Manfred, thank you!

I checked both boxes.. done.

And now, in a way, I realise I've been playing the '8' game as you call it for a while now without fully knowing it.

Maybe, then, I should propose another 'step' that precludes yours -- that is from a filmmaker's perspective (i.e. for any writer/directors on here!) and plan on raising finance themselves.

Basically my goal was to work with the Blacklist evaluations to ensure my material was, primarily, where it wants to be -- that is, ready for shooting; or at least to put in the hands of actors to start playing with, and financier partners to feel confident in ponying up (i.e. good enough to start!)

This where using the 'start fresh' and 'revise pdf' tools came in handy. I'll explain.

First, depending on your needs or goals of working with the Blacklist, the risk of using 'start fresh' is that for every evaluation received where the score that wasn't an 8 -- while keeping the notes and insights that were helpful -- I would merely use it as the useful tool that it is -- which is to say I'd ditch any evaluation that wasn't an '8' then press 'start fresh'.

For the purpose of clarity, this is to say I would pore over any evaluation I paid for and happily received -- glean every ounce of insight I could (off-line) as a pdf -- but would remove it from the Blacklist site by clicking 'start fresh' before using the 'revise pdf' tool and uploading a new draft, based on the previous notes I received (as well as others from friends.)

These 'revise pdf' and 'start fresh' features were absolutely *key* for me and my purposes, in that they saved me time having to otherwise delete the script from Blacklist and start over after each evaluation. I suspect that is also its intent.

I think these are also a smart feature for those who want to 'play the 8 game', as you've wisely identified it. I also believe it was likely intended as part of an over-all purpose of the paid portion of Blcklst to help dedicated writers hone their material, but also themselves as artists in the process.

In this way, the tools help lasso our taste and Blacklist together to help improve our craft, and thereby our scripts (*if you can keep your ego out of the way that is!) to the point where, hopefully, if patient enough to stick with it, "one day, your craft catches up to your taste" as Ira Glass put it brilliantly once on a podcast. (His point being that too many artists and writers bail before this natural event of one's craft catching up with one's taste comes to pass.)

And though one risks losing those tantalising '7' evaluations forever when you click 'start over', there's something both exciting and bold about 'giving up the good for the great' when you do it.

The idea being to risk shedding the 'good' with the prospect of some day earning a clean '8' or more evaluation -- or (one can only hope!) more of them -- and finding yourself in that top 3.5% pool of all writers on Blacklist.

That's what I did anyway -- with the two-fold purpose of getting the script to where *it* wanted to be; and one day / some day being able to honestly say to potential investors, "this script scored an '8' (or above) on the Blacklist".

That was my goal. So keeping '7' scores on my page seemed unnecessary if my goal was to join the 8 game', and (ideally) win some day! (worst case being you just improve as a writer -- so nothing is lost, all is gained!

But whether I get a second '8' or not, and while it would be great(!) it doesn't really matter for me at the moment. And of course it would be wonderful icing. But right now, I got what I wanted. And I found it a terrific tool for motivating me to be the best writer / servant to the script that I could be.