Advice to Nicholl Fellowship participants
Yesterday I posted this about the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition. Some of you made the quarterfinals and I asked for any advice from previous successful participants. John posted a comment I thought was quite helpful for any of who have done well in some of the major screenwriting competitions (e.g., Nicholl, Austin, Scriptapalooza). Here is John’s comment in its entirety:
I made the QFs with an action/adventure in 2007 and the semifinals/top 30 with an historical/sports/biopic in 2009.
Each year, in the fall, the Nicholl sends out a list of q/sf/finalists to more than 200 folks the industry. The list contains the script’s title, genre and writer’s contact information.
When the list went out in October of 2007, the industry was 2 weeks away from the start of the WGA writer’s strike. I received 10–12 e-mails asking to see the script from prodcos, management firms and a couple of agencies, but everything went on hold because of the strike.
In the spring, it was hip-pocketed and shopped by an agent. Although it didn’t sell, it helped build a network of development execs who asked to see future work.
The historical biopic, even though it placed much higher, triggered only half as many requests — no more than 5–6. The genre is a tough sell, next to impossible with no attachments and a newb writer.
Among those requests was a manager, who liked the writing, asked to see my other scripts, and ended up signing me. She’s used the biopic as a writing sample, and just recently turned up a potential writing assignment from a producer who’s optioned a book with parallel themes.
In terms of advice for this year’s finalists, what I’ve heard, learned and picked up along the way…
- Don’t be shy about using the Nicholl placement as the second sentence of your 2-sentence e-mail pitches. It has clout.
- If you’re unrepped, target the top management firms that are a good fit, as well as second-tier and reputable boutique agencies.
- Hit the production companies you’ve scoped out as being aligned with your spec’s genre, scale and thematics.
- Don’t wait for the list to come out. Greg Beal, who runs the contest, consistently advises entrants to stay active in marketing their scripts throughout the late summer and fall.
- Lastly, get in whatever rewrites, polishes and proofing are needed before the list goes out this fall. You’ll be fielding requests, absolutely.
Congrats to all who made the cut this year — a tough one, with a record number of entries!
John makes an important point: You can use whatever success you’ve attained in a major screenwriting competition to bolster your email queries. “I’m a Nicholl quarterfinalist. Here is the logline to my latest spec script.” Logline and out.
The larger point John makes is this: It all comes down to the quality of your story. This was hammered home — yet again — yesterday when I participated in a live-chat session with several Screenwriting Master Class writers, Tom Benedek and Adam Kolbrenner, producer and cofounder of the management company Madhouse Entertainment. This is a quote from Adam in that conversation:
“Great scripts find their way to the top. Great material always gets read and passed along and careers start. It all starts on the page.”
It all starts on the page.
If that isn’t a print-worthy quote, I don’t know what is.
Thanks, John, for your advice.
Now everybody, go put it down on the page!