Why you shouldn't hire me as your Script Consultant

I offer a paid hour-long notes session for writers interested in receiving notes, feedback, and strategy advice from a (former) literary manager. But I don't want you to waste your money.

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I have been working as a Script Consultant since 2017.

By 2023, I had established a reputation for being one of the best readers and creative collaborators in the business.

I had done hundreds of calls with writers at all different levels and given them feedback that leveled up scripts from every genre there is. That’s when I launched Audrey Knox Consulting, a website where writers can book me directly to receive feedback on their scripts.

They find my advice incredibly helpful.

Here’s some feedback I received from a writer just last week:

"Before my consultation with Audrey, I had a strong script. after my consult, I had a strong script with a plethora of ways to amplify it and raise the stakes even higher. Audrey's feedback made the pilot even more cohesive! I highly recommend her services!"

I love helping writers, and I love having conversations that diagnose what is and isn’t working in a script.

I love figuring out how to make a screenplay even better.

But the work can be draining.

I got into this industry so that I could write my own scripts and tell my own stories. And I quit literary management at the end of last year so that I could spend more time on my own writing. I wanted to have more time to devote to my creative work instead of spending 100% of my time leveling up the creative work and the careers of other writers.

In an attempt to scale back on my one-on-one consulting services, I created Screenwriter Brunch Club, a 12-week program that walks writers through the beginning to end process of writing a brand-new feature screenplay.

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

This way I can teach the basics before writers make the same mistakes I see over and over in the scripts I read.

I still give consultations, but I have raised my prices.

One-on-one time with me can be pretty expensive, especially for newbies who are at the beginning stages of their careers. These people are often preyed upon by unscrupulous coaches and websites. As a result, they are tired of spending thousands of dollars on classes and competition entries.

Most of you are not at the point where the services of a Script Consultant like me are actually a good use of your money.

So today, I want to walk you through the situations in which I can help vs. the situations in which you are better off putting your resources to use in some other way.

To be clear: I can give notes to any writer on any script.

No matter what your level of expertise is and no matter what draft of your script you’re on, we can have a productive conversation that will lead to insights and discoveries. We can make your next draft even better.

So, if money is no object for you, go for it.

I’d love to work with you.

However, I would still like to offer one cautionary reminder before you hit “Book now.”

Due to the laws of physics, I can only read a script for the first time once.

I’m happy to do multiple consultations with a writer about multiple drafts of your script. But after too many of these conversations, I start to get just as close to this project as you are. This usually ends up with me offering to share the script with a colleague or suggesting that you share it with a friend.

We get to the point where I think it’s working, but I am also intimately familiar with the characters, the logic, and the world, so I can’t trust myself to be an objective reader anymore.

The best use of a Script Consultant is the bring them in at one of 3 stages in your writing process:

It’s not mandatory that you seek a paid expert’s opinion at any stage of your journey.

But if you are going to do so, I recommend doing it at one of these moments.

Moment #1: At the very beginning.

When you have a rough outline and haven’t written the script yet, an expert can tell you what you are missing.

If there is someone you trust with big, structural advice, bring them in at the outline stage. It can save you tons of time. This way, you don’t waste weeks or months writing scenes that are just going to get to get cut later.

You can stress test the overarching storyline and find out what mistakes you’re about to make before you make them.

Even just having someone point out potential pitfalls can be invaluable insight.

Now you have these warnings in the back of your mind as you make other story decisions later.

Photo by Yannick Pulver on Unsplash

Moment #2: When you have a finished draft that you love.

Your job is to get your script into the best shape it can possibly be.

Once you think it’s good, now it’s time for an outsider’s perspective. It can be painful to hear critiques on something that you think is working. But better to fork over the money and take the ego hit now than potentially damage your reputation by sending out something you think is perfect, only to find out that readers don’t agree at all.

A Script Consultant’s job is to probe for weaknesses and missed opportunities.

The best time to hear these is when you’re incapable of finding them for yourself.

Moment #3: Something isn’t working, but you don’t know what.

No script is perfect, but if you misdiagnose why your story isn’t connecting, then you won’t be able to solve the problem.

This can come as the result of many different potential disconnects. Maybe different people are giving you conflicting notes. Or, everyone is saying, “it’s great!” but then they don’t offer anything more than that. If no one offers to buy your script or asks to proactively share it with any of their friends they think would be interested, then it’s not perfect, no matter what anyone says.

This is the perfect time to hire someone who has a proven track record of solving exactly this problem.

If you’re at any of these points in your writing process, I can definitely help you.

But if you’re at any of the 3 following stages, I think you’re better off spending your money on something else:

Just because I charge money for my services doesn’t mean I want as many people to hire me as possible.

In fact, it’s the opposite. There are other ways I can help writers that don’t take up my time or cost you as much money. I don’t want you to pay me hundreds of dollars if you’re not ready. I don’t want to take advantage of anyone here.

If you’re in any of these situations in your writing process, please don’t hire me.

I want you to spend your valuable time and money on something else.

Situation #1: You’re brand new to screenwriting.

I’m sure you’ve heard that your first few scripts are going to suck.

And it’s true. They are. This isn’t an elitist perspective. It’s not unreasonable or judgmental. It’s just a fact. And no, you are not the exception.

And that should feel liberating!

Screenwriting is not a talent anyone is born with.

I have never met a baby that is good at screenwriting. It is a craft, which means that with time, practice, and learned knowledge applied consistently to a project, you can improve at it.

So, if you’re paying for a Script Consultant on the first script you have ever written, I’m probably giving you information that you can get anywhere else, through much cheaper delivery mechanisms.

Before you seek one-on-one feedback from a paid expert, take a screenwriting class. Learn to give script feedback to your peers. Read a few different books on the subject. Break down as many movies in the same genre as you can. Write an evaluation rubric for your own script and apply it to your own work.

Write a second script.

Only once you speak the language of screenwriting fluently will you be able to take real advantage of the kinds of notes that a Consultant worth their fee can give you.

Photo by Ling App on Unsplash

Situation #2: You already know what needs to be fixed.

Sometimes I’ll give feedback and the writer will say, “Oh yeah, I was hoping you wouldn’t notice that,” or “Yeah, I definitely am already planning to address this in the second draft.”

As I stated above, the best use of your time and money is to get feedback when you have no idea what to fix.

If you have an idea of what to fix, go do that first! You don’t want to pay someone for information that you already know.

When it comes to script weaknesses, plot holes, or moments that drag, your reader will always notice them. If you catch them, they will catch them. So don’t cross your fingers and pray that you get away with a mistake that you know you have made.

Don’t be lazy.

Fix that mistake.

Then you can send your script off for paid feedback to find new mistakes that you don’t know about.

Situation #3: You aren’t interested in rewriting your script.

If you just want someone to tell you that your script is good, don’t hire a Consultant.

I understand the desire for external validation, and I know that it’s unavoidable. Even if you tell yourself that you have a real growth mindset, I know that you are sneakily, secretly, deep down in your heart hoping that a Script Consultant says, “No need to change anything. This is perfect!”

But that will never happen. No script is perfect. Even the great ones.

The best writers in the world are all constrained by something.

Usually time. Or budget. Or both.

They all eventually need to send their baby out into the world, and they never feel like they’re ready. There is always something that can be improved. It’s a Script Consultant’s job to help you figure out what that is.

And I didn’t think I would have to say this.

I thought it would be obvious.

But apparently, it is not. I have had more than one situation in which it became clear at the very beginning of our conversation that the writer just wanted to know, “is my script good?” And that they were not interested in any feedback beyond, “yes it is.”

If this is your attitude, you are wasting your money.

Just get your mom to read it.

Should you bring a rewrite back to that same Consultant?

Once you get a Script Consultant’s notes and incorporate them into your next draft, should you book another session with that same person?

Or are you better off getting notes from someone else?

It depends.

First, get external feedback to see if you adequately incorporated the Script Consultant’s notes. Write down the main problems of your script and then give it to one of your trusted readers (Someone who hasn’t read it yet). Ask them about this problem directly.

For example, if your consultant tells you that it isn’t clear what the Central Dramatic Question of your script is, consider giving your reader the first act of your screenplay. Ask them what your main character’s goal is. Ask them if they have a specific plot question that they expect to have answered by the end of the movie.

There’s no point in spending money on going back to someone and asking if you incorporated their notes satisfactorily. They gave you the puzzle pieces you needed. Now you have cheaper options for deducing whether you solved those issues.

Once you have fixed these problems, you can always go back to the Consultant to see what new problems have popped up as a result.

A word of caution: Don’t come back too quickly.

One of my biggest red flags with a writer is when I give them big structural notes and they turn a new draft of a script to me in a week. Fixing big story problems is a puzzle. Finding the right solution probably requires rewriting multiple scenes if not entire sequences. When you make a big change, it causes other, smaller changes.

I always look askance at the writer who responds to a big plot note by asking, “Well isn’t the fix just as simple as…”

The fix to a plot problem is never just “as simple as.”

A clarity problem can be fixed easily. For example, if it’s unclear why a character is doing something, you might need to have them articulate it out loud. This can look like just adding a line of dialogue.

But if it’s something bigger, like if your Central Dramatic Question is launched way too late or if your reader doesn’t find themselves emotionally invested in the main character, well then you’re going to have to open that script up again and do a much more involved surgery to fix the problem.

Taking big notes and learning how to incorporate them into your next draft is a skill.

It is an even more important part of the process than writing that first draft.

So don’t be disappointed or intimidated by the task of making big changes to your script. Embrace it for what it is: The opportunity to level up both your understanding of the craft of screenwriting and the product itself.

And yes, if you’re ready, you can book me for a consultation here.