Warning: sour grapes ahead.
First experience- I submitted a very silly horror comedy. Admittedly, this may have not been the wisest submission choice, but I thought it might be out there enough that it might attract some attention. It received a 5. I'd have been okay with that, but I felt that the reader had clearly missed the point of the thing, citing that it was way too silly to actually scare anybody. It was clearly a comedy, and I was shocked that this reader didn't recognize that. Even supposing my attempts at humor were a grand failure, it still should have been obvious what I was going for. But I digress, it was and is a very strange script. I was taking my chances by posting it. Probably a poor decision on my part.
Second experience- Went with a safer, more straightforward dramedy. The first reader liked it to the point of saying he'd give it a recommend, yet only gave it a 6. I thought I'd try again so I paid for another read. This reader also seemed to like it quite a bit, yet only gave it a 5! I was flummoxed. For the record, the script in question is currently a Nicholl semifinalist.
Third experience- On the recommendation of people on this board, I got a paid read from Andrew Hilton on a family/comedy I wrote. Andrew loved it, and had very few suggestions on how it could be improved. What the hell, I thought, I'll give blacklist another shot. Once again, the reader misunderstood the script and gave it a 5.
I just cancelled my membership.
Now, I realize this sounds like sour grapes and perhaps the problem isn't with the readers but with the scripts themselves. Sure. That's what I would think as well. But, as mentioned above, the dramedy is a Nicholl Semifinalist. And the family comedy was loved by a professional consultant and has also been requested by two separate management companies, both of whom have requested more of my work based on their enjoyment of that particular script.
I think that the blacklist has very good intentions and has probably been a big help to a lot of writers. My intention here is not to bash it. I'm simply talking about my own personal experience, which has been unlucky. I realize it's all subjective and the same script that received a 5 by one reader might get a 9 from another. I'm just not willing to gamble anymore. I'm three hundred plus dollars in the hole to this service with nothing to show for it but frustration.
Sorry for the rant. I feel better now.
First experience- I submitted a very silly horror comedy. Admittedly, this may have not been the wisest submission choice, but I thought it might be out there enough that it might attract some attention. It received a 5. I'd have been okay with that, but I felt that the reader had clearly missed the point of the thing, citing that it was way too silly to actually scare anybody. It was clearly a comedy, and I was shocked that this reader didn't recognize that. Even supposing my attempts at humor were a grand failure, it still should have been obvious what I was going for. But I digress, it was and is a very strange script. I was taking my chances by posting it. Probably a poor decision on my part.
Second experience- Went with a safer, more straightforward dramedy. The first reader liked it to the point of saying he'd give it a recommend, yet only gave it a 6. I thought I'd try again so I paid for another read. This reader also seemed to like it quite a bit, yet only gave it a 5! I was flummoxed. For the record, the script in question is currently a Nicholl semifinalist.
Third experience- On the recommendation of people on this board, I got a paid read from Andrew Hilton on a family/comedy I wrote. Andrew loved it, and had very few suggestions on how it could be improved. What the hell, I thought, I'll give blacklist another shot. Once again, the reader misunderstood the script and gave it a 5.
I just cancelled my membership.
Now, I realize this sounds like sour grapes and perhaps the problem isn't with the readers but with the scripts themselves. Sure. That's what I would think as well. But, as mentioned above, the dramedy is a Nicholl Semifinalist. And the family comedy was loved by a professional consultant and has also been requested by two separate management companies, both of whom have requested more of my work based on their enjoyment of that particular script.
I think that the blacklist has very good intentions and has probably been a big help to a lot of writers. My intention here is not to bash it. I'm simply talking about my own personal experience, which has been unlucky. I realize it's all subjective and the same script that received a 5 by one reader might get a 9 from another. I'm just not willing to gamble anymore. I'm three hundred plus dollars in the hole to this service with nothing to show for it but frustration.
Sorry for the rant. I feel better now.
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