Script coverage: what it is, a free template and two full examples

This guide is part of the screenwriting software and workflow guide. It covers coverage from the reader's side: what goes into a report, a template you can copy, two complete examples, and what paid coverage services offer in 2026, after several of the best-known ones closed.

What script coverage is and who writes it

Executives cannot read every script they receive. Readers (also called story analysts) read the script and write coverage, so the executive can decide in five minutes whether to spend two hours. In a studio or agency, coverage is an internal document: the writer rarely sees it. Coverage often stays on file, so a weak report can follow a script.

The verdict is one of three words:

Most coverage gives a second rating for the writer. A script can be a Pass while the writer is a Consider: the script does not suit the company, but the writing is good enough to meet them for another project.

Paid coverage for writers works the same way but adds notes on how to fix problems. Those reports are often called development notes.

The parts of script coverage

Two rules apply to every part. Write the synopsis neutrally: it reports, it does not judge. Save your opinions for the comments, and back each one with a page reference or a moment from the script.

Free script coverage template

Copy this into Word, Google Docs or any editor. It works as a script coverage form for both features and pilots.

# COVERAGE

| Title: | |
| Writer: | |
| Format: | Feature / TV pilot (one-hour / half-hour) |
| Genre: | |
| Pages: | |
| Setting / period: | |
| Submitted by: | |
| Reader: | |
| Date: | |
| Budget: | Low / Medium / High |

| | Pass | Consider | Recommend |
| Script | | | |
| Writer | | | |

## Logline
[One or two sentences: protagonist, goal, obstacle, stakes.]

## Grid
| | Excellent | Good | Fair | Poor |
| Premise / concept | | | | |
| Structure | | | | |
| Characters | | | | |
| Dialogue | | | | |
| Pacing | | | | |
| Originality | | | | |
| Marketability | | | | |

## Synopsis
[Present tense. Main plot in order, including the ending.
Character names in CAPS on first mention, with age.
Feature: 1 to 2 pages. Pilot: about 1 page, plus a line on series engine.]

## Comments
[Open with the verdict in one sentence.
Then: concept and market, structure, characters, dialogue, tone.
Cite page numbers. End with what would change the rating.]

Script coverage example 1: feature

A fictional example. "The Last Ferry to Holm" is an original script invented for this guide, as are its writer and every detail below.

COVERAGE

Title:            THE LAST FERRY TO HOLM
Writer:           Elin Marsh (fictional)
Format:           Feature
Genre:            Thriller / drama
Pages:            108
Setting/period:   A small island off the Scottish coast; present day
Budget:           Medium

                  Pass    Consider    Recommend
Script                       X
Writer                                    X

Logline. When a storm strands the last ferry of the season at a remote island, its first-year captain must keep twelve passengers alive overnight after she discovers one of them has killed a crew member, and the island's only radio is in the killer's hands.

Grid.

Synopsis. KIRSTY BAIN (31), newly promoted to captain of the island ferry, makes the season's final crossing to Holm with twelve passengers, including retired surgeon ANDREW FELL (68), teenage runaway JODIE (16) and a quiet engineer, TOM VARGA (40s). A storm closes the harbor behind them. They shelter in the island's abandoned hotel.

At midnight, Kirsty finds deckhand CALLUM (24) dead at the foot of the hotel stairs. Fell says the fall killed him. Kirsty notices the radio room is locked from the inside and the key is missing from Callum's belt. She keeps the death quiet to prevent panic, a choice that splits her from her first mate, ROSS (50s), who wants to tell everyone.

Kirsty questions passengers one by one. Jodie admits she saw Varga near the stairs. Varga claims he was trying to fix the hotel generator. When the generator fails at 2 a.m., the passengers learn of Callum's death and turn on Kirsty for hiding it.

At the midpoint (p. 54), Fell is found unconscious in the radio room with the radio smashed. Varga is accused, locked in the cellar, and escapes. In the final act, Kirsty realizes Ross killed Callum to cover up the ferry company's falsified safety inspections, which Callum had threatened to report. Ross takes Jodie hostage on the pier. Kirsty talks him down as the storm breaks, and at dawn the coast guard arrives. In the last scene, Kirsty hands over the inspection logs.

Comments. A strong, contained thriller with a clear engine and the best dialogue I have read this quarter; the script is a Consider and the writer a Recommend. The premise is easy to sell: one location, one night, a closed circle of suspects, and a protagonist whose authority is new and fragile. Kirsty's decision to hide the death (p. 23) is the script's best idea, because every later scene tests whether she was right.

The second act sags. Pages 60 to 82 repeat the same beat, a passenger accusing another, four times, and Varga's escape (p. 63) goes nowhere: he simply reappears at p. 84. Ross as the killer is fair but arrives late; we see too little of him in act one for the reveal to feel earned rather than convenient. Planting the inspection logs before the storm would fix this.

The supporting cast is distinct, and Jodie's arc is moving. Fell is underused once he is injured.

At a medium budget (one main location, a storm, a small cast), this is a viable package for a director who can deliver atmosphere. A rewrite that cuts 10 pages from act two and seeds Ross earlier would move this to a Recommend.

Script coverage example 2: TV pilot

A fictional example. "Night Desk" is an original pilot invented for this guide. The writer, characters and newspaper are fictional.

COVERAGE

Title:            NIGHT DESK, "Pilot"
Writer:           Sam Okoro (fictional)
Format:           One-hour drama pilot
Genre:            Workplace drama
Pages:            61
Setting/period:   Overnight news desk of a struggling city paper; present day
Budget:           Medium

                  Pass    Consider    Recommend
Script              X
Writer                       X

Logline. On her first overnight shift at a failing city newspaper, a fact-checker discovers that the paper's star columnist has invented a source, and must decide before the 6 a.m. publish whether exposing him is worth killing the paper.

Grid.

Synopsis. PRIYA NAIR (27) starts as night fact-checker at the Harbor City Ledger, a paper weeks from being sold. Her editor, night chief DENISE COLE (50s), gives her one job: clear tomorrow's front-page column by RAY HOLLIS (60), the paper's most famous writer, about a whistleblower inside the city water department.

Priya cannot find the whistleblower. The phone number reaches a disconnected line. Hollis, at a party, tells her to trust him. Over the night Priya traces the quotes to a two-year-old council transcript and realizes the source does not exist.

Denise tells her the sale depends on Hollis staying. Priya goes to the paper's young digital editor, MARCUS LEE (30), who sees a scoop in exposing Hollis. In the final scenes, Priya rewrites the column's opening herself, cutting the false source but keeping the true story underneath, and Denise publishes it at 5:58 a.m. Hollis arrives at dawn, reads it, and says nothing. In the tag, Priya finds a note on her desk: a real tip from someone inside the water department.

Comments. A promising writer and a well-observed world, but the pilot is a Pass. The newsroom detail is precise and the dialogue between Priya and Denise has real snap (pp. 14 to 19). Priya is an appealing lead whose job, checking what others claim, gives the series a clear point of view.

The pilot's problems are pace and engine. The first 20 pages are setup: we tour the office and meet seven staff before the inciting problem lands on p. 21. The core of the episode is Priya on the phone, which is hard to make visual, and the script has few scenes outside the building. Most important, the pilot does not show what episode two looks like. The tag's new tip hints at a case-of-the-week format, but nothing in the hour establishes it, and the paper's sale, the obvious season arc, is resolved too quietly.

Comparable workplace dramas are well served, so the pitch needs a sharper hook. Recommend meeting the writer for a staff or development conversation; the voice is there. A rewrite that starts at the false source, cuts the cast to four, and makes the sale the season's spine would be worth a second read.

How to write script coverage: from reading notes to a finished report

1. Read the script once, straight through, in one sitting if you can. Note page numbers as you go: where you were gripped, confused or bored. Do not write coverage on the first read.
2. Mark the structure. Write down the page of the inciting incident, the end of act one, the midpoint, the low point and the climax. Late or missing turns are the most common structural note.
3. Write the logline. If you cannot, that is a note in itself.
4. Write the synopsis neutrally. Present tense, in order, including the ending. Names in caps on first mention with ages. Leave out subplots that do not affect the ending.
5. Fill in the grid before the comments. It forces a judgment in each category.
6. Write the comments. Open with the verdict in one sentence. Then concept and market, structure, character, dialogue. Support every claim with a page or a scene. End with what would change your rating.
7. Decide the rating last and check it matches the comments. A report full of praise that ends in a Pass, or full of problems that ends in a Recommend, confuses the executive.
8. Proofread. Coverage is a writing sample. A typo in a character's name undermines the read.

Wrong: "The second act is boring and the characters are flat." Right: "Pages 60 to 82 repeat the same accusation beat four times; cutting two of them would let the midpoint reversal (p. 54) carry into act three."

Paid script coverage services in 2026: what you get and whether it's worth it

The paid coverage market changed sharply in 2025. Writers following older advice should know:

• WeScreenplay, ScreenCraft and The Script Lab announced in February 2025 that they were closing. All three were owned by Industry Arts, part of Cast & Crew.
• Coverfly, the popular free hub for contest results and rankings, from the same owner, shut down on 1 August 2025.
• The Black List still operates. Writers pay to host a script on the site (reported at about $30 a month) and can buy evaluations from its readers, graded from 1 to 10. Evaluations cost $75 for a feature or one-hour pilot in a 2020 No Film School guide; writers reported about $100 in 2025. WGA members can use it without hosting a script, and scripts that score 8 or higher earn free hosting and evaluations.
• Independent services such as Script Reader Pro remain. Script Reader Pro lists feature coverage from about $169 as of November 2026.

Typical paid coverage for a feature costs from about $100 to $450, depending on length, reader experience and turnaround.

When it is worth it: before you send a script to managers or contests, when friends' notes have run out, and when you can name what kind of reader you are paying for. When it is not: as a substitute for a rewrite, or when buying several reads in the hope of a different verdict.

For what AI tools can and cannot do here, see AI script coverage: can AI give useful notes on your screenplay?.

Writing coverage in WriteOrbit

WriteOrbit does not format screenplays and does not read .fdx files, and it has no built-in coverage template. It is useful for the reading and writing around coverage:

1. Upload the script PDF to the Library. Export the script to PDF from any formatter, or use the PDF you were sent. The free plan holds 10 PDFs up to 10 MB each, which fits a feature script.
2. Ask the script questions while you write. Open the script PDF in the Library and use Ask, which works on one PDF at a time: "On what page does Kirsty first decide to hide the death?" or "List every scene where Ross appears before page 40." Answers carry page numbers, so you can check them before they go into your comments.
3. Paste the template above into a new document and write the coverage beside the script.
4. If the writer sent a Word file, open the .docx (styles are kept) and leave comments and suggestions (tracked changes) directly in the text, for development notes.
5. Share with the producer or a second reader. Real-time co-editing and comments let a producer add notes to your coverage, with version history if a rating changes. Run a proofreading pass with AI review, and export to Word or PDF.

See how it works or pricing for current plan limits.

FAQ

How long is script coverage?

Studio and agency coverage usually runs two to five pages: a cover sheet with the title, writer, genre, page count and rating; a logline; a synopsis of one to two pages; and a page or so of comments. Paid development notes for writers can run longer, often five to ten pages, because they explain how to fix problems rather than only whether to read further.

How much does script coverage cost?

Paid coverage for a feature script typically costs from about $100 to $450 as of November 2026, depending on depth, turnaround and the reader's experience. Script Reader Pro, for example, lists feature coverage from about $169. A Black List evaluation has been reported at $75 to about $100, on top of monthly hosting of about $30. Coverage written inside a studio or agency costs the writer nothing.

What do Pass, Consider and Recommend mean in script coverage?

They are the reader's verdict. Pass means the script is not worth the executive's time. Consider means it has real strengths and may be worth reading, usually with reservations. Recommend means the reader believes the executive should read it now. Most coverage rates the script and the writer separately, so a script can get a Pass while the writer gets a Consider.

How do I get script coverage jobs?

Most readers start through internships or assistant jobs at agencies, management companies and production companies, where reading scripts is part of the work. Others read for screenplay contests or coverage services. Build a portfolio first: write coverage of three or four produced or public scripts in standard format, keep each to about four pages, and offer samples when you apply.

Is paid script coverage worth it?

It can be worth it when you need an honest outside read before you send a script to managers, contests or producers, and when you can name the reader's experience. It is not worth it as a substitute for rewriting, or if you buy several reads hoping for a better verdict. Ask for a sample report before paying, and check turnaround, length and confidentiality terms.

Next steps

Coverage is one part of developing a script. For the tools that hold the rest, see the screenwriting software guide. To see how AI notes compare with a human reader's, read AI script coverage.

Sources

1. No Film School, "ScreenCraft, The Script Lab, and WeScreenplay Are Closing" (20 February 2025). https://nofilmschool.com/screencraft-the-scriptlab-and-wescreenplay-closing
2. Creative Screenwriting, "Coverfly Is Shuttering for Good. Now What?" (9 May 2025). https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/coverfly-is-shuttering-for-good-now-what/
3. IndieWire via Yahoo Entertainment, "It's the Death of the Screenplay Industrial Complex, and Not a Moment Too Soon" (6 May 2025). https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/death-screenplay-industrial-complex-not-141500824.html
4. Script Reader Pro, script coverage services. https://www.scriptreaderpro.com/our-script-coverage-services/
5. No Film School, "How to Use The Black List to Break Into Screenwriting." https://nofilmschool.com/how-to-use-the-black-list