Writing & MediaFree tool
Script Coverage and Development Notes
Attach a screenplay and get full coverage: logline, synopsis, comments, a ratings grid and two verdicts, with the page behind every judgment.
Free to start · Opens in your River workspace, ready to edit and share
How to write script coverage
Script coverage is a reader's report on a screenplay for someone deciding whether to read it, buy it or meet its writer. A standard report opens with a top sheet: title, writer, page count, a logline, a ratings grid and the verdict. Then come a synopsis of one or two pages, ending included, and a page or two of comments. The verdict (Pass, Consider or Recommend) comes twice: once for the script and once for the writer.
One principle carries the whole report: tie every judgment to a page. "The second act sags" gives a buyer nothing to check and a writer nothing to fix. "Pages 52 to 68 restage the same argument three times" gives both.
Know who the coverage is for
Coverage serves whoever asked for it, and that is rarely the writer. Film data researcher Stephen Follows calls readers gatekeepers who rate scripts on behalf of producers, studios and competitions1. Their feedback, he notes, is rarely shared, even with the writers they rate.
Settle who will read your report before you open the script, because it changes what you stress.
Who reads coverage, and what they need
| Reader | What they're deciding | What to stress |
|---|---|---|
| Producer or executive | Whether to read it themselves, or option it | The story, the market and a clear verdict |
| Contest or fellowship | Whether the script advances a round | Craft and voice, judged the way the contest scores |
| Manager or agent | Whether to meet or sign the writer | The writer verdict, and what this draft proves |
| The writer | What to fix in the next draft | Ranked development notes tied to pages |
Read it all, logging pages as you go
Read the whole draft before writing a word, in one sitting if you can, so you feel the pacing as an audience would. In Follows' data on more than 12,000 scripts, the average feature has 110 scenes, just over one a page2. So a page number points almost straight to the scene you mean.
Log reactions with pages
Note where you laughed, got lost, forgot who someone was or started skimming, with the page.
Track the story
Jot one line per sequence: who wants what, and what changes. Your synopsis comes from these lines.
Log what works too
Mark the scenes that land as carefully as the ones that fail. Your comments need both.
Check before you cite
Find each moment again before you rely on it. Screenwriter Craig Mazin says notes often object that a character couldn't know something on page 863 when she learned it on page 5.
Write the logline and synopsis
The logline is one sentence: who the story follows, what they want and what stands in the way. Write it from the script you read, not from the writer's pitch.
Screenwriter John August, who once worked as a reader at TriStar, calls the synopsis the part that "honestly kills you." On his Scriptnotes podcast, he describes it as one or two pages of paragraphs talking through the story4. His cohost, Craig Mazin, explains why it must be accurate. The person who asked for the coverage won't read the script, but may have to discuss it with the writer as if they had.
Write it in present tense and follow the protagonist. Put each character's name in capitals the first time it appears, give every major turn a sentence or two, and compress subplots hard.
Never hold back the ending
A synopsis that stops at the climax hides the one thing a buyer most needs to judge: whether the story pays off.
Write comments a reader can act on
The comments are your review. Open with the reason for your verdict, then cover what works and what doesn't, most important first, each tied to a page. Spend your words where verdicts are decided. Follows' analysis of reader scores for 12,309 scripts found that characterization, plot and style tracked the overall score most closely1. Formatting, originality and the hook were among the least important factors.
If the format gets in the way, say so in one line. A script delivery format template shows the writer standard format on a real page.
For questions that keep comments concrete, borrow from the scoring rubric for the Academy's Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting5. Under craft, it asks: "Do the main characters take actions that move the story along? Are these actions in keeping with who these people are? Or do they happen 'conveniently'?"
Turn a reaction into a comment
| Element | Too vague | Usable |
|---|---|---|
| Character | "Dana is unlikable." | "I lost Dana on page 31, when she lies to her sister and the script never says why." |
| Dialogue | "The dialogue is flat." | "Cover the names on pages 12 to 15 and it's hard to tell who is speaking." |
| Plot | "The ending doesn't work." | "The rescue on page 104 depends on a key we never see her find." |
| Strength | "Great premise." | "The premise sells in one line, and the image on page 1 shows it." |
Illustrative examples written for this guide.
Rate it and give two verdicts
Rate each element on the grid, such as premise, structure, characterization and dialogue, on a four-step scale like Excellent, Good, Fair and Poor. Then give one verdict for the script and another for the writer, because a risky project can still be a strong writing sample.
Save Recommend for the rare script you would stake your name on. Coverage Ink, which sells coverage to writers, says a Recommend tells everyone to drop what they're doing and read6. It splits Consider into three levels: strong, moderate and with reservations. At TriStar, August recommended two of the 112 scripts he covered4 and was "called to the mat" for both.
Premise: Husband and wife mass murderers become media celebrities and cultural icons, eventually killing the machine that gave them their stardom.
Comments: "Way cooler than Manson," Mickey and Mallory are the ultimate anti-heroes. Violent, funny and wholly weird, the story plays BONNIE AND CLYDE for laughs. And yet it works marvelously. Unconventional structure problematic as a movie, pure dynamite as a writing sample.
Project recommendation: Maybe (qualified). Writer recommendation: Consider.
- One sentence, ending included. The premise names the leads, their arc and where it ends.
- Two verdicts. The movie is a risk; the writer is not. Formats vary: this one says Maybe where most say Consider.
- A cautious grid. August marked every category Good. Looking back on his 1992 coverage7 in 2010, he wrote: "We were strongly discouraged from ever using the 'excellent' boxes."
Turn coverage into development notes
When the writer is your reader, the job shifts from judging the script to helping the next draft. In a Scriptnotes episode recorded at Amblin for about 30 development executives, August and Mazin asked for reactions and questions, not conclusions3. "She's too mean" gives a writer nothing to fix. Saying where you felt put off, and why, does.
Point the writer toward a goal: as Mazin told them, there is "no way to write away from a thing." Say what you love, too, which August says lets a writer "steer the ship towards something." Then rank your notes, biggest first, and keep the list short. In Mazin's words: "Quality. Not quantity."
If the notes point to structure, map each scene's job against the beats with a screenplay beat sheet template before rewriting.
Before you send coverage
- The synopsis tells the whole story, ending included
- Every judgment in the comments cites a page
- Each moment you cite checks out against the script
- The grid and the verdict agree, or you say why
- The script and the writer each get a verdict
- Notes for a writer are ranked, biggest first
For coverage on a draft of your own, attach it to the tool at the top of this page. River reads the whole script, then writes the full report with the scene and page behind each rating.
How it works
Attach your screenplay as a PDF or paste it, and say who the coverage is for: a producer, a contest, a manager or yourself. River reads every page and builds a scene list. Before rating anything, it logs each moment it will cite, with its scene and page. Then it writes full coverage in your workspace: logline, synopsis with the ending, comments, a ratings grid and verdicts for the script and the writer.
Each rating shows how many cited moments support it and how many cut against it. Categories with fewer than three are left unrated rather than guessed, and River notes where its own reading thinned out. A spreadsheet lists every cited moment, so you can check any judgment against the page.
Send your script
Attach the screenplay as a PDF or paste it. Mention comparable titles, budget or a house format.
River reads and logs
It reads every page, numbers the scenes and logs each moment worth citing before it rates.
Get your coverage
Logline, synopsis, comments, a ratings grid and two verdicts in a document, plus a sheet of citations.
Edit, share or recheck
Change anything, share it, or ask for development notes, a one-page summary or a recheck of your next draft.
What you get
- A logline of one or two sentences, written from the script itself rather than the writer's pitch
- A present-tense synopsis that follows the protagonist through every major turn, ending included
- Comments by category in which every claim names the scene and page it comes from
- A ratings grid showing how many cited moments support each rating and how many cut against it
- Separate verdicts for the script and the writer, each naming the categories that drove it
- A spreadsheet of every cited moment by scene, page and category, so any judgment can be checked
Common questions
What is script coverage?
Script coverage is a written evaluation of a screenplay, prepared by a reader for an executive, producer, agent or contest. It sums up the story, weighs its strengths and weaknesses, and rates elements such as character and dialogue. A closing verdict tells the person who asked whether the script deserves their own time.
How long should script coverage be?
For a feature, expect three to five pages: a one-page top sheet, a synopsis of one or two pages, and one or two pages of comments. Longer is not better. The person who asked for coverage is short on time, which is why they asked, so every paragraph should help them decide.
What do Pass, Consider and Recommend mean?
They are the three standard verdicts: Pass means don't spend more time on it, Consider means it's worth a read with reservations noted, and Recommend means read it now. Readers give Recommend rarely, since their credibility rides on it, and most reports give one verdict for the script and another for the writer.
Who writes script coverage?
Script readers, also called story analysts, write it for studios, agencies, production companies and contests. As screenwriter John August points out on Scriptnotes4, much of it is entry-level work done by assistants, though union story analysts read at some studios. Writers can also pay a coverage service for a read before they submit.
How do I write script coverage with River?
Attach your screenplay in the box at the top of this page, or paste it, and pick who the coverage is for. River reads the whole script, then logs every moment it will cite, by scene and page, before rating anything. Then it writes the full report into your free River workspace, with a sheet of every moment it cited.
Can it write development notes for the writer?
Yes. Choose "Me, the writer, for my next draft," and the coverage adds development notes. For any other reader, ask for them once the coverage is done. They rank the most consequential problems, tie each to its scenes and pages, and suggest a direction rather than rewritten pages. For a novel, the AI book editor writes a developmental editor's letter instead.
Is the script coverage tool free?
Yes, it is free to start. Your coverage opens in a River workspace, where you can edit it, share it or ask River to change it, including a recheck of your revised draft. Paid plans add more AI use and access to the most advanced models.
Sources
stephenfollows.com. “An analysis of 12,309 feature film script reports.” stephenfollows.com (opens in a new tab)
stephenfollows.com. “Defining the average screenplay, via data on 12,000+ scripts.” stephenfollows.com (opens in a new tab)
John August. “Scriptnotes, Ep 399: Notes on Notes Transcript.” johnaugust.com (opens in a new tab)
John August. “Scriptnotes, Episode 441: Readers, Transcript.” johnaugust.com (opens in a new tab)
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. “Nicholl Scoring Rubric.” oscars.org (opens in a new tab)
Coverage, Ink. “What is coverage?” coverageink.com (opens in a new tab)
John August. “A visit from the ghost of coverage past.” johnaugust.com (opens in a new tab)
Built by
Chandler Supple
Co-founder & CEO, River
Chandler has spent the last six years working in AI, building tools for millions of users and Fortune 100 companies. In 2025, he co-founded River to build a new kind of operating system for AI agents.