WHY SPELLING MATTERS
Last year, the WGA received over 110,000 submissions for registration. 110,000!!! Now remember, a WGA registration is virtually meaningless as only a copyright is true protection, and many pros know that. So now, add in all the scripts out there floating around in Hollywood that are not registered with the WGA. We’re probably talking near two hundred thousand by now.
Here’s the thing, I never understood when I was starting out as a writer… just how much material there is that assistants, coordinators and producers have to read.
The point is, that readers for competitions, assistants and everyone else up the chain, they need a way to filter the tidal wave of scripts crushing them.
That is why spelling matters.
In saying that, I also mean that not only does spelling, but grammar, formatting and a basic respect for your craft… all matter.
The reason is that this is the first level of filtration.
Every new writer knows to make sure their first ten pages are perfect. Make sure there are NO spelling mistakes or formatting errors! It’s a mantra we hear from every guru, class and blog. And now, I understand why.
As a writer I never thought of it from the other side. But now as a Development Executive all I think about is how do I get the pile of scripts on my computer down and who will be best to work with.
The first thing I do when I pick up a script, for a competition or the production company I work for, is scan the first ten to twenty pages. I look for a few things on the scan but one most importantly –
IS THE SCRIPT FORMATTED CORRECTLY?
There is an obvious reason why I do this but I’ll explain. You are either formatting correctly or not. Usually you can run a check through your software. Now if it isn’t formatted correctly that tells me right away – this writer either doesn’t care enough about their story or is too lazy to do the work. This is something you can do in five minutes through almost any screenwriting software by running a formatting check and it is as easy as running a spell check.