Are you writing a series? Whether it’s destined for traditional broadcast, Video on Demand or the web, you’ll likely need a Story Editor to help with script editing. But what exactly is a story editor and what role do they perform?
Story Editor Responsibilities
A story editor’s job is to provide feedback to writers. But unlike a script doctor or consultant who might help a screenwriter with a feature film screenplay or pilot in development, a story editor works on a series in production.
A Story Editor is hired to manage the development process, guide the writers with script editing and notes while the showrunners are busy elsewhere.
Story editors offer feedback on scripts based on what the producers have set out to do.
They suggest changes and improvements to writers’ ideas and drafts, so that they better meet the showrunners’ needs.
Story editors ensure that staff writers’ scripts follow the rules of the show and that continuity and run-time are maintained.
Why do you need a Story Editor?
When a TV show is greenlit by a broadcaster and goes into production, the script development process and shooting schedule often run in parallel. That means the screenwriting team is pumping out ideas, drafts and rewrites, while the showrunners, directors and cast are on set shooting the scenes or in post-production editing the show together.
Time is of the essence and there can be anywhere from 2 to 20 screenwriters contributing to these writers’ rooms. Each of these writers will be tackling at least one script, and all the scripts are at different phases of development. So you can see how a show might need someone to track the story and keep everyone on the same page from first draft to final shooting script.
When do you need a Story Editor?
In the entertainment industry, you generally work with a script consultant in early development, when you are crafting the series idea and writing the pilot episode. Once a show is greenlit into production, it’s time to find a Story Editor. Often a story editor will help hire on the other writers required to fill out the team.
Series that are in production require lots of screenplays, and because of that they often require many more screenwriters. Often TV shows are structured, plotted, and punched up in a writers’ room. There’s a big white board, a pile of markers, lots of snacks. Here a whole team of creatives come together for brainstorming sessions before assigning episodes to each writer.
The story editor provides notes and guidance to series writers, making sure their ideas, and scripts meet the producer’s mandate and standards. You can think of them as a sort of filter, catching any bad dialogue or plot holes before the script ever reaches the showrunners.
Notable Story Editors
Needless to say, Story Editors are crucial to the function of any successful show. In the hierarchy of the writers’ room, the story editor falls somewhere in the middle. They are more experienced than the staff writers, assistants and coordinators, but less important than the producers and showrunners.
Many now-famous writers and creators performed the role of Story Editor as they rose through the ranks.
Donald Glover – Started as a writer, then became story editor on 30 Rock before starring in Community and eventually creating his own series Atlanta.
Chelsea Perretti – Started as a writer for SNL, then wrote for Parks and Recreation before becoming Story Editor on the 4th season of the show.
Mindy Kaling – Began her career writing and acting in The Office and eventually became the story editor for that show’s second season. Now she’s a creator and show runner on her own series, The Mindy Project, Never Have I Ever, The Sex Lives of College Girls.
Angela Kang – Began as an intern on Grey’s Anatomy before joining the writing staff on The Walking dead where she worked as story editor in its second season and eventually became show runner.
What’s the big difference between Story Editors and Script Consultants?
While script consultants and story editors share many of the same skills, the story editor’s position is an ongoing role on a TV or web series that is in production. A script consultant is long gone, before the camera starts rolling on a feature.
A story editor needs to be an expert in the world of the show. They need to understand the arcs and voice of each character. They have to know and enforce the “rules” of the show’s universe. They need to be able to spot problems, find solutions and communicate clearly to the writers they oversee. But most of all, they need to see how each episode is part of the whole.
So while a script consultant might help you nail down an original pilot.
A story editor will help you build out the series, episode by episode