There are a growing number of platforms that CAN provide writers with valuable exposure and CAN lead to options/sales/connections.

Coverfly could be one that works, they've tweaked the model somewhat, but from what I can see they're a development further down the path from the Blacklist.

If Coverfly works for writer's remains to be seen, and as CJ and other's have commented... kinda depends on if you think comps and arbitrary industry scores are important.

Actually, it depends on if Execs and Producer's think they mean anything!

So as it stands you've got
SimplyScripts
The Blacklist
Inktip
Coverfly
Script Revolution
SYS Select
Stage 32
Network ISA
MovieBytes
(Have I missed any?)

And that's just the places where you can list your scripts, with approx half being paid for services...

I see no reason why a writer shouldn't use all of the free services available, and when/if funds allow try the paid services for themselves.

Just my opinion of course.

So, here's a question after having heard different sides here. I personally don't enter contest. I don't do well in them. I did enter one this year though. I have however won and placed well in some long time ago when I was a complete newbie and had no idea what I was doing. Now when I'm more experienced, my scripts get picked up all the time. In fact, one script that I have now optioned twice, a feature, didn't even make QF in Bluecat. Congrats to Khamanna btw!. So, my question is, what matters more, like someone said, buying competition laurels or getting produced, even if not by Hollywood?

Quoted from Grandma Bear So, here's a question after having heard different sides here. I personally don't enter contest. I don't do well in them. I did enter one this year though. I have however won and placed well in some long time ago when I was a complete newbie and had no idea what I was doing. Now when I'm more experienced, my scripts get picked up all the time. In fact, one script that I have now optioned twice, a feature, didn't even make QF in Bluecat. Congrats to Khamanna btw!. So, my question is, what matters more, like someone said, buying competition laurels or getting produced, even if not by Hollywood?

Well, you don't seem to need contest placements to succeed Congrats on the option. I sort of feel like screenwriters go through phases in their journey. For instance, being a produced writer will open up new work for you. Also, if you have a Hollywood agent, you probably stop entering contests because all of your specs are being sent to the studios anyways.

I tested out Inktip this year with a script and I can tell you that contest placements (any and all) as well as being produced make a HUGE difference in getting attention. The magazine they send out has a section at the front for "contest scripts"...and we're not even talking Nicholl and Austin...Obscure contests even. Then after the contest scripts, the magazine turns into a less appealing inventory of everything else. Droves of scripts...hundreds. So, I think contest placements are definitely worth acquiring.

You have an advantage in that you are produced and experienced. Which BTW is probably better than the contest accolades.

Anyways, long story short, the script I posted was never entered in a contest and I'm somewhat new and have no shorts produced :p I wish I had waited till after this contest season ha ha

I don't think it's a waste for you to try contests though. I think they're great for testing your scripts and improving. As long as you don't get too down on yourself if you don't go far.

Good luck!

I guess my question is, do contests favor scripts that somehow filmmakers are not interest in. I know a few writers here at SS who are excellent writers and do VERY well in contests, but are yet to be produced. Do filmmakers and contests look at different things when judging scripts?

Getting produced is way more important imh, (as long as the Producers are worth their salt) though comp credits can get your script noticed and so ultimately produced.

Results are going to be erratic with 'shorts' in comps, in particular. Once you know how to write a script, format it correctly, have a good story etc., plaudits are always going to be subjective. You only need post a script in the OWC to see how varied feedback can be. Likewise, you could enter a script in five different comps and only place in one. Does that mean the first comp result was wrong and your script is crap? Course not.

Entering feature length screenplays in Nicholl, Page, etc., might be a different kettle of fish though, as these can maybe lead to big opportunities and leads.

Just don't let comp results determine your own self worth.

Quoted from Grandma Bear I guess my question is, do contests favor scripts that somehow filmmakers are not interest in. I know a few writers here at SS who are excellent writers and do VERY well in contests, but are yet to be produced. Do filmmakers and contests look at different things when judging scripts?

Yeah the big contests have a grading criteria (objective). Even if filmmakers or producers are on the jury, they still have to follow the contest guidelines. I'm sure if a script finds its way into the hands of a filmmaker, etc. - they judge the work by aligning their vision with the author (subjective).

It's a testament to the community here that the talent is abundant. Most writers who frequent and workshop on this site can compete in any given contest. Partly because a healthy portion of the competition is not as talented. I'd bet the crib that there's no shortage of entries that will ever make the cut without a significant overhaul. Their biggest disadvantage is time. The clock doesn't stop ticking.

I'd imagine there's a competitive advantage/savings for entering 'early bird', you pay less for a fresher set of eyes. But twenty scripts later, two weeks have passed by, potenitally followed with 50+ pages of notes. With thousands of entrants, seems to me like outsourcing readers to get through the first round would be the most efficient use of time and possibly money. From what I've heard - contest readers don't get paid very much - which means volume is key... or they read for the love of the grind. Either way, that equation alone sums up to too many outcomes IMO.

This is just the way I see it, my own assumptions. Someone here said the cream rises to the top and I think that's accurate. If an entrant makes it through later rounds, I feel you're safe from any unfair or volatile assessments.

Quoted from Grandma Bear I guess my question is, do contests favor scripts that somehow filmmakers are not interest in. I know a few writers here at SS who are excellent writers and do VERY well in contests, but are yet to be produced. Do filmmakers and contests look at different things when judging scripts?

IMO, contest winning scripts are good scripts. I spent a lot of time reading scripts on Script Revolution this year and the higher the placement, the better the script. And they do get made. Out of the 150 Academy Nicholl fellowship scripts 18 were made into movies. That’s pretty high for a contest for amateurs. Plus, a lot of the time a contest winning script will lead to an assignment for a movie or TV show ( This happens all the time, just check success stories on the contest sites).

Personally, I don’t think amateur scripts that are discovered outside of the contest scene would come close to the success rate. It does sometimes happen though (Meat by Logan Martin)

Now, scripts from writers that have agents is another thing. Most movies that are made are from this camp. But in my opinion, most were plucked from the contest scene for getting far. Ever wonder why you never see Nicholl Finalist or Austin Finalist, or even Screencraft winner on Script Revolution? Because they all have agents.

So, IMO contest judges are in line with the industry. Of course there are diamonds in the rough that go unnoticed, or bad scripts that can make it through.

Quoted from RJP So, IMO contest judges are in line with the industry.

Brings up a good point about non-contest assessments from filmmakers/producers. I'd imagine most scripts they read are vetted or evaluated in some way before they put eyes on it. Much rather be onboard an agency to filter through. I've never done paid coverage either. Just the comps.

If Simplyscripts.com / Don had a list to go by, I’d trust that above all others.  Based on the opinions from everyone here.

Quoted from Grandma Bear So, here's a question after having heard different sides here. I personally don't enter contest. I don't do well in them. I did enter one this year though. I have however won and placed well in some long time ago when I was a complete newbie and had no idea what I was doing. Now when I'm more experienced, my scripts get picked up all the time. In fact, one script that I have now optioned twice, a feature, didn't even make QF in Bluecat. Congrats to Khamanna btw!. So, my question is, what matters more, like someone said, buying competition laurels or getting produced, even if not by Hollywood?

The only thing that has value to anybody is something that helps that individual to move towards their own personal goal.

Ultimately, one must decide what they really want, work out the steps required to get there, then make the commitment and sacrifice to complete all those steps.

The more lofty the goal, the more steps, the bigger the necessary sacrifice...and you'll usually have to develop skills you might not already have.

If one's goal is to get paid a real sum for writing horror/thrillers and have their films made by genuine studios, for instance: One must write a good/great, commercially viable script or ten in that genre and then attract the attention, or creatively approach, the small group of people with the ability to make it, distribute it and market it.

Any effort outside of that, is effectively a waste of time.

A well made film by a relative unknown based on one of your scripts that is well marketed and has some impact on the world may be of use in attracting attention for another project.
A script that wins multiple awards and gets on the Bloodlist may similarily do the same.

A few short awards, or several (or even a hundred) mediocre productions is not going to do much.

You have to be pretty specific with what you want, and where you would be happy being.
How much money do you want to receive? Is the goal something else other than money?
Once you've got your target, then you have what you need to do essentially laid out for you...it's just a matter of doing it.

Easier said than done, of course.  

Quoted from Grandma Bear I guess my question is, do contests favor scripts that somehow filmmakers are not interest in. I know a few writers here at SS who are excellent writers and do VERY well in contests, but are yet to be produced. Do filmmakers and contests look at different things when judging scripts?

Every contest has a different philosophy (for want of a better word) they are all looking for different things.

What Shriekfest wants is different to what the Nicholls wants.

It's the same with Festivals: What Cannes and Berlin want are not the same as what an Action festival wants, or what Hollywood wants.

To succeed in any of them, you have to give them what they want.

Often, what the individual contest wants is in stark contrast to what filmmakers want, or even the Industry at large wants.

There is also a more practical concern: Contests don't have budgets. They evaluate the quality of the story, but a lot of the stories will require far too high a price to actually make.

In the old days, when I was more active online and had my "company" listed on sites like Inktip, I would receive many, many submissions online and offline. Often Nicholls winners  and semi finalists. The standard of writing was remarkably high. But often the scripts were essentially unproduceable. Many of the very best ones were Historical Epics based on the lives of niche individuals. A big studio would lose fortunes making them, and no-one else would have the resources.

Despite them being meticulously researched, beautifully written they had less than zero commercial value.

A less than mediocre, generic, micro budget found footage horror would be more use to most filmmakers. Make it for almost nothing and make it scary, market it well, and you might turn a modest profit.

Basically, even an objectively much worse script can be more useful to a filmmaker.


These are the Nicholl's guidlines:

Does the story have an original premise?
Does that story idea start the movie forward?
Does the story itself have a strong beginning, middle & end? How about two out of three? If the story is non-linear, does it make sense?
Does this script make you feel that the writer is taking you on a journey?
Does the story connect with you emotionally, whether it's a comedy or drama or another genre?
Voice
Does the script have a distinctive and original voice? (Or do you feel that you've read or seen this movie before?)
Are the premise, story and characters new or fresh for you?
Does reading the script make you think, 'This person genuinely has the potential to develop into a professional writer'?
Characters
Does this script have vivid characters who each speak in their own voice?
Do you want to know what happens to them?
Does the central character change over the course of the story? If it's an ensemble film, does more than one character change?
Do the dialogue and tone seem consistent from scene to scene?
Does the way the people speak fit the tone and setting of the story?
Craft
Does this writer know how to use description and dialogue to create suspense, tension, drama, comedy and conflict? Does the conflict propel the story forward?
Do the main characters take actions that move the story along?
Are these actions in keeping with who these people are? Or do they happen 'conveniently'?
Meaning and Magic
Does this script genuinely make you want to keep reading? Are the themes of the story thought-provoking, across genres? Is the story 'about something' that might spark discussion among friends?
When you finish reading the script, even if it has flaws, do you still feel that there's something special about it? Is there an indescribable 'something' that elevates this script above the ordinary?


Note, there is absolutely no judgement on whether the script is a viable commercial product.
So you could win, but have an essentially useless script.

Here's a pretty good discussion:

https://medium.com/art-science.....etition-cd98f6602d35

This guy pretty much sums up what I was trying to say:

Peter Samuelson: I think I read it differently as a producer than if I had another professional background. As a producer, I'm looking for stories that will actually work as a film. There's no great merit in writing a script that never gets made, and therefore I'm looking for feasibility. I'm looking for finance-ability and I'm looking for commerciality, as well as just a cracking good story in any genre.

A lot of the other people are looking for different things...they are looking for writers, not scripts.

Quoted from jayrex If Simplyscripts.com / Don had a list to go by, I’d trust that above all others.  Based on the opinions from everyone here.

Alas, I have no list.  I, too, rely on the opinions of those on this site.

- Don

Quoted from jayrex If Simplyscripts.com / Don had a list to go by, I’d trust that above all others.  Based on the opinions from everyone here.

Don does have a list, Jay. It's called One week challenge! Get your @$$ in that! GoGo!

Wow, so many defend this garbage. And they/you don't even realize that those companies wish that free sites as Simplyscripts go down and disappear.

Quoted from PrussianMosby Wow, so many defend this garbage. And they/you don't even realize that those companies wish that free sites as Simplyscripts go down and disappear.

Look, we can't all be screenwriters. It's a super competitive and sought after field. Think of Actors...they go to acting school. They move to LA. They go on cattle calls where they COMPETE with hundreds of other actors for the role. They don't pay an entry fee, but it does cost them. They have to pay their rent...transportation. And in the end, they all can't get the part can they? Less than 1% of them will make a living as an actor. Now, are you going to stand outside the university with a picket sign demanding that all acting schools be closed because it "preys on the dreams" of aspiring actors. Who are you to tell them they can't try to pursue that dream?

Let's go back to screenwriting. This idea that screenplay contests "prey" on the dreams of aspiring writers. How do you propose finding talent? Hold contests with zero entry fee? They don't have the manpower to do that...do you have any idea how many thousands of scripts are floating around? 110 pages that need to be read and evaluated... It's a harsh system...but if you submit to a dozen contest and you don't make quarters in any of them, you need a better script. You need to get better.

Then people say "Getting far in a contest doesn't mean anything" or "The readers don't know what they're doing." Well, they're THE SAME readers that are filtering through the slush at all the biggest studios. They read contests in their spare time.

I will just end with one thing. CJ Walley is one of the big proponents against contests. I believe 100% that the guy means well by this. However, when he built Script Revolution, he curated a list of scripts that were featured on the front page. They were given posters and such. Almost ALL of those scripts were contest winning/placing scripts. I'm pretty sure every feature length was a contest script...why did he do that? Just take some time to let that sink in...why? Why didn't he read through the other hundreds of uploaded scripts (and 90% of those other scripts had NO contest placements) and choose just as many of those to be featured? Why did he place value in the contest scripts?