Beyond FADE OUT

By Carolyn Kelley

After many exhausting months of writing, you’ve finally typed those greatly anticipated words on the final draft of your brilliant screenplay: FADE OUT.  Now that the script is as fantastic as you can possibly make it and you’re ready to enter it in contests or send it out to agents, it’s time to REALLY make sure your script is perfect. Since you’ve spent so much time and effort on your writing, you wouldn’t want to submit an unprofessional looking script filled with typos, spelling and grammatical errors or a cover that screams “amateur.”  With the enormous stacks of scripts agents and readers have to sift through on a daily basis, it’s crucial to present a script that stands out as neat and professional. Here are some points to keep in mind so that your script will be taken seriously.

Read, Read, Read

Once I finish a script, I find it useful to print out a hard copy of the entire script and read it from the beginning, word for word, at least three or four times. With each read, you might find typos or errors that your software didn’t catch. Don’t count solely on your screenwriting program to discover every type of error you may have in your script. For example, my ScripThing program (now known as Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000) doesn’t catch some grammatical errors that a program like Microsoft Word does. Just to be safe, I’ll cut and paste my completed script onto Microsoft Word and find grammatical errors that I didn’t see with ScripThing. Once you’re finished with that, either let someone else give it a careful read-through or do one final spell check with your software before you print.

Format Counts

With the days of typing a script with a typewriter long since gone, screenwriting software has taken the guesswork out of the proper screenplay format for new screenwriters and allows them to concentrate more on writing than trying to remember where the parentheticals go. If you don’t yet have screenwriting software, consider it a worthwhile investment in your screenwriting career. Sure, you can get by without it, but it’ll definitely make your life as a writer much easier. Here’s a site that reviews some of the most popular screenwriting programs: http://www.scriptsales.com/DDSoftware.html. Typically, scripts will have one-inch margins around the top, right and bottom of the page and an inch and a half margin on the left where the three holes are punched. Most screenwriting software has a feature that lets you “cheat” by adjusting the formatting of the pages to make your script longer or shorter. Although this is a helpful feature, it is best to only use it sparingly. Most feature-length scripts fall in the range of 110 to 130 pages. If your script is 109 pages or 132 pages and you want to lengthen or shorten it by a page or two, no one will know the difference. However, if you think you’re going to transform your 150 page script into a 120 page script, forget about it. When you’re ready to print, make sure you have the proper type paper for your printer. Laser printers usually make sharper copy, but a good quality inkjet can be just fine. For printing a master copy of my script, I find that 24 lb. weight printer paper holds up better for making numerous photocopies. When you make photocopies of your script, go with regular 20 lb. weight, 3-hole punched paper. 

Covers and Brads

To have your script taken seriously, appearance definitely counts. A great script with the wrong kind of cover or binding might not get the attention it deserves. Some new writers often make the mistake of putting fancy covers or decorative lettering on their scripts. Remember to keep it simple so that your writing and story stands out, not your graphic design talent. Your script’s title should be centered on the page, with “by Your Name” just beneath the title. Here’s an example: http://www.scriptsales.com/TitlePage.html. In the bottom left hand corner should be your name, address, phone number and e-mail address. There’s no need to write your script’s WGA registration number since it will be assumed that you’ve already protected your script. The script’s cover should be made of plain card stock paper, which you can find at office supply stores. Plain white or light, neutral colors are the best choices. You wouldn’t want your script with a bright green cover to fall in the hands of a reader who can’t stand the color green. The industry standard brads are “Acco #5 Solid Brass Fasteners” which are 1 ¼” inch and will work with the average 110 to 130 page screenplay. Along with the brads, you may want to use “Acco Brass Washers” to secure the brads. Both are inexpensive and can be found at Office Depot (http://www.officedepot.com) or any writer’s supply store.

Protecting Your Script

Protecting your script is the next important step that should be done before you make photocopies or let anyone read it.  There are several ways to protect your screenplay. The Writer’s Guild of America, www.wga.org, offers a script registration service for both members and non-members. When you send the WGA a copy of your script and a fee (currently $10 for members, $20 for non-members), they send you a certificate with the title of your screenplay, which can be used to establish the date of creation. They also retain a copy of your script in the event that you need proof of creation. The WGA now offers online script registration which makes it faster and easier to register a script. The other option you can consider is copyrighting your script with the Copyright Office. The Library of Congress’s Copyright website is where you can download copyright forms and find out more information about obtaining a copyright: www.loc.gov/copyright. The current cost for a copyright is $30.  

Now that your script is finally finished, looks fabulous and is all ready to send out, you can relax… or maybe get started on that next script!

Carolyn Kelley is a freelance writer and screenwriter based in Cleveland, Ohio. She has studied film and screenwriting at University of Miami and UCLA’s Professional Program in Screenwriting.

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