Tips on Choosing the Best Screenwriting Consultant for You

The other day, I received an email from a screenwriter who I’ve been helping on and off over the years (gratis) and had another question about a formatting issue. I gave him the answer he was seeking and left him with the reminder to “Keep Trottier’s reference book (The Screenwriter’s Bible) right by your side so you can easily refer to it when you need it”.

He wrote back that he does, and he always trusts my judgment, but another consultant that he’s built a relationship with (and was paying for) was always telling him something very different- different from both me AND Dave Trottier! He said he gets help from several different consultants, and it seems that all of the advice is either very different, or completely contradictory to one another.

This is very true- and a very common issue. In an industry that may very well have MORE “consultants” than actual screenwriters, they seem to be competing in every way possible, trying to differentiate themselves in one way or another.

In an effort to stand out from the crowded consultant landscape, you may have slightly different types of consulting plans, payment options, prices, etc. You will also have a vast difference in the background, experience and the industry success of the people providing the consulting.

More importantly, however, you’ll have different types of screenwriting philosophies, and this is where much of the conflict comes in.

• You will have differing opinions on what constitutes a logline.
• Some consultants will want to change your story ONLY because THEY don’t like it, while others will work with you to improve it or elevate it in some way.
• Some stress the importance of proper formatting;?others aren’t even aware of proper formatting themselves.
• Some consultants specialize in the story beats- precisely and to the letter, while others are a bit more flexible, or don’t adhere to any one particular beat formula at all.
• There are consultants who are sticklers for story structure; others are more concerned about marketable concepts, dialogue, conflict, and theme.

So, here are some tips on how to better navigate the world of screenwriting consultants:

1. Don’t overwhelm yourself with so many different consultants. It’s nice to get that variety of opinions, but at some point, you’re going to have to decide on one screenwriting consultant and trust them.

2. There are as many different focuses as there are consultants. Try and determine what your consultant concentrates their focus on more.

3. Determine which one you TRUST the most; which one “SPEAKS” to you the most; which one makes the most sense to you and go with that person.

4. Consultants work differently. Most follow the basic “Pay One Job at a Time” model, so with every rewrite, or every new script you want reviewed, you’ll have to pay a fee.

5. Go to their websites; review their LinkedIn profiles; review their Facebook pages; review their YouTube channels.

Ask yourself-

• “Are they known and respected in the industry?”
• “What do their references say?”

(One point about recommendations or references: If the website list a number of quotes from unattributed sources, or people with ONLY initials, those references are useless).

I do not consider myself an actual “consultant”. I’m a teacher; a paid mentor. My six (6) writers are also mentors. ALL of our clients (over 500+) have lifetime membership and we work with them and their projects for the entire life of that particular project, and for the rest of their writing career, regardless of how many projects they may write.

This is a far different approach to providing assistance than ANY of the paid consultants.

In fact, there was a time our company was the ONLY mentoring company out there. Now, I see that more and more “consultants” are referring to themselves as “mentors”- probably to take advantage of the inroads our company has made in the industry.

Another point to keep in mind- a script mentor is far different than the basic script COVERAGE service, which is usually comprised of consultants. Most of the consultants and/or coverage services don’t even realize this themselves, as they use these terms interchangeably.

?“Script Coverage” is when they provide the client with an overall synopsis of 3-5 pages, specifically for the producer to read and get a feel for the screenplay without investing the two hours it would take to read it. With this coverage, the consultant might provide personal notes on what worked and what didn’t work, and some general notes for improvement.

A script consultant will provide specific notes as to what is wrong with the story and screenplay. Some provide detailed notes, others a “scorecard”- which, in my opinion, is completely useless; being told that your dialogue is a “6 out of 10” doesn’t help you at all, if you don’t know why or how to fix it. The detailed notes can be helpful, if it is based on actually screenwriting issues. There are occasions where the notes reflect a personal bias from the note-giver, as to their particular taste in the genre or the story topic.

You’ll need to find a consultant who can separate these two things.

A “script mentor”- provides screenplay notes but should also provide reasons WHY something needs to be improved. Through The Script Mentor mentoring program, we also teach the writer HOW to make this improvement. Our goal is to teach you enough over a period of time, where you no longer need a mentor! We’ll still be here if you want us, however.

We also don’t stop our assistance once the screenplay is completed. We provide networking plans and marketing strategies, including referring your screenplay to our personal industry connections, IF it reaches the very high bar we set for excellence.

You won’t find any coverage service, consulting company or other mentoring company who will do the same.

The Script Mentor

WRITER'S BIO:?Mr. Scala spent 24-plus years in the Hollywood community and was the?Executive Director for the?72nd Annual Academy Awards,?as well as?The Soul Train Awards,?The Grammys,?The Blockbuster Video Awards Show?and?The Saturn Award Show.?He is writing the biopics of early rock pioneer?Jimmie F. Rodgers,?Motown star?Tammi Terrell?and iconic folk singer and philanthropist?Harry Chapin- all while continuing to mentor new writers and self-published authors. Currently, he is working on a project scheduled to be filmed in the spring,?starring?Liam Hemsworth and Samuel L. Jackson.?Geno has three produced feature films:?"Assassin 33 A.D.",?"Black Easter"?and?"The Tombs".?All are currently available on Amazon Prime and Tubi.