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"BOOK REVIEW: I COULD'VE WRITTEN A BETTER MOVIE THAN THAT - How to Make Six Figures as a Script Consultant Even if You're Not a Screenwriter"
Book Review by Matthew Terry
Published by: Michael Wiese Productions
ISBN#: 1-932907-07-6
It is inevitable. If you teach screenwriting for as many years as I have, someone is going to ask you to take a look at their screenplay. If you leave yourself open for questions and answers in regards to screenwriting, someone is going to ask if you if you would be willing to read it. I have done this many of times: Taken someone's screenplay, read it over, created some notes and handed it back to them. Sometimes the script is good, sometimes it is, well, not so good.
If you find yourself in this position, this book is for you. With an intriguing title as "I Could've Written A Better Movie Than That" - I assumed the book was about crappy films and how they could have been made better. What the book is REALLY about, is found in the subtitle: Becoming a Script Consultant.
Derek Rydall does an excellent, and encouraging, job in breaking down all the peaks and valleys of doing script consulting. When I received the book I jumped to the chapter on how to give proper feedback and found myself agreeing with everything he wrote. Anyone who does ANY sort of criticism whether casually or on a website such as "Zoetrope.com" should read chapter five.
Using other script consultants (such as Linda Seger, Jeff Kitchen, and others) to give his work weight, Derek explains how to define your style, what you bring to table and how best to exploit your talents and skill.
But Derek doesn't stop there, he goes into great detail about marketing yourself, setting up shop, dealing with customers (both friendly and not-so-friendly) and following through with money, mentoring (both getting one and being one), etc. I'm hard-pressed to find something Derek DOESN'T leave out in the process of becoming a script consultant.
The book is broken down in three main sections (Act 1: The Set-Up, Act 2: Putting it in Action and Act 3: A Foundation for Success). Act 1 gives you a down-and-dirty breakdown of doing proper script analysis. Playing up to your strengths and figuring out your weaknesses. Giving examples of how other consultants approach their craft and explaining how to become a script doctor and even marketing the screenplays you are consulting on. Act 2 provides you with all the tools you need to set up shop and get your career going. Hitting on Advertising, Marketing, Meetings, Contacts and dealing with the money. Act 3 explains the process of creating staying power in the marketplace. Figuring out your long-term goals and finding time for yourself and your craft.
Again, all three are very thorough and well thought-out.
The chapters are easy to read with both a lay-out of what is in each chapter followed by a summary page. If you need the information quickly and easily, you can go to the summary page and find what you need.
My only quibble with this book is that I would have liked to have seen a resource section for both Derek's websites and the websites and e-mails for the other consultants. Most, if not all, of the experts have a website or an e-mail address and he notes them in the pages of the book - but it would have been nice to have a break-down in the back of the book for easy reference.
Before I left to go to the 2005 Screenwriting Expo 4 in L.A. my brother-in-law informed me that he had created a website for me. I questioned what I would do with said website but after reading Mr. Rydall's book - I think I'm going to put out my script consulting shingle. I've been consulting for free for many years already - with Mr. Rydall's encouragement and excellent book - I may be making a living off of it soon...
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