How did others fare on Extreme Screenplay's call for shorts at $25 per entry.? I for one got a thumbs down.

I'm sorry you got a thumbs down, Cordell. :-(

On the brighter side, even when I've gotten bad reviews from Barb, I've always gotten constructive criticism that has helped me improve the script. I hope that was true in your case.

I submitted a script called INTERVIEW which is a very short comedy about a female executive who forces a would-be suitor to go thru a formal job interview. It got a RECOMMEND from Barb, and a very nice review, which I'm posting below, since it was so kind. :-)

In my case, the short was VERY short (8 pages) so the $25 made me hesitate. Her normal coverage is incredibly reasonable and always first rate, but this one seemed to have a higher cost per page. Since 5 pages to 60 pages is such a range, maybe in the future she'll offer a sliding scale? Just an idea...maybe a bad one!

In any event, I think she's sincerely trying to help writers, as you'll see in the note she sent me below. Wish me luck, and good luck to you, too!

SCREENWRITER'S NAME: Mike McGeever EMAIL: zeppofan@aol.com SHORT SCREENPLAY TITLE: Interview GENRE: RomCom NO. OF PAGES: 8 NO. OF CHARACTERS: 3 Jane Peter Stan NO. OF LOCATIONS: 1 Office with breakdown (hallway) REVIEW NOTES: Opening dialogue immediately sells the concept. Loved the punch-lines. Memorable and original fun. Female audience will love the idea of interviewing a date, while the male audience will love the idea that it doesn't work and love wins in the end. The filmmakers didn't specificially ask for RomCom, but I'm going to run this by them as an original comedy with 1 location and minimal cast. If they don't bite, Extreme Screenwriting plans to start showcasing shorts on a separate website — inclusive with a poster — I'll definitely include ''Interview'' at no additional cost to you. If you haven't heard from Extreme Screenwriting by Friday, July 30, 2010, send an email for status of short with filmmakers. Short receives a RECOMMEND.

I submitted two shorts ($50).

One short is curretly the top-ranked short (out of several hundred) on circalit.com. A former SNL producer is a big fan and said it is professional quality. Scored a "we'll keep it on file.". Guess that's a consider? Basically I burned 50 bucks.

Most directors doing shorts don't pay for the scripts. You just get a credit and some exposure as the writer. You canlist shorts for free on simplyscripts.com.

For $35 you can get an entire screenplay covered by Terri at afilmwriter.com.

Sorry your news wasn't positive, Cordell.

I submitted one short and just heard back today. Barb gave it a RECOMMEND and said it was "f**king brilliant." That made my day.

My script is only 6 pages long, but I figured when I submitted, that at the very least, I would get some good suggestions for improvement from Barb, and at best, I'd get a Recommend that I could use when courting filmmakers (if Barb's connections weren't interested).

Overall, I have tried several of the lower cost coverage services (though not afilmwriter.com yet) and I find Barb's feedback to be the most extensive and detailed. Typically her review is 7-8 pages long, compared to three from most others. I love her checklists, which show me in detail where in the script I have failed at something. And the accompanying comments often include specific suggestions for fixing stuff.

In short, I think Xtreme Screenwriting is doing a great job helping writers at a reasonable cost.

Awesome! Recommend is a great score. Often shorts can be good calling cards. Hope you can get it produced.

Best of luck!

Congrats! A "recommend" is awesome.