As they say, your mileage may vary.....

LEARNING THE CRAFT

I spent zero. Started as a raw rookie here in 2014. Everything I have learned about screenwriting I have learned here or via Google, web articles, etc.

I did shell out for FINAL DRAFT - no regrets.

SELLING

I tried:

INKTIP - Sucked. Waste of money for me.

VIRTUAL PITCHFEST - Sucked. Waste of money for me. Now, I do know that some of the writers I have networked their have had success with script requests, etc - I know none that have gone through to completion.  The model there is really a false one. They advertise you get a guaranteed response. Well, you do - but since that response is a tick of the box form letter, you really have no clue if they read your pitch or not.

STAGE 32 - Okay for networking.  I would not buy anything there.  They do provide you nice details on who actually is going to be reviewing your pitch or doing your review - problem is, once you look them up - they're really nobody that is going to move the needle for you.  

BLACKLIST - A money pit, pyramid scheme IMO. Very early on (around 2015) gave them a whirl. Clearly - they are sent up to incentivize you to buy more reviews and chase that illusive 8. They are definitely in my rear window.

E-MAIL BLAST SERVICES - tried it once. Waste of money.

COMPETITIONS

I absolutely fucking love them. Two reasons.

It's fun. I do this for a hobby and I look at comp fees no different than if I played chess for a hobby and there was an entry fee for tournaments.

Two - they have been by most successful inroad to the industry (limited as it is). All of my feature options have come via contests or via Coverfly (a contest score aggregator).  Again, these ultimately failed (well, two are in the process of failing - still wobbling)... but it has been the only road that has worked for me. And I consider it merely the cost of competing in my hobby anyway.

Quoted from eldave1 As they say, your mileage may vary..... LEARNING THE CRAFT I spent zero. Started as a raw rookie here in 2014. Everything I have learned about screenwriting I have learned here or via Google, web articles, etc. I did shell out for FINAL DRAFT - no regrets. SELLING I tried: INKTIP - Sucked. Waste of money for me. VIRTUAL PITCHFEST - Sucked. Waste of money for me. Now, I do know that some of the writers I have networked their have had success with script requests, etc - I know none that have gone through to completion.  The model there is really a false one. They advertise you get a guaranteed response. Well, you do - but since that response is a tick of the box form letter, you really have no clue if they read your pitch or not. STAGE 32 - Okay for networking.  I would not buy anything there.  They do provide you nice details on who actually is going to be reviewing your pitch or doing your review - problem is, once you look them up - they're really nobody that is going to move the needle for you.   BLACKLIST - A money pit, pyramid scheme IMO. Very early on (around 2015) gave them a whirl. Clearly - they are sent up to incentivize you to buy more reviews and chase that illusive 8. They are definitely in my rear window. E-MAIL BLAST SERVICES - tried it once. Waste of money. COMPETITIONS I absolutely fucking love them. Two reasons. It's fun. I do this for a hobby and I look at comp fees no different than if I played chess for a hobby and there was an entry fee for tournaments. Two - they have been by most successful inroad to the industry (limited as it is). All of my feature options have come via contests or via Coverfly (a contest score aggregator).  Again, these ultimately failed (well, two are in the process of failing - still wobbling)... but it has been the only road that has worked for me. And I consider it merely the cost of competing in my hobby anyway.

Thanks, Dave for that great overview - and everyone else. Helps get a better feel for the screenwriting world right now. Like you, I'm using Inktip, but so far it feels like being in a used shirt bin at Goodwill. Haven't been back into writing long enough to do a major competition yet, but I will.

Quoted from Robert Timsah Thanks, Dave for that great overview - and everyone else. Helps get a better feel for the screenwriting world right now. Like you, I'm using Inktip, but so far it feels like being in a used shirt bin at Goodwill. Haven't been back into writing long enough to do a major competition yet, but I will.

No problem - best of luck in your endeavors