A screenplay is not a finished product; a novel is. A screenplay is a blueprint for something - for a building that will most likely never be built.

After meeting with Bennett and other members of the cast and crew regarding the script Meyer impressed Star Trek's actors and producers by delivering a superior draft of the script in only twelve days. He developed the story with Leonard Nimoy and co-wrote the screenplay with long-time friend and assistant Denny Flinn. It was a success with both critical reception and in box office returns.

For adapting a screenplay from his own novel for The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976) Meyer was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He has also been nominated for a Satellite Award three Emmy Awards and has won four Saturn Awards.