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Why Screenwriting Competitions and Writers Groups (Part 2 of 2)By Joseph Calabrese Okay. You wrote a great screenplay, got great feedback, and rewrote it many, many times (or so you should have). What's next? Sure, you will send a query letter out and make calls. You hope for the best, but how else can you get that script in your hands noticed and look worthwhile in the eyes of Hollywood? Screenwriting competitions are a way of getting your name and work out there. They increase your possible exposure, give you credibility and validate your hard work. The cash is a nice perk, too. Win one competition and you can even throw that award in the face of that know-it-all guy from your writers group who told you that the script sucked. My number one piece of advice is "don't go crazy." Be selective. I know a writer who wrote a low budget slasher/horror and entered it at the Nicholls Fellowship in Screenwriting (http://www.oscars.org/nicholl/index.html) with no results. Every competition has an eye toward certain genres, budgets, characters, and sometimes plots or locations. Do your homework. Look up the competitions and see what the past winners did. If your genre has NEVER won or even made semi-finals, don't enter. Choose carefully and use your money wisely for other avenues of promoting your work. A yearly subscription to IMdbPro (http://pro.imdb.com) or a copy of the Hollywood Creative Directory (www.hcdonline.com/) is better than submitting to a few competitions that only offer a fifty-dollar cash prize and nothing else. Choose "worthy" and "reputable" competitions. "Worthy" meaning what do you get besides some cash? - You're judged by industry people (who may like your script enough to rep you, buy it, or forward it to someone who will). - Do they send press releases out in the trades announcing the top scripts, or an e-mail blast to industry contacts? - Do they send copies of the winning or top scripts (or even loglines) to industry folks? - Is feedback offered? (Not many do, but it is a big plus and worth paying extra for.)
"Reputable" as in:
- They have been around a few years and have more than a few hundred submissions each year. - They DO NOT have a first look or automatic option clauses (in which they get to own your work). - Their winners actually went somewhere with their win. - They have a name that someone in the industry would recognize, or, at the least, don't think it's bogus, or has only ten entries. To not play favorites, I won't list competitions that fit those criteria. Poke around, ask other writers, or go to Moviebytes (http://www.moviebytes.com/) and check out the competitions coming up. If you ever have questions, e-mail the competition organizers and ask them. They'll be happy to tell you. Get your script ready! I don't care how good you think you are-- don't submit a first draft to any competition. You're not ready. It needs to be free of typos and grammatical errors, tweaked for pacing in readability and plenty of white space. There are always going to be logic and story weaknesses in a first draft, regardless of how well you prepared. If you can't proof it yourself, or know somebody adept who can, hire a professional editor (usually around $75 to $100 for a feature length screenplay). All right! Let's assume you are ready. You have a great script and you chose the competitions that you have a good shot at winning. Presenting, packaging, and mailing (or e-mailing) your submission. Follow the directions for the competition (read their website carefully). If they want three brads, give them brads and not those screws. If they want a cover with no info other than the title, do that. Make sure you send a check for the right amount, make sure your script is packaged safe and secure. They want it a particular way. Just do it. It's their contest. Many competitions are now accepting online submissions and there is a debate as to whether to submit on paper or not. Some people say that with a pdf (or whatever form they accept), a script reader may skim through or not give it the attention it deserves (who wants to read a 120 page e-mail?). Those comps that do accept pdfs insist that the readers they send pdfs to have a preference for reading it that way. These comps insist that it makes no difference in judging, however, I would ask if the pdfs are printed and sent out to the reader, or e-mailed as is. I personally am a bit wary of submitting pdfs and prefer to send paper whenever possible. There's something about holding a script in my hands that makes me want to read it. The choice is yours, but in either case, just having the capability of filling out, submitting the application and paying online is a boon to mankind. Speaking of which, Without A Box (http://www.withoutabox.com/v2/) offers a nice convenient service of applying, submitting, and tracking your submissions online to dozens of festivals and competitions that are part of their network. Submit before the deadline. Some people say early, some late, and some say it doesn't matter. I think most competitions start reading before the deadline. Why have your great opus in the mix with a massive pile of late arrivals? Send in early, but not too early, because they may forget your great story when they read ten other great stories a few days or weeks later. I like to shoot for three quarters into the competition's acceptance period, or a month before-- which ever is closest to when you are ready. Don't sit on your laurels. Winning any comp alone will not get that script sold. It's an all sides attack and getting kudos in competition is just the tip of the iceberg in getting your work noticed and hopefully someday soon-- sold. In the Next Issue-- My interview with 2007 Disney Fellow Chandus Jackson. Missed part one? Read it here. Joseph Calabrese moderates the online screenwriters forum at www.absolutewrite.com and is a screenwriter who consistently places in the top 10% in the competitions he enters. He modestly boasts a Slamdance win, a few options and rewrites for hires as well and is always actively pitching himself and his work. One of his latest spec scripts, The Eyes of Mara, is currently being made into a graphic novel for a late 2007 release with hopes of the screenplay being picked up by a studio. "Hey! It worked for Spiderman!" More on Joseph can be found at www.josephcalabrese.com. For more of Joseph Calabrese's screenwriting columns, click here. |
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