Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Do not be fooled by the glowing reviews here. The author has offered inducements to his band of gullible acolytes in return for positive reviews of his book, via his weekly e-mail list. Carson Reeves, a.k.a. ScriptShadow, a.k.a. Christopher Eads is a former reality show contestant with no produced screenwriting credits, nor any screenplay sales to his name. Save your $10 and buy a book by someone with a bona fide track record -- like the Blake Snyder Save The Cat series. Snyder sold millions of $$$ worth of his own scripts before writing his screenwriting how-to books. Or The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler - Vogler worked in the story department at Disney and as an executive at Fox 2000. His ethics and means have been questioned by professional screenwriters such as John August (in the New York Times) and Craig Mazin, among others. Reeves attempts to characterize these criticisms as out of touch with the realities facing new writers. They are nothing of the sort. They are genuine concerns aired by studio screenwriters who actively support, mentor and seek to protect new writers. This book adds nothing to the considerable body of "Screenwriting Guides," which has practically become a genre in its own right. Reeves/Eads has nothing new to say, because he has no experience in the business. His tips and tricks are barely re-heated concepts which were either originated by or better explained by many other authors (see above.) His feeble attempt to conceal this lack of originality behind a cloak of "secret knowledge," and "what they don't want you to know," is transparent at best and cynical at worst. In his reviews of scripts, Reeves displays an overly simplistic understanding of screenwriting craft and storytelling in general. He has a short attention span and low-level reading comprehension ability, leading to speculation by some that he may suffer some sort of brain tumor. He is like a med-school drop out, who may be able to diagnose the most basic of ailments with your script, but does not have the knowledge or experience to successfully treat it. As always, the proof is in the pudding. Reeves claims to have done over 1000 paid script consultations. Only 1 of these scripts has gone on to sell, directly because of Reeves' involvement (via the industry contacts he repeatedly boasts of.) A handful of other writers have found professional representation by legitimate agents or managers. This is a very low strike-rate and should serve as a warning to anybody seeking to get involved with Reeves. It should also be noted that more than one of his successful prior clients have in the end had sour experiences with Reeves. Though he may have played a part in getting their script to the right people, his continued involvement has become a significant liability. Consider this fair warning. Buy this book for $10 if you must, but please don't spend up to $1500 on a private consultation with anyone who doesn't have a credit or a sale to their name.