What does 'consider' mean in script coverage?

It's the maybe pile — the reader saw something worth a second look but can't recommend it yet. A 'consider' from a good reader is worth more than a polite 'great script!' from a friend.

How long is script coverage?

Three to four pages: logline, one-page synopsis, a page of comments, and the scores grid. The whole point is that a busy producer can absorb it in five minutes.

Who writes script coverage?

Readers — assistants, interns, and freelance readers paid per script. They're usually young and read enormous volume, which is why clarity and a strong first ten pages matter so much.

Can I write coverage for my own script?

Yes, and you should. The grid forces honest judgments: score your own concept, characters, and dialogue like a stranger would. It's the cheapest rewrite tool in existence.

Script Coverage Template: What Readers Actually Score

Your script will probably never be read by the person who decides. It'll be read by a reader — usually young, underpaid, reading their third script of the night — who writes a report. That report is called coverage, and in this business the coverage is the script as far as the decision-maker is concerned. Understand the document and you understand the game.

What the reader actually writes

Coverage follows the same grid everywhere: logline (your story in one or two sentences), synopsis (the whole story on one page — including the ending; this isn't marketing), comments (a page on what works and what doesn't, in the reader's own words), and a scores grid — concept, story and structure, characters, dialogue, pacing — each rated poor, fair, good, or excellent. Some places use 1–10. Then the verdict: PASS, CONSIDER, or RECOMMEND.

Recommend is rare. Consider means it goes in the maybe pile. Pass is the default — most scripts get it, including good ones on the wrong day.

What readers actually punish

Readers don't fail scripts for one bad scene. They fail patterns: the first ten pages that never start the story, protagonists who are unpleasant for no reason, dialogue where every character sounds like the writer, endings that fizzle instead of land. The grid makes it clinical — 'dialogue: fair' with three examples — which is why coverage stings more than a friend's notes. It's not personal. It's a form.

The flip side: readers are desperate to recommend something. Finding a great script is the best part of a reader's week. Give them one and they'll fight for it.

Run coverage on your own script

Here's the most useful thing you can do with this knowledge: coverage your own work. Wait two weeks after the draft so you can see it fresh. Print it. Read it like you're paid to reject it — because that's the job. Fill out the grid honestly: logline, synopsis, comments, scores, verdict. You'll find the soft middle and the flat characters faster than any other method, because the form forces you to commit to judgments instead of vibes.

ScriptForge's rewrite notes do a version of this automatically — grounded in your story bible, so the notes are about your characters and your threads, not generic advice. But even with the tool, run the grid yourself at least once. Every writer should sit in the reader's chair.

ScriptForge's rewrite notes read your script the way a reader would — grounded in your story bible. See how it works or start writing free.