What's the downside of posting on Blacklist?

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  • What's the downside of posting on Blacklist?

    If you get a bad score, no one ever hears about it, right? Is there some kind of over-exposure concern? My manager told me not to do it, but didn't explain why. I assume it's because she wants to control the situation, but she's had the script for a year and only sent to small # of people.

  • #2
    Re: What's the downside of posting on Blacklist?

    The only success stories from BL thus far are a few writers who have signed with managers. I have not heard of any sales or options with producers. One DD'er had a great score and a huge number of impressions but already had a manager so I don't think anything has come of it.

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    • #3
      Re: What's the downside of posting on Blacklist?

      Originally posted by McNamara View Post
      If you get a bad score, no one ever hears about it, right? Is there some kind of over-exposure concern? My manager told me not to do it, but didn't explain why. I assume it's because she wants to control the situation, but she's had the script for a year and only sent to small # of people.
      If you're concerned about your manager's reasoning and overall strategy, you should probably have a conversation with her. But with regards to the Blacklist site in general, I wouldn't be worried about low scores or over-exposure. With these kinds of services, the people in the industry who do pay attention to them usually track those projects that are highly rated, successful, recommended, etc. There are very few people who spend their time actively tracking projects they have no interest in.

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      • #4
        Re: What's the downside of posting on Blacklist?

        I've heard of a few sales so far from the site - keep in mind it hasn't been around that long. One of the few downsides is overexposure amongst studio execs while you're still cutting pages or typos. That really seems to be it.

        Another poster mentioned the interesting legal complications of letting studios anonymously see your intellectual property, without you knowing who they are. If TBL keeps track, though, and could pull the info upon writer's legal needs, that seems OK...

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        • #5
          Re: What's the downside of posting on Blacklist?

          Originally posted by abiqua View Post
          The only success stories from BL thus far are a few writers who have signed with managers. I have not heard of any sales or options with producers. One DD'er had a great score and a huge number of impressions but already had a manager so I don't think anything has come of it.
          The site has been more successful than you think, given that it's been around for only six months. I've kept track of the success stories, and they include the following:

          Manager Signings:
          1. Robin D. Fox, author of THE BRIGHT AND HOLLOW SKY, signed with Caliber Media Company (Sci-Fi)
          2. Bob Ingraham, author of POSSUM, signed with Benderspink (Crime Drama/Crime Thriller)
          3. Callie and Ruckus Lane (RATTLE THE CAGE), signed with Caliber Media Company (Crime Drama/Crime Thriller)
          4. Declan O'Dwyer (BROKEN COVE) signed with Energy Entertainment (Crime Thriller)
          5. Andrew Sessions (BREATHE) signed with Anarchy Management (Crime Drama/Crime Thriller)
          6. Philip Ramati, author of PUTTS signed with a management company (Comedy)
          7. Jon Geraci, author of SIG, signed with The Mikael Group (Action Thriller/Crime Thriller)
          Agent Signings:
          1. Justin Kremer, author of MCCARTHY, signed with CAA (Drama/Political Thriller)
          2. Richard Cordiner, author of THE SHARK IS NOT WORKING, signed with Verve and Kaplan/Perrone (BTS look at making of "Jaws", not sure what genre it is)
          Sales/Options:
          1. Declan O'Dwyer has sold BROKEN COVE to Thunder Road Pictures (Crime Thriller)
          2. Jamie Dawson, author of YOUNG AGATHA, has sold it - not sure which company (Mystery/Suspense)
          3. Gary Holler, author of I AIN'T GETTIN' KILLED has optioned it to Mark Adkins (Horror Comedy)
          4. Andrew Sessions (BREATHE) optioned it to Film Bridge International (Crime Drama/Crime Thriller)
          I think that's a pretty good track record. And I believe there are a number of additional stories from people who have just decided not to reveal their good luck yet.

          Personally, after I got an overall 8 on the site for one script, I got 19 downloads (not including paid reads), meaning 19 pros reading it (a few of whom contacted me). That's more exposure than I've ever gotten for query letters, pitchfests, and contests combined.
          "I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.-- Peter De Vries

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          • #6
            Re: What's the downside of posting on Blacklist?

            No one should be worrying that the BL is going to cause them "overexposure amongst studio execs." That's assinine. (No offense)

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            • #7
              Re: What's the downside of posting on Blacklist?

              A possible downside is querying someone who then checks to see if your script is on the Blacklist and sees that there are hidden (aka - in all probability - low) scores.

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              • #8
                Re: What's the downside of posting on Blacklist?

                The only downside of posting on the Blacklist is that you find out you suck.

                And I'm still coming to terms with it.

                No, no. I don't want your pity. Only your money.

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                • #9
                  Re: What's the downside of posting on Blacklist?

                  Richard has inspired me. I'm starting a new service. I will tell you that you suck for HALF THE PRICE of the BlackList. It's so easy, you don't even have to submit a script, just your credit card number.

                  THE MACKLIST— sign up today!

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                  • #10
                    Re: What's the downside of posting on Blacklist?

                    Originally posted by BillG View Post
                    A possible downside is querying someone who then checks to see if your script is on the Blacklist and sees that there are hidden (aka - in all probability - low) scores.
                    Don't really agree with this because industry ratings are not shown even if it is a good score, so how would they be able to know if they're hidden paid ones or industry scores that don't show?

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                    • #11
                      Re: What's the downside of posting on Blacklist?

                      True -- I actually wasn't very clear before. What I meant was that any script with hidden scores WITHOUT having at least one good paid review made public would make most people assume that those ratings are negative paid reads. If those pros were already on the Blacklist, they would have been emailed about a high-rated script. If they didn't hear about it (or don't hear about it within a week) through an e-mail, they'd probably assume any ratings already there are poor ones.

                      There have been, however, many people here who have had downloads and ratings without paid reads, so hopefully pros would give them the benefit of the doubt and request it.

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                      • #12
                        Re: What's the downside of posting on Blacklist?

                        I think the major downside is you don't know who is reading and judging your work. I've seen a lot of examples that suggest that not all of the readers are carefully reading the scripts, and that has been my experiece as well. So I find it greatly troubling that anyone would think a poor Blacklist score would mean they were talentless. Rejection is part of the game. Some people are spending way too much money on the site for reviews, like it is a make all or break all. It is just another avenue to try your luck. Don't take it so seriously.
                        Last edited by GregorySawyer; 04-28-2013, 06:01 PM.

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                        • #13
                          Re: What's the downside of posting on Blacklist?

                          Originally posted by GregorySawyer View Post
                          I think the major downside is you don't know who is reading and judging your work. I've seen a lot of examples that suggest that not all of the readers are carefully reading the scripts, and that has been my experiece as well.
                          Y'know, I've seen a lot of people complain about readers not "carefully" reading.

                          I'd like to point out that the audience isn't going to "carefully" watch your movie, either.

                          If you think readers aren't smart enough to grasp how mind-blowing your script is, then what do you think of your potential audience?

                          If readers are missing things in your script, your potential audience will also miss them. And that is your fault as the writer. Simple as that.

                          Also, I don't think executives spend too much time trying to figure out if you're hiding negative reviews on the Black List. If you're on the front page or an e-mail prompted them to check you out, I doubt they'll be trying to analyze if you hid a score of 6 or something.
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                          • #14
                            Re: What's the downside of posting on Blacklist?

                            I put up three scripts for a paid read each and got pretty low scores on all of them, but the feedback was excellent, with enough encouragement and specific criticism for me to understand how I can make them work.
                            TimeStorm & Blurred Vision Book info & blog: https://stormingtime.com//

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