Script Reads for Cis Writers

I get asked to do sensitivity reads of scripts fairly often, and unfortunately my experiences have overall been breathtakingly negative.

The thing is, creating a script takes so much physical and emotional energy, and we pour ourselves into it so deeply. Which is really cool! But it tends to make hearing feedback really hard. When I read scripts, I always do my best to remember the immense effort behind it - and also, the nature of a sensitivity read is that I very often have feedback that people are not thrilled to hear. And I’ve often (often) gotten stuck in the place of having to listen as people vigorously defend their inadvertent transphobia to me. Which sucks. Hard.

I know anyone reaching out to me wants to do right by the queer and trans communities. Why else would they be reaching out? But there’s an inherent tension to this work, and so I’ve developed the following guidelines for how I now approach it.

  • Before reaching out, please check in with yourself and how you would honestly respond if I gave feedback that your script needed substantial changes, or even needed to be scrapped altogether. If you aren’t ready for the possibility of hearing that, you aren’t ready for a sensitivity reader.

  • My base rate is $750, regardless of the length of the script, and I reserve the right to increase this rate if the pitch/synopsis contains significant red flags. For this fee I will:

    • Read the full script multiple times and prepare a detailed report (usually 3-6 pages)

    • Schedule a phone conversation to talk through the report and answer any questions

    • Follow up via email for any questions that arise later

    • I do not promise subsequent re-reads, but if they are agreed to they will be offered at a significantly discounted rate (starting around $150).

    One thing I will not do under any circumstances is argue back and forth about whether my points are valid. Yes, I’m one person, no, I don’t represent my entire community, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m an expert in how queer and trans people are impacted by work that discusses them and I deserve to be treated as such.

  • I only read scripts under two conditions: (1) that my name is never associated with the project unless otherwise negotiated; and (2) that the playwright never shares that a sensitivity reader was used unless they are directly asked. If you want to be able to say you’ve had a reader, that reader will need to be someone else.

If all of that sounds palatable to you, please feel free to give me a shout!

<3 Josie