Monday Morning Editor Picks: Polishing Your Script Before Submitting

For those who attended Screenwriters World Conference West, and for all other screenwriters getting their work ready to submit to agents, producers and managers, do NOT blow your one chance at making a great first impression! Get that script polished before you hit the "send" button!

1. Get Feedback: I never send a script out before getting pro feedback. I've met many of The Writers Store Story Specialists in person, and trust me, they are real writers who know this business, many of whom have development deals of their own at major studios. I'm deeply impressed with the talent behind the services.

2. Rewrite: Start with our Rewrite Checklist FREE download and finish off your efforts with Paul Chitlik's outstanding book, Rewrite, or my own webinar The Dreaded Rewrite. They compliment each other well. Another amazing resource is the Rewrite Session Video from the Screenwriters World Conference West in 2012.

3. Polish: With The Writers Store Precision: Professional Proofing and Formatting Services, you'll be guaranteed to not have a hot mess of a script hit the exec's inbox. Making sure your script looks professional is key to gaining the reader's trust.

4. What else have you got?: Always be ready for that question. If an exec doesn't show interest in your script but likes your writing, s/he may ask, "What else have you got?" Be ready with a prepared treatment or logline of a new idea. The Story Specialists Treatment Bundle is on sale right now. If you aren't ready for a full treatment review, get some help with your loglines for your next project with Logline Tune Up, a one-on-one session with a Story Specialist to focus just on your concept.

Jeanne Veillette Bowerman is the Editor and Online Community Manager of Script Magazine and a webinar instructor for The Writers Store. She is Co-Founder and moderator of the weekly Twitter screenwriters’ chat, #Scriptchat, and wrote the narrative adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Slavery by Another Name, with its author, Douglas A. Blackmon, former senior national correspondent of The Wall Street Journal. Jeanne also is President of Implicit Productions and consults with writers on how to build and strengthen their online and offline networks as well as face their fears in order to succeed in writing and in personal peace - a screenwriter's therapist. More information can be found on her blog, ramblings of a recovered insecureaholic. Follow @jeannevb on Twitter.