Screenplay Proofreading And Story Notes
Professional editing service plus story comments for one low price
Need fast-turnaround proofreading only
with no in-depth notes? See below.
Eliminate Mistakes And Improve Your Screenplay With Both
Proofreading And Story Notes Before You Submit
“So why do I need these script notes
and professional proofreading?”
To give yourself the competitive edge over those who don’t use this service.
Producers, agents, and screenplay contest executives all say that many of the screenplays they see are flawed in ways which are obvious to industry pros, but which seem to be invisible to their writers.
My notes will identify those flaws and help you address them.
Industry insiders also say that proofreading mistakes (grammatical errors, typos, spelling mistakes, and basic formatting errors) are among the worst mistakes you can make in a screenplay — and the most common.
I’ll catch and fix those errors and give you notes about them.
Screenplay Proofreading Details
Read Client Testimonials
Need convincing? Click this link to read a sampling of industry comments on typos, spelling and grammar mistakes, and basic formatting errors I received in survey responses.
The comments above and on that page are typical. They illustrate this ironclad, non-negotiable Rule #1 about submitting screenplays to production companies or contests:
To them, you’re an amateur and your screenplay is unworthy of
their time if it is full of spelling, grammar, and basic formatting errors.
Yes, that is harsh. I am sorry to have to say it. But it’s the way the industry is.
I’m not trying to offend you. Just the opposite: With 100,000+ spec screenplays hitting Hollywood and the British film and TV industry every year, I’m here to help you beat the odds.
Let Me Help You Submit The Perfect Screenplay
I can fix your grammar, spelling, clarity, and basic formatting mistakes for you.
I will proofread your screenplay for grammar, spelling, and clarity for some of the lowest rates in the industry:
● Feature screenplay: $1.99/page with notes;
● Teleplay: same $1.99/page with notes;
● NEW: Proofreading only, fast 48-hour turnaround, no in-depth notes: $1.39/page
Other Services:
● Rewrite your synopsis: $50.
● Rewrite your query letter/email: $30
● Write a query letter and query email from scratch: $49 with screenplay proofread, otherwise $65.
● Evaluate your logline: FREE with screenplay proofread, otherwise $25.
● Write three suggested loglines for you from scratch: $30 with screenplay proofread, otherwise $49.
Rush Work:
● 50% surcharge for a 48-hour turnaround for a 60-page pilot, 72 hours for a feature-length script (no surcharge for proofreading only).
● 24-hour delivery on a 60-page pilot, 36 hours for a feature-length script (“Drop everything and read my screenplay ahead of your rush work!”) – 100% surcharge.
But please do plan ahead and save money: order at least several days in advance.
What You Will Receive For These Rates:
A thorough and professional proofreading job. I will find and correct (or give you notes to correct, such as “saying vs. showing” errors):
— Typographical errors
— Spelling errors
— Grammatical errors
— Punctuation errors
— Capitalization errors
— Verb tense errors
— Sentence structure and clarity problems
— Basic formatting mistakes
— Cramming in too many words**
— “Saying” when you need to show, and…
The “Plus” Part: Several Pages Of Notes
For only $1.99 per page (higher rates for rush work), you will also receive several pages of story notes and notes on proofreading issues. These notes will include:
A brief overall view of the quality of your story.
A gentle list of any story problems and issues I see.
How well your script performs on eight vital story and script elements.
How well your story matches the classic screenplay structure of a famous screenwriting guru.
How well your screenplay “romances the reader,” using a 14-point checklist, distilled from more than 5,000 feedback comments by screenwriting contest judges I hired back when I ran screenplay contests.
Plus a few pages of Proofreading Notes as needed…
Click the image above or here to email me
Your idea of what a producer looks like?
What you look like to them if your script is full of errors
Why not, if your work looks professional?
“We are such stuff as dreams are made on”
(Shakespeare, “The Tempest”)
In the Proofreading Notes, I comment on proofreading issues which arise more than once in your screenplay. These notes may include, but are not limited to, issues of grammar, spelling, sentence structure or lack thereof, formatting, and basic screenwriting how-to.
For example, if your scene descriptions include significant instances of failing to tell the story visually (often called violations of the “show, don’t say” or “show, don’t tell” rule), these will be mentioned and discussed.
This service — both proofreading and notes — will cost you only $1.99 per correctly formatted page. (Again, proofreading only, with no notes, is only $1.39/page — but clients rave about my notes!)
To contact Bill: email or phone (805) 212-0652
My Proofreading Credentials And Experience…
● More than 200 screenplays proofread with notes
● Experienced fiction developmental editor
● Screenplay contest judge (three contests)
● Screenplay contest executive (11 screenplay contests, 5 scene-writing contests, two logline contests)
● Two of my own screenplays won three first prizes in contests
● Former Editor of Creative Screenwriting Magazine
● Author of four books for screenwriters to date
● USC Master of Fine Arts, Screenwriting and Filmmaking
● Newspaper copy desk chief, Morristown, N.J., Daily Record
● Copy editor at the Associated Press
● Copy editor at daily newspaper, The Record, Hackensack, N.J.
● Copy editor for several business-to-business trade publications
● 11,200+ published pages and screenplays edited/proofread
● Writer or editor of news stories that won five national journalism awards.