How to Hire a Script Doctor
Screenwriting is a special way to tell a story. Your eloquence isn't as important as your ability to convey character, setting, theme, conflict and a compelling story in moving pictures. A script doctor or consultant identifies weaknesses in your script and helps you fix them. Anyone who's written a few scripts can call themselves a script doctor. Follow these steps to make sure they're worth their fee.
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Instructions
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Educate yourself about screenwriting and the movie business. You should know about story structure, pitfalls, market trends and genre conventions. The more you know, the less you pay the script doctor to teach you.
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Ask about a script doctor's education. A Masters of Fine Arts or English degree shows knowledge of story structure. A consultant with a degree in the social sciences can help you know your characters better.
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Check out the scripts the consultant claims to have doctored. You're looking for a match in style. You may like the action thrillers he doctored, but if your script is a comedy, you should look elsewhere for help.
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Find out about her reputation. Search film industry news sources for articles about her and the films she's worked on. Assess if he seems more anxious to make a name for himself than to help you make your script the best it can be.
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Have respect for the script doctor you choose. She may have extensive experience with the type of script you've written, but if you saw some of them and hated them, it'll be hard for you to take her advice.
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Trust your instincts. You must connect with your script doctor with this large and complex project. A characteristic that irks you like arrogance, impatience or condescension will make you feel you wasted your money.
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Consider hiring a consultant approved by the Screenwriters Federation of America (SFA). They'll likely charge a high price for their services, but as long as you gel with their personality, it'll be money well spent.
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Tips & Warnings
Ask a script consultant for recommendations of scripts to study in your genre. This shows you if he knows what he's doing.
Script doctors charge more to work on films in production because they'll spend more time communicating with the production crew.
