- Checked before deliveryEvery result goes through a quality check before it reaches you, and you see it on the order page before accepting it.
- Free revisionsAsk for changes within your brief as many times as the package allows.
- Acceptance after 3 daysIf within 3 days of delivery you neither accept the work nor ask for changes, it is accepted automatically. If you write in the order chat after delivery, the order waits; once we answer, we may start the 3 days again and will say so in the chat.
- Redo or a full refundIf the result does not match your brief and the revisions did not fix it, or the work takes more than twice its deadline, write in the order chat: we will redo the work or refund the payment in full.
Questions and answers
Can I send a Final Draft or Fountain file?
Export the script to PDF and attach it, or paste the script text into the brief; Final Draft and Fountain files themselves are not accepted. Scene headings and character names should stay in, so the page references work.
Will a "recommend" help me sell the script?
Our coverage is feedback for you, not an industry endorsement. It shows how a professional reader is likely to react.
Is my manuscript kept private?
Yes. Your text is used only for your order.
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