Are screenwriting contests worth entering for newbies? It’s a question I get quite often. Probably because new(ish) screenwriters don’t (usually) have vast reserves of money — unless their name ends in Reitman — and they’re not sure that $25 here or $75 here in entrance fee will be worth it.
So, let’s dig into this a little bit. (And lay out a plan for why you would — or would not — want to enter screenwriting contests if you’re just getting started as a film scribbler.
Screenwriting Contests and the Newbie Writer
We’ll define newbie as somebody who has written one, maybe two full-length screenplays. But certainly you can write five screenplays and still like you know next to nothing. (But then you watch Transfomers 2, and realize you know so much more than you think you do.)
But I digress…
So, the real question about whether screenplay contests worth considering depends on your intended goal.
IF YOU WANNA GET AN AGENT OR SELL YOUR SCRIPT…
You will (likely) be disappointed. Unless you’re a screenwriter unicorn and blessed, instantly, with talent and you turn in a piece of unparalleled genius to one of the more reputable screenwriting competitions out there.
This is because as Andy Weir, the author of The Martian, mentioned in a writing panel I attended:
“The first novel I wrote was horrible. And I knew it. The second novel I thought was good. And it was horrible. The third novel I wrote was The Martian.”
You have to get past the “I suck” phase, and then beyond the “I’m amazing” phase, until you get to the “I kinda know what I’m doing” phase.
You have to get past the “I suck” phase, and then beyond the “I’m amazing” phase, until you get to the “I kinda know what I’m doing” phase.
And that takes time. (And usually about four or five screenplays to truly learn how to write a script.)
IF YOU WANNA MAKE MONEY…
There are easier ways to make money. Having judged more than a few screenplay competitions, I can tell you most of these are designed to MAKE MONEY…not give it out.
That isn’t to say you can’t win some prize money. Usually, though, you’ll win free schwag from the contest sponsor. (Which may or may not be that great.)
IF YOU WANNA GET (REAL) COVERAGE…
Buy real coverage. I know some contests make great promises about the “feedback” you get. But most of the time your script is being read by a lowly-paid automaton — like I was — or even worse, an unpaid intern. This isn’t always the case, but it’s hard to know, before you send in a check to a screenplay contest.
IF YOU WANNA TRACK YOUR PROGRESS….
Then this is the PERFECT reason to enter a screenplay contest. Not to become massively rich — or get an agent overnight — but see where you are, in relation, to other newbie screenwriters, and keep tabs on your own trajectory.
The first script you enter into contests might not get you anything. Probably.
But pretty soon, with your second script, you become a semi-finalist in some random contest out of Bakersfield. And then suddenly, with your third script, you become a finalist, in multiple contests.
Think of them like short story contests. Winning one doesn’t mean you’ll get a publishing deal with Wiley. But it does mean your one step closer to the writing dream you’ve always had.
Think of them like short story contests. Winning one doesn’t mean you’ll get a publishing deal with Wiley. But it does mean your one step closer to the writing dream you’ve always had.
And that can, sometimes, worth the price of any admission.
What’s Your Screenwriter Take?
Which screenwriting contests have you entered? Let us know in the comments below!
