Unfortunately I had to split this into multiple parts because of Reddit's post limit. Find the other parts here: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 5 Part 6.1 Part 6.2 Part 6.3

Put Your Name and Rules EVERYWHERE

This is something I regret not doing when I first started out. I would suggest you put both your username/pen name and rules in your reddit post, in the script document itself, in your masterlist, ect. This an extra safeguard to ensure that credit is given to you as the writer, and that VAs follow your rules. For example, see how in this post I included my rules and links to my other profiles in the post itself. And in the document I included my name in the title as well as in the top left corner. I also put my rules in the top left. I’ve said this many times, but these are YOUR scripts. You deserve to be given credit and have all of your rules followed.

Publish to Web

This is specifically for those who use Google Docs. Instead of copy/pasting the url into your Reddit post, use this other method. In the top right you’ll see the word “File.” Click on that and scroll until you see the word “Share''. Click on that and then pick ‘Publish to web.” Then use that link in your post. It makes reading your script on mobile MUCH easier. I believe I learned this from an advice post by u/WhiteKatAudios. I hope I’m not misremembering. If I’m not, thanks Kat!

Tagging

Fun fact, my first post ever on this account was asking how to tag scripts. Tagging can be a difficult thing, but it is important for helping people find your script. I tried to think of a fun acronym to make this more concise but I couldn’t come up with one. Instead, here are some guidelines for what to tag:

Characters: Tag based on the characters. If one of them is non-human, tag that (ex: [Vampire Speaker] [Ghost Listener]). Also tag prominent personality traits (ex: [Tsundere Speaker] [Shy Listener]) and any other defining characteristics (ex: [Artist Listener] [Embarrassed Speaker]).

Genders: [A] stands for anyone, [F] stands for female, [M] stands for male, [TM] and [TF] stand for trans male (born female, identifies as male) and trans female (born male, identifies as female) respectively, [NB] stands for non-binary (neither male or female), and [X] stands for xenogender (any gender that isn’t male, female, or non-binary) When tagging this make sure to put the speaker’s gender first (ex: [F4A] (female speaker for anyone) [M4NB] (male speaker for non-binary) [AX4TF] (anyone speaker and xenogender speaker for trans female))

Relationships: Tag the relationship(s) between the speaker(s) and the listener (ex: [Spouse Speaker] [Strangers to Friends] [Enemies to Lovers]).

Setting: (ex: [School Setting] [Urban Fantasy] [Bus Ride])

Genre: (ex: [Sci-Fi] [Horror] [Comedy]).

Prominent Sound Effects: (ex: [Brushing] [Tapping] [Mouth Sounds])

Actions: Tag things that happen in the story (ex: [Headpats] [Fighting] [Making Up])

Descriptors: Tag how you think others would describe your script (ex: [Wholesome] [Funny] [Scary]).

Trigger Warnings: This is THE MOST important thing to tag. They can be called trigger warnings (TW) or content warnings (CW) but they mean the same thing. If there is anything in your script that you think might be upsetting to some people, tag it (ex: [TW: Death] [CW: Mentions of Abuse] [TW: Toxic Relationship])!

Other: You can also include other things in tags such as quotes that encompass the script, events that the script is based around (holidays, seasons, life events, ect.), if this script is a sequel or part of a series, or really anything that you think is important to note about your script.

And here I’ll explain some common tags that I’ve seen in the community that you might not know what they mean (I didn’t even know some of these before starting to write scripts):

[L-Bombs] means love bombs, aka saying “I love you.” [Meet-Cute] means when two or more characters meet and start developing romantic feelings. [Yandere] a character archetype from anime that is an obsessive lover that will go to extreme lengths for their partner, usually kidnapping and murder. [Tsundere] another anime archetype that is a character who holds romantic/friendly feelings for another character but masks them under an attitude of aggressiveness and violence. There are plenty of other “-dere” types but these two are the most common. [Dom] is a term that means dominant. It’s usually used in the context of romantic or sexual relationships and comes from the BDSM (a kink) community. [Sub] means submissive and comes from the same community. Have you ever heard someone ask “Who’s the man/woman in the relationship?” They’re basically asking who’s the dom/sub but in a painfully heteronormative way. Also, just because they originate from kink communities doesn’t make them inherently lewd. They can be wholesome too! [NSFW] means not safe for work. It’s usually used to describe sexual or suggestive stuff, but it can be used to tag extreme violence also. [SFW] means safe for work. Basically you could read this script while on lunch break at the office and it would be totally fine. [Spicy] means sexually suggestive

Tagging is tricky at the start, but you’ll get the hang of it the more you do it. And remember, the more tags the better! Just don’t go overboard and add 100 : P

Being Confident Enough to Post

It can be very anxiety-inducing to put your work out there, but trust me when I say that is the hardest part. If you’re comfortable enough with your work to let others see it, just take a deep breath, type out your post, and submit it. Trust me, I was extremely nervous when I first started out. I mean, just check out my language in my first script post compared to one of my more recent scripts. It’s night and day! Believe me, it gets easier.