How to respond when people ask you to read their script
In my comments left elsewhere mode, here’s what I commented on a Village Voice blog post written by screenwriter Josh Olson about people he doesn’t know asking him to read their synopsis or script:
I’m not a big fan of several of the points Olson makes, but I do like the idea that one can tell a writer right away — and a non-writer even faster.
Although I’m not making lots of money from writing, my plays have been produced (I’m on my version of the JRB plan right now). People have always asked me to read scripts, and a technique I’ve used on occasion is to spell out the amount of time I’d give, and suggest something in return as trading favors.
I’m not into tit-for-tat as a general principle, but sometimes if someone pushy asks for favors, I think it’s fine to ask for an immediate payback. “Oh, you want me to read your synopsis? Writing an analysis would take me three hours, but if you treated me to a nice lunch I could discuss it with you better,” or “Reading a synopsis with feedback would cost me three hours of my time. Could you look over my landscaper’s contract?”
Another technique is to bring the person you’re really doing the favor into the transactions. Because when you’re friends with someone and have your own relationship with them, doing people favors isn’t on a ledger book, of course. But pushy people will ask for a favor without a friendship context because they’re asking for a favor from you based on the relationship they have with your friend. You could even ask the pushy person to do something nice for the person you’re really doing the favor for.
That said, I have still been burned by people asking me to read their script because they wanted a different kind of feedback than what I thought they might need.
So now, on the occasions when I agree to read someone’s script, I ask them up front what kind of feedback they want and I give them the options I’m comfortable giving. Such as, for this boyfriend of an acquaintance, “would you like a short bullet point list of the things that need fixed? or an assessment of what genre and market this might be suited for? or just what I think is working?”
Negotiating up front what the feedback will be clears up expectations. Why give in-depth analysis when they want to know which stars or studios they should go after?
Although Olson’s piece comes off as kind of cranky, the people from all industries who have sung its praises points out that asking for favors and doing favors and declining to do favors are a delicate dance, especially when the request isn’t between friends.
My idea of bringing the requestor’s point of contact into the transaaction is that sometimes this can kill the transaction right away or mediate it. For instance, if Olson were kind of close and on pleasant terms with the woman who’s boyfriend asked him to read the synopsis, if he met them over drinks and gave the guy a list of reputable teachers or even met with him and her and asked why he wants to be a writer (let’s say he doesn’t, he just wants cash or someone else to write it for him), then Olson’s response might not be taken so badly. Also, since he has a relationship with the woman, she could hear first hand that he’s not a dick because she already knows and likes him (or maybe he’d soften his delivery so he wouldn’t be read as one).
I think Olson’s tone probably comes from a very specific thing intrinsic to artists of all stripes: it’s hard to say no when so much of entertainment is about pleasing people.
photo credit: urbanshoregirl
