Are screenwriting contests worth the entry fees?

Google “screenwriting contest” and you get a mind-boggling 511,000 results. The entry fees as well as the prizes they taunt you with can be equally staggering. So how do you decide what contest, if any, to enter?

According to Cynthia Cree, founder and President of the Hollywood Nexus and the Hollywood Omnibook, “Writers should participate in screenwriting contests as a means of motivation to write (e.g. to complete a submit-able draft by a set date), to obtain feedback, and for the experience of competing against other screenwriters.” But, she warns, don’t enter if you’re going to equate not winning failure, or take it to mean that your script is not good. The point of any contest, according to Cree, is to help you be better today than yesterday.

Pasha Mckenley with Creative Screenwriting agrees that contests go beyond winning or losing. “Contests are a great way to get exposure. We have access to industry professionals who will read your script because it was selected over thousands of others. I get calls and emails from executives who are looking for the next hit. Sometimes I even give executives scripts that didn't make it to the final rounds but were strong contenders where the writer showed promise.”

She also feels that entering contests helps you prepare your script for industry standards such as putting it in the correct format and correcting typos. “Learn the BASIC techniques of screenwriting before sitting down to write one. It’s shocking how many scripts are entered into contests that aren’t even properly formatted.” Finally, she advises writer to carefully read the rules and regulations of the contest.

Writer Deanne Devine has only positive things to say about her contest experiences. She entered BlueCat because it offers 1 page feedback for every entry. If you enter early, you get your feedback in a month and can revise the script and reenter it by the regular deadline (at a reduced fee) to improve your chances of winning (and get a second critique).

“My screenplay came back with nice comments, but a TON of ‘needs improvements.’ It was really helpful for the price.” She took the feedback to heart and did a total rewrite on her script. This year, the feedback was much more encouraging and showed only a few areas that need tweaking.

Benjamin Ray, quarterfinalist in the 2008 PAGE International Screenwriting awards, advises all writers to apply to as many contests as possible, especially those that give you feedback. “Overall its fun and creates opportunities”. His favorite contests have been the Austin Film Festival, PAGE, and Redinkswork.com. In general, he finds that most contest providers are on your side and are happy to offer you help if you ask.

Beyond simply winning or losing, contest have taught Ray to work with deadlines. “Use this to your advantage by setting up a series of screenwriting deadlines to build up a solid resume.”

His tip for finding a good contest? “Look for ones that give a lot of details on their webpage.”

Having judged a number of contests over the years, I would advise any writer to enter contests that offer professional feedback first. No matter how you place, you’ve come out a winner if you’ve learned something from the experience.

The other main benefit of contests is the exposure to industry professionals. If a contest is judged by a panel of executives and agents, you’ve basically been given the opportunity to submit your writing to people who wouldn’t normally accept an unsolicited script. In the long run, that can prove far more important than winning the actual contest.

(photo by Martin Kingsley)

Note about the message forum

Just got a note from someone who tried to use the message forum and was bombarded by pop-ups (see comment below). My apologies to anyone who has this problem. I tried it myself but Firefox blocks all pop ups so it wasn't a problem for me. So beware, if you want to leave a note you may get some ads depending on your computer settings.

The Ongoing Scriptwriting Program Debate

An Anonymous Reader poses the question:

Okay,

In the heart of entertainment ,HOLLYWOOD, what percentage is using final draft and what percentage is using Movie Magic?

My gut feeling is that more are using Final Draft BUT that could be a personal bias against MM. Way back in the old days of stone tablets (ok, maybe not that long ago but close) I had a crummy experience with the original company that made (still makes??) Movie Magic. I wasn't even using the screenwriting program so admittedly, my bias is completely illogical and unfair but there you go.

I have installed a new message forum so please weigh in on the continuing scriptwriting program debates!

More on Movie Magic

Deanne, a writer in Cincy, wrote to say "I use Movie Magic, and you can save scripts as PDF by going to "PRINT" and then choosing "Print to PDF".

Please take note all you writers out there who use Movie Magic for when you send your script out into the world to be read. It's much easier to read in PDF and will help your chances of getting a fair reading immensely.

Thanks for the info, Deanne!

Is Your New Year's Resolution to Sell Your Script???

New Years is a great time to renew your resolve to sell your script. Here’s a couple of tips to keep you from getting taken to the cleaners on the way to the red carpet:

Requiring money up front – SCAM
If ANYONE tells you they are interested in your script but they need you to pay ANY kind of fee up front to represent you or your project, run to the nearest exit. The most common one I’ve heard of is when an agent or manager requires you get your script covered by a “certified reader” for a fee. I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve never heard of such a thing as a “certified reader”.

It’s not unusual or out of line for an agent or manager to ask you to give a synopsis of your script before they’ll consider your material. They may even give you a few names as suggestions of readers to use. What a legitimate company WON’T do is refuse to consider a synopsis SOLELY based on the fact that it doesn’t come from a “certified reader”. If they do run, don’t walk, to the nearest exit.

Asking for a free option – NOT A SCAM
It’s perfectly legitimate for a producer to ask for a free option on your script. Just be sure to give them a LIMITED free option – 6 months is a typical amount of time but you may want to make it shorter. For instance, if it’s about the Olympics or a “true” predicted natural disaster, then time might be more of a factor. If they want to keep pitching the script after the option runs out, make them pay some kind of fee.

The producer may also want you to address notes for free. That gets into sticky territory. They are honestly trying to get the script in the best possible shape to sell; you have to decide if their notes really make it better. If so, you’ve just gotten free script notes, be happy. If their notes don’t make any sense, it’s time to consider whether they’re the right people to be involved in your script in the first place. Even if they sell it, will they keep your vision of the story or turn your brilliant take on “Santa Clause V” into a horror movie? Are you willing to go there for mere money? Only you can decide....

Follow Up on Screenwriting Program Question

This in from Cynthia, a reader:

"I've always preferred Movie Magic Screenwriter myself, but I used to run an annual screenwriting contest and by far the most entries were in Final Draft format. We even got more in Word format than Movie Magic.

Kind of gave me the impression that Final Draft has become industry standard.

Anyone else have an opinion on that?"

I have to say that after judging several contests, I'd have to agree with Cynthia. Most of what I read is saved as a PDF, which is the easiest way for anyone else to read your material and yet keep it safe. If it's submitted in the scriptwriting program, most of them are in Final Draft. Maybe 5 out of every 100 are in Movie Magic Screenwriter.

The question is, does that mean that Final Draft won't let you save/print your script as a PDF? Will Movie Magic?

As a reader, my advice is that whichever program you use, send your script out as a PDF. It protects your work as much as possible and is universally the easiest way to read them. FYI, Movie Magic is a pain in the neck to read on screen. It's hard to zoom, it's harder to navigate through the pages, it's just plain impossible to get it to look good on screen. Or perhaps it just doesn't like my Mac. Since my advice is to ALWAYS make reading your script as easy as possible even if it's just for the person you're paying to proofread it, I would never recommend sending it out in the Movie Magic format. Investigate it further, surely there must be a way of sendig out a Movie Magic script as a PDF??

What Screenplay Program Do You Prefer??

I was at a Catholics in Entertainment meeting the other night where a writer asked the guest speaker, Barbara Gangi from Paulist Prods., the all important question, "does formatting make a difference?" It seemed he'd written a script and had been told it needed to be formatted correctly, with scene breaks, day parts, etc. He couldn't understand how that could make a difference, couldn't they see past that? I squelched the urge to groan and was grateful when Barbara confirmed what I've been saying all along - format matters. She put it much more nicely than I would have, suggesting that if given a script that looks neat and professional vs. one that's all in caps, wrong margins, etc., she's going to read the more professional looking one first. From my POV, I've read some crappy scripts that looked perfect but I've never read a great script that looked crappy.

The point was brought up that script writing programs are easy to use and not that expensive. It got me thinking - what do writers at large prefer? So take a moment to vote in my poll (see the sidebar). If you want to go further and share some reasons why you like (or dislike) certain programs, go to my new chat room and elaborate a bit.

Can't wait to see the results!!