A lot of people ask me for my feedback on their work, and/or for career advice. Some of these people are friends of mine, but others are people I've never met before. I used to say yes to everyone, but eventually the backlog got to be so large that I would hold onto scripts for so long that, by the time I got back in touch with the writer(s), they had already moved on to a rewrite or another play. I had recently just started saying no to people, but instead I came up with another idea: a modest fee for my services.
So you want to get paid for it?
A little bit, yes. There are a couple of reasons for this: first, it weeds out people who would be willing to send me an email but would not pay for professional advice. Second, it gives me a reason to prioritize reading your work on a par with all of the other stuff I'm doing: my own writing, my teaching, freelance work, and reading play or film scripts for theaters and production companies.
So what's the deal?
For $175, paid through some method to be determined (probably PayPal), you get a page or two of notes and a one-hour meeting (in person if you're in NYC or somewhere I'm going to be, by phone if not). You are also free to ask me professional advice, though I may not have the answer to your every question.
Are there any guarantees? What if I don't like your advice?
Sorry, no guarantees. I'll give your work a close reading and give you honest and constructive feedback. Take some time to look at my resume and blog, and/or Google me to see what I'm all about before deciding whether or not you think I'll have something valuable to tell you.
I'm not looking to get rich off of this, and I'm sure I won't - again, part of the reason for this is to scare off people who are just messing around. Besides, I have no intention of advertising this anywhere; it's a recurring nightmare of mine that I turn into one of those Robert McKee guys, giving seminars in hotel conference rooms and taking out ads in Creative Screenwriting (apologies to the people who make their living that way, but that's not my bag).
Why Should I Trust You?
As far as my opinions go, you shouldn't, at least not without looking onto me first; see above. As far as taking your money and blowing you off goes, I'm not going to do it. We'll agree upon a deadline for our meeting before you pay anything out (just as I will wait until I receive payment before I read anything).
As far as knowing what I'm talking about, I'm no more of an authority than many others (and don't believe that there is such a thing as a definitive authority in any art form), but I am a pretty good teacher and dramaturg. I've got an MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU, and have been teaching playwriting and screenwriting since 2003. I'm currently a full-time instructor at Writers House at Rutgers University, and have taught or tutored at Queens College/CUNY, The New School, The Field, and in Ljubljana, Slovenia, as well as a few other places. I ran the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab from 2004-07, and have been a judge for various other stuff.
