Screenwriting : Save your money... by Sofi Odelle

Sofi Odelle I agree. I have always considered a comp a bit of fun. Haven’t entered one in years. But they are just fun and nothing more for me.

I can understand people paying for coverage. Again I never have. But writing is a lonely business. Plus the entire coverage industry is set up to prey on writers by spreading fear and false promises.

Absolutely.

Nobody knows what will work for anyone so people should do whatever they believe will help them achieve their goal.

Mine isn't the only career that has benefited from carefully selected first and second-tier contests.

A.S. - Blue Cat's one of the good 'uns.

Hey Sofi Odelle I completely agree with you that there are a lot of competitions out there that don't result in any meaningful career advancement for the winner.

Stage 32 is a partner with AFF and we have worked closely with them for many years. But I have never seen the kind of success that the Stage 32 contest winners have enjoyed as a result of winning our screenwriting competitions. When a writer wins a Stage 32 contest, we fly them into LA and send them on a round of industry meetings with managers, agents, producers, and studio executives who have all read their projects. The results stand up against any other record in the industry.

For instance, screenwriter Christina Pamies was signed by a major manager at Good Fear after winning our 5th Annual Search for New Blood competition and being sent on over a dozen meetings. Screenwriter Christine Torres was also signed by a manager - Brooklyn Weaver at Energy Entertainment - after Stage 32 set her up on a meeting with him. Amy Baer and Gidden Media optioned 2 projects as a result of our Gidden Media & Stage 32 Romantic Comedy contest. Each writer received $7,500 options and went into development on their scripts with Gidden Media. Our latest contest with Gidden just closed and they will again offer optioned of $7,500 to up to 3 writers. Our 2018 Comedy writing winner Diana Wright was signed to The Cartel and Abrams Artists Agency after being sent on meetings by Stage 32. The winner of our 2018 Feature Screenwriting contest Jonathan Jordan was signed by Verve Talent & Literary Agency and manager Byron Austen Ashley after being sent on meetings by Stage 32.

With respect to paying for coverage, again, I think it comes down to who is reading your script. If you are getting a bunch of anonymous reviews and critiques, that does little to help. But if you are able to pick the executive who you would like to review your material and you know their credits, experience, company and tastes, then you can use their insights to make real progress on your project.

Of course I am always happy to discuss further. Feel free to reach out to me at j.mirch@stage32.com. I would love to hear from you.

Agree 100% on being more selective on which contests you enter. I started by entering just about any contest I saw and finally started looking them over. Sure, some of them are very pricey and may take a bite out of your budget, but the results are much better. There was a local one that has been held every year and it gets a lot of attention but I realized that, despite as big as they make it sound, the results weren't all that good. They get a lot of attention but only in this area. When I looked at the details it really wasn't as good as their PR made it sound. Look at the details.

If someone is gonna charge $$, show verified testimony, track record like a current/past job at a Prod Company, produced movies, Writer-Peers, affiliation with schools, Academy memberships - some evidence that you have done this for a living, a job.

where can you get quality free feedback????

Christina. There are a few script consultant here. If they read your question they will show up soon enough.

Christina L Johnson giving feedback teaches nearly as much as receiving it. You may have to give 20 sets of notes to find 2 people that will return the favour. There is a thread in this.

Christina, You can find good free feedback from Zoetrope, Coverflyx, talentville, simply scripts. You can offer to swap scripts with people here, Reddit, etc. But yeah it will require reading and giving honest feedback to others as well.

Where can one find a list of quality/vetted screenplay competitions?

Thank you Rob, I'll look into this. I'm so tired of asking family members to read my scripts.

Thanks Derek! I started a Google sheet expressly to keep myself organized for film competitions and writing goals. So this info is going straight on there stat. Thanks again.

Lyra, Or you could hire a professional to give you feedback with the idea of 'how to get the movie made' rather than seek free feedback from websites or from family members not in the business. Take Dan MaxXx's advice and CHECK OUT THE PERSON. There are many that will work within a reasonable budget and won't break you. When someone is interested in Feedback from me - I offer a coverage service - I tell them to go CHECK OUT my IMDb page and see that I've produced 18 times, worked with multiple Oscar-Winners and Oscar-Nominees and I've also helped several people with notes and others even to get their films made (though this is no guarantee). But, you see the person's background and decide for yourself. I do not recommend just exchanging scripts with people you don't know, who don't have a track record. That's not a knock on them, but seek the advice of a Professional that you respect - even if its after you CHECK THEM OUT. Also, you get what you pay for. It's not different than an actor who does not wish to pay for a professional acting class and instead runs scenes with his friends. There is definitely a difference in instruction, professionalism and in networking opportunities. That's just IMHO. Either way, BREAK LEGS and all good things for a PROSPEROUS 2020! MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HANNUKAH! GOD BLESS and STAY FRESH!!!

A. S. Templeton Bluecat is not a low end, no name contest.

I've gotten useful useful anonymous feedback from a few contests, but I've also gotten crazy coverage (one set of notes referenced cartoons they said shouldn't be included in the script -- I have no idea what they were talking about; I checked the PDF I submitted, just in case I had screwed it up -- nope, no cartoons. Won't spend money on that one again!)

Any suggestions on where to focus would be very helpful. This thread has been very informative - thank you all.

Contests are good if you’re trying to win them and are not trying to use them for cheap feedback. If a writer has a great script that can compete at the bigger contests, the script should be semi to finalist in the small contests. Even if the contest doesn’t have a big name, winning is still a good time to achieve.