As part of Max Timm's ongoing solo podcast, The Craft, this week's recording discusses how to approach submitting to screenplay contests, and what you should know before doing so.
Here is a little snippet from the podcast:
"So you’ve just written your masterpiece, and then rewrote it another 12 times, received notes from your writing group, paid a consultant to work with you, or you had your mom read it and she said that she loved it and you.
I hope your mom told you that she loves you, but I also hope you are not ONLY taking your mom’s word for it.
Nonetheless, you’ve finished your script, a bunch of people have instructed you to submit it to a screenplay contest. Now what? You do a little search through FilmFreeway.com or a Google search, etc, and now you’re inundated with choices. To which contest do you submit your masterpiece to and why?
This is a question that I get all the time and it’s a really good question, not just because of the writer’s obvious thoughtfulness, but we should be questioning such a thing. It’s important to have a plan when submitting to contests, but it’s just as important to have a little bit of self-awareness. “Really?”, you ask. “We’re getting in to some kind of spiritual, self-help thing now?” Not really, no. I’m not Eckhart Tolle or Deepak Chopra, nor am I going to try to be. I’m referencing self-awareness, though, because you have to have an understanding of where you are in not only your career as a screenwriter, but also how far along the script is in its development cycle."
If you're looking for support, feedback, script evaluations, one-on-one notes and brainstorming, you should consider working with Max and The Story Farm. They offer the most comprehensive consulting services you'll find as no one is as hands-on with you and your scripts as Max is. Go to www.TheStoryFarm.org to learn more, or email Max@thestoryfarm.org to talk with him directly.
Happy writing.