PROOFREADING

The numbers are staggering: more than 70,000 scripts registered each year with the WGA; fewer than 500 produced. If you want your screenplay to stand out from this crowd, it had better be near-perfect. The Reader -- Hollywood's gatekeeper -- expects it. Wow her, and maybe you join the chosen few. Annoy him, and you're back toiling with the masses. Here's why:

A Reader might have to plow through 25 screenplays in a weekend. He or she is looking for the "good read": a great story, executed well. Let's say you've succeeded at the former -- which of course is all up to you -- but failed, perhaps miserably, at the latter. Your script is full of mistakes: poor grammar, typos, improper format, screenwriting cheats (things you can't see or hear), awkward phrasings, or wasted words and descriptions. The result? Your great story gets lost in the chaos -- and is likely on its way to the shredder. After all, why shouldn't a Reader say no to something that you didn't care enough to polish?

Every screenwriter needs an editor. Even after you have done your job telling a good story, you need to make certain that nothing detracts from the read. Maybe you just need a fresh pair of eyes to take one last pass through the final draft. Maybe you need a little (or a lot) more work. Whatever the case, my company offers the following services -- from writer/editor David Gillis -- that can help make your script the best it can be.

David Gillis was a journalist for more than 20 years, including 15 as an editor on the Living/Arts and Business copy desks at The Boston Globe. He has written for newspapers and magazines nationwide and is now pursuing a screenwriting career. His screenplay The Gray Ghost won the Fantasy Genre Prize in the 2007 Screenwriting Expo Screenplay Competition.

PROOFREADING & COPY EDITING
This service, which is geared toward writers whose scripts just need a final edit, will fix such problems as typos, grammatical errors, and formatting gaffes -- mistakes that a spell-checker (be it Word's or Final Draft's) can't catch. You wouldn't send out a script that's splattered with coffee stains. Make certain that your work is clean before you submit it to contests, agents, or producers.
--> PRICE: $175 (Add $2 per page for every page over 120.)

SCRIPT POLISHING (includes proofreading and copy editing)
Your goal is the "good read": the kind of script that a reader just can't put down, that a buyer just can't pass up. How do you get there? First, imagine a great story and tell it well. Second, cut it to the bone. The former, of course, is up to you. But this service -- which is geared toward writers who want a more hands-on script polish -- can help with the latter. Among other fixes it will pare needless words or suggest better ones; trim redundancies; turn passive voice to active; and smooth out awkward phrasings.
--> PRICE: $400 (Add $4 per page for every page over 120.)

10-PAGE TEST-RUN
This service includes everything in the complete-script polish, but 10 pages only. Maybe you want those all-important first 10 pages to shine. Or maybe those 10 pages at midpoint are dragging. This service can show you how much work your screenplay needs, and put you on the right track to fix it.
--> Price: $50 (If you then decide to use the complete-script polish, a $50 credit will
apply.)
 
Client Praise for David Gillis
 "You simply can't afford to put your work out there before making sure it's as lean and tight as possible, and that's what David does. But perhaps the greatest thing isn't the notes he actually gives you -- it's the desire he instills in you to get better."
—John Von Rader
 
"David Gillis did a very thorough proofread and polish. In just two pages he pointed out a zillion problems that went right over my head. Problems that, if fixed, would bring the mechanics of the script to a whole new level."
—Roger Stoneburner
 

OTHER SERVICES:
Script Analysis
Treatment Analysis
Basic Coverage
Script Coaching
Customized Services
For Filmmakers