In building my "brand" as a screenwriter, doing well in my first comp is something I'd like to use to promote myself, but I'm at a loss as to how to use that info to market myself. So... Any ideas?
Screenwriting : So I fared decently in a comp. Now what? by Greg Wait
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See it as the first of many and just mention it in your biog. Build your brand around your work and your passions and let the awards fall where they may.
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It's something you can use in a query letter when you try to obtain an agent or manager. Other than that, it won't get you much.
How well is "doing well"? Quarterfinalist? Semifinalist? Finalist? It depends on how well you do and which competition. You can highlight your placement in several places: here, your website, blog, Twitter, InkTip, scripitch.com, BlackList.
i agree with everyone above. if the comp wasn't notable (page, nicholls, scriptapalooza, final draft) and you didn't win then i wouldn't mention it. if it doesn't fall into these categories then it doesn't ultimately mean that much to an exec or an agent/manager and can actually look sort of amateurish if you do. (sorry i hated writing that but it's true!).
To follow up on Ruth's point, if the comp is notable, then presumably one doesn't have to actually win to get some value from it, right? My sci-fi spec HIBER was a semi-finalist in Scriptapalooza, and I have a friend who's made the semis in Nicholls. Given the thousands of entries, I'm hoping we can both get some traction out of our placements which were in the (roughly) top 100 of all submitted scripts. I should note that my script has already been optioned, so I'm mainly hoping it will help me gain interest from managers and reads of my other work from production companies, etc.
adam made a good clarification. placing in the semi's in a notable contest warrants a mention. otherwise... I'd leave it out. and congrats on HIBER - that's great news!
It was the American Gem Short Screenplay comp. I made the finals and ended up with an honorable mention, scoring 27th overall out of 980 entries (give or take a few). For my first script, I think finishing in the top 3% is notable. At a minimum, it shows I don't suck at this. ;-)
Thanks Ruth!