Site seems pretty dead?

Sadly, the whole industry is on a go-slow at the moment due to fear of a new strike while trying to get up to speed from the previous ones. That's having a trickle down effect everywhere. I'm sorry to read you are disappointed thus far. Regarding reviews, this isn't a key feature of the site and is actually a separate volunteer project that found a home here. It's more focused on short scripts, which you don't have in your portfolio. The forum is an experiment that hasn't worked particularly well thus far. It hasn't reached critical mass.

Looking at your bio, it would be good if you sent me proof of those WeScreenPlay recommends. This will actually get your scripts on the Professionally Endorsed list. I'd also look at those posters, which have great images but titles that are difficult to read.

Ultimately, I pull no punches with Script Revolution. It is what it is. It is no replacement for good old-fashioned networking and should only be used in addition to that - same goes for any service or competition. Even when you're pushing hard every day, it takes a long time to get things moving. It took me seven years to get my first assignment. Even now, as a credited writer on three features, it's hard to get a read on a spec script. 

I 100% agree that a dollar that seems to bring no value is a dollar wasted and I certainly don't want anyone here to feel that's the case. Painfully, what I can't show people is the exposure they have gotten when their loglines and listings are read by industry members. After that, there's little I can do to turn that into a read.

Please also remember that there are lower cost tiers you can move to if you feel there's better value there, plus, unlike most other sites, Script Revolution is always available for free to everyone and has been for eight years as of next month.

Popular high-profile social media platforms are eating the Web's lunch. That's where most all the action is now. It seems as if every teenager on X and TikTok is pushing a feature script.

Everything everywhere else is pretty dead. The Reddit screenwriting sub may be the most active outside X etc., and yet even that's way quieter these days than in years past. Most other screenwriting and filmmaking sites are on their last legs or practically dead already.

It's kind of a repeat of how Facebook killed off the messageboard universe. I watched as people who used to gather in one place to discuss something splintered off to their own pages and waited for everybody to come to them.

Social media isn't all that social when you get down to brass brads.

Bad news, Tina, sorry to hear it.

A friend had his Hotmail account hacked a couple weeks ago and it turned his life upside down, because they mined his email and got his personal info for all kinds of other sites, such as NetFlix, etc.

Maybe your spirit will recover faster than you think and you'll be writing again soon.

This stuff is an excellent reminder to us all to maintain backups of everything.

I think you're worrying about nothing when it comes to the unauthorized availability of your scripts.

The Internet is filled with free screenplays.

There are so many desperate wannabe screenwriters out there that anybody can find at least hundreds who will write something for them for free in the hope it will lead to a "big break".

Really, a person would have to be completely stupid to try to steal an existing script when they can so easily obtain one legally, and so the likelihood of anyone trying to pass off your work as their own is tiny.

Try to put this behind you and write your way out of the despair.

Hey, I'm just dropping in at the end of this discussion to add my two cents:  With all of the intermediary services surrounding writers ready to hit them up for money, I can't emphasize enough how valuable it is to register the copyright of your work as soon as you have a decent draft.  You can also publish it on-line (Amazon accepts virtually anything in any form) but you should have it registered for copyright at the same time.  I do distinguish officially publishing your stuff for sale, like on Amazon, or Kobo, or even any bricks 'n mortar store that might accept it, from publishing on-line on some sort of "please find me and buy me" script repository.

Will these steps turn away the outright thieves?  Of course not, but if it became egregious and the stolen work ends up as a multii-million dollar film, your lawyer will be thrilled to have the registered copyright to fight with.  A US registered copyright was only $45, the last time I checked, with a simple on-line process.  It offers internationally-recognized, 75-years-after-your-death protection.  Compared to a Writer's Guild registration for $20 or whatever, with 5 years protection.

In their journey, writers spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars for fake coverage/development notes or fees for Blacklist/VPF/InkTip etc.  Of course, CJ Walley's free Script Revolution is not on the naughty list, because it's free.  So $45 for a registered copyright is really an afterthought, isn't it?

Hi Steve.

Yeah, anyone who straight up steals a script and produces it has made a huge mistake. The odds of getting away with it are so slim. Unless the original writer has somehow lost every single trace of their work it will be nigh on impossible for the thieves to demonstrate legit possession and use of the IP.

Of course I'm talking about an actual script, rather than merely an idea. Even if they change character names and locations it would still be seriously difficult to avoid losing the case in most any Western jurisdiction. 

Norman - wanted to focus on your original question.

IMO - this is primarily a script-hosting site. It is the best script hosting site to garner interest in your short scripts and there have been many short scripts listed here that are subsequently produced. There are no sites available that will do that for feature scripts. By that I mean, sure - there are sites that will host your feature (like the Blacklist at a $100 per pop) - but little to no chance that a producer is looking there.

In my view, the rockstar $$ paid here is just a voluntary way of helping CJ pay for the costs of developing and running a pretty elaborate script hosting site.  No more, no less. It's more closely akin to something like Coverfly or SimplyScripts than it is to something like Inktip or the Blacklist.

The value of being on the site really depends on the individual writer. If you are unsolicited expecting script reviews - you are probably not going to get them. The best course of action is to reach out to other writers and offer private review exchanges if that is the objective. Personally, I view the site is kind of a perpetual writer resume for me. It's neat to have all of my scripts, posters, loglines, etc. all in one place and I think in a odd way also helps protect  my ownership rights as it is easy to document that I uploaded the script on a specific date. 

Hi, Dave.

"IMO - this is primarily a script-hosting site."

Agreed. I use it as a form of backup.

"It is the best script hosting site to garner interest in your short scripts and there have been many short scripts listed here that are subsequently produced."

I assume this is true only for the paying members?

"There are no sites available that will do that for feature scripts."

But... but... but... the Reddit screenwriting sub!

Yeah, that was a joke.

"By that I mean, sure - there are sites that will host your feature (like the Blacklist at a $100 per pop) - but little to no chance that a producer is looking there."

One of the reasons I was banned from the Reddit screenwriting sub was due to repeatedly pointing out the fact that anonymous opinions are worthless opinions, and certainly not opinions worth paying for. (Turns out at least one of the sub's moderators is a BL reader, and of course Franklin Leonard actively uses an army of Reddit accounts to downvote and report anybody who mentions inconvenient truths.)

"In my view, the rockstar $$ paid here is just a voluntary way of helping CJ pay for the costs of developing and running a pretty elaborate script hosting site.  No more, no less. It's more closely akin to something like Coverfly or SimplyScripts than it is to something like Inktip or the Blacklist."

While I see your point in this regard, it's still kind of annoying to see the seemingly endless attempts by others to profit from hopeful and desperate aspiring screenwriters. Being asked to pay for everything all the time is wearying.

"The value of being on the site really depends on the individual writer. If you are unsolicited expecting script reviews - you are probably not going to get them."

It's pretty much always been the case that the only way to get reviews is to pay for them or to get your work out to the producers and others actively soliciting screenplays. But of course now you have all these parasites such as TBL, Stage 32, and all the rest, stripmining every last penny out of writers, many of whom have little in the way of resources at the best of times.

"The best course of action is to reach out to other writers and offer private review exchanges if that is the objective."

You can never be certain of the value of an opinion and review from somebody if you don't know their own competencies and tastes. This is why it's best to target active producers with a history in the genre of whatever script you're pushing.

"Personally, I view the site is kind of a perpetual writer resume for me. It's neat to have all of my scripts, posters, loglines, etc. all in one place and I think in a odd way also helps protect  my ownership rights as it is easy to document that I uploaded the script on a specific date."

N00bz are terrified of their shiny new screenplay being ripped off the second it hits the Internet, not realizing that the more people who have seen it, the harder it becomes to get away with stealing it.

Hey, Drongo:

I assume this is true only for the paying members?

No. This is true for all members. 

One of the reasons I was banned from the Reddit screenwriting sub was due to repeatedly pointing out the fact that anonymous opinions are worthless opinions, and certainly not opinions worth paying for.

I don't know about worthless - but 100% agree with you in that one should never pay for an anonymous opinion. 

While I see your point in this regard, it's still kind of annoying to see the seemingly endless attempts by others to profit from hopeful and desperate aspiring screenwriters. Being asked to pay for everything all the time is wearying.

Agree - I view my payments here is a form of a donation (akin to what Wikipedia asks to keep their site alive.

"I assume this is true only for the paying members?"

The latest success story is literally a member using the site for free who's getting their short script made.

"The latest success story is literally a member using the site for free who's getting their short script made."

Wonderful! Great to hear.