Richard Heard's Lounge Discussions

That's amazing! I'll be honest, that networking is something that I need to work on. But I really appreciate this illustration on how valuable it.is!

Thanks for sharing that story, Lise Pyles. It's encouraging! Congratulations to your writer friend!

Great story Lise Pyles!

Great story, thanks for sharing!

Great efforts Lise Pyles! All the best on this NWC week and beyond!

It can help build pedigree, which can help you with leveling up. The secret is to treat your writing like a business endeavor.

You should be choosy with contest and (like characters) have a goal. I scanned many over the last couple years, picked some good-looking ones to get pro-level feedback. All the while I got familiar with the really high level ones that I'll submit to once my work is up to scratch.

Anyone telling you they are effective needs to be able to back it up with facts. For over ten years now, I've watched writers tell each other things like festivals work with substance to those claims other than speculation.

There's a lot on contextual elements to consider too. Which festivals? Appealing to what demographic of industry members? What type of success?

My feeling is that things like festivals should not be valued in terms of kicking off a career. That doesn't really happen. In terms of validation, networking, and experience though - there's value there.

All awards are good awards, in my view. They're independent proof that people besides yourself (and those who know you) like your writing. That's invaluable in many ways - not least the impetus to have belief and keep going in this sometimes heartbreaking endeavour. You can quote awards in pitches to get a nod. You can put them on author bios. And if you rack up a few awards across different scripts, well, then you're not just a one-trick pony. Some competitions may have more brand cache than others, but none will get you greenlit. None will open the gates of major studios. None, really, are a guarantee of anything. Use them as you see them benefitting you, and make the system work for you.

They're a good thing to add when pitching yourself or a project, as its an indication to the person you're pitching to that others have read your work and like it.

hopefully yours! Goodluck!

Thanks Rebecca...

Congratulations on taking the leap Richard Heard ! I am the Writer Consultant for Stage 32. My job is to help shorten your path to success. Please always feel free to reach out to me at success@stage32.com and I will be more than happy to answer questions or lend a hand.

Good luck. Keep in mind you can never really tell what the response will be. I've had pitch sessions that felt great that were passed. Others that I was kicking myself for requested a read.

You got this Richard Heard!