I don't know if you guys have been following events, but things are getting a little crazy. I'm late to the party myself, as I've had my head buried in an assignment.
Highlights include:
Nicholl now only allowing entry via The Black List or via various schools (details unclear)
WeScreenPlay, ScreenCraft, The Script Lab, and Launch Pad shut down
Coverfly X shut down.
Talk of Coverfly itself potentially shutting down (last I read, it's staying up)
The reaction out there is not good, especially on Reddit's r/screenwriting, where you'd think the only opportunities out there were Black List, Nicholl, and Coverfly.
Personally, I think it's time to call it a day with all this. Coverage can all too easily be AI-generated now. There was really only one competition worth caring about, and now its credentials are questionable.
You throw in the fact most pitching services are paying the industry member a cut to be pitched to, and it's all pretty dire.
I'll be glad to see it all go. I feel that a lot of it is basically gambling. Although, it does make me wonder where people will turn.
I tried tracking board last week - had never heard of it before - and got out of it the same day. Hadn't been updated in a loooong time, and saw nothing there that would seem to move a script. Might have been good in its day, but that day is gone. Coverfly never did much for me -- it's great if you enter contests, but my contest days are pretty much over... my scripts just sat there (even my Academy Nicholl QF script never got a download). Script Revolution is still the best place to be seen by the Indie's. I've had two sales here, one on Inktip (which is now too expenseive for my blood, though I maintain a small presense there for the time being, but do not get any traction).
If memory serves, there are/were two Tracking Boards (or a TrackingB?). One did have a positive reputation for awhile, and yes, one website I remember being outdated even years ago when I visited it. Again, I don't know which is which or whatever, but good riddance to more of these sites.
Great thread, sad, but informative. There are also a lot of scam contests or script coverages out there now. Seems to be more so than before.
I really like Coverfly:
1) It is FREE.
2) If you enter contests, it's great for tracking your script versions and your contest results.
I'll be sorry to see it go.
I really like Script Revolution:
1) It's free (or voluntarily be a Rockstar for very small $$ - I have since inception)
2) Great place for hosting your scripts which - personally - I think gives you IP protection in some way. Very easy to track dates of scripts, views, etc.
3) Good place to option Shorts for sure.
I like SimplyScripts
1) It's free
2) I've met a lot of fellow writers there
3) I've learned a lot there
SCRIPTFELLA (Dominic Morgan)
In my view, the absolute best script review and/or writing class on the planet. It is expensive, but I believe well worth it.
STILL PERCOLATING ON - THE GAUNTLET
I really like the model.
I tried it - made it to the second level and received notes/coverage.
I think the site is honest - straight forward.
Still deciding if I got the bang for the buck
I REALLY DO NOT LIKE
Inktip, Virtual PitchFest, Blacklist, Stage32 Services (the actual free site is fine), etc. They basically charge exorbitant fees for magical access to the gatekeepers, I do not believe they have this access.
Notes from screenwriting competitions. I ever never understood why people would pay for notes from an anonymous reader.
I agree that paying for anonymous notes is insane. Paying for notes at all is pretty crazy, in my opinion. Getting notes at all is a poor way of learning the craft.
Sadly, a lot of strange stuff has become normalised, and a lot of it is down to communities as much as it is down to service providers.
The Black List was never supposed to be a feedback service. The founder has said repeatedly not to show up with poorly developed scripts looking for direction. Alas, the majority of screenwriters seem to fall back to it being a feedback and ranking site, which I guess helps justify the cost in their eyes. That in turn has led to competitions being expected to provide feedback, and the sudden demand for cheap and nasty anonymous coverage. You create a need, and capitalism will prey on it.
I do think that Coverfly aggregating a lot of subjectivity did count for something. Not a great deal, but certainly more than the fragmented mass of subjectivity writers were trying to leverage before. It's still all mainly bollocks though. Bollocks combined with gambling.
ScriptHop's The Gauntlet and SpecScout are the only two realistic evaluation services I know of. They are the only ones doing that right, but the cost of doing it right is high in a world of cheap lottery tickets. You only have to look at the industry's views vs the writer community's views.
Everything is broken and it's been getting worse for well over a decade. A lot of it is down to how communities have been run, particularly the likes of DoneDealPro and Reddit's r/screenwriting, which have pretty much become indoctrination machines.
Looks like Stage 32 is filling the Covefly void: https://www.stage32.com/blog/stage-32-launches-global-screenwriting-cont...
Hi all,
Just took a look at the new Stage32 Global Screenwriting Contest Hub, and all I can say is, "meh". I am not a fan of 32 to begin with (years ago, I spent my share of dollars gaining "access to all those producers" as well), and I think many of you on this post are of the same mind. For me, I am a fan of ScriptHop and The Gauntlet, no question. To me, if you are serious about your work, and you put in the effort, then spending some dough on The Gauntlet is the best bang for your buck. I wrote about this in a SR blog post some time back and you can see it here.
I recently got trolled by a producer via Stage32 who claims she is seeking 10 new and emerging screenwriters to "add to her slate" for the coming year. It's a long pitch, and eventually, when she thinks she has you hooked and salivating, she drops the fact that you will need to invest $10k just to get the ball rolling. She's got meager credits on IMDB, but makes the pitch sound like she is soooooo... connected, blah, blah, blah. My point being, as has already been said, there are so many scams and cleverly wrapped schemes out there, they prey on the novice or someone who is desperate to get noticed.
The Gauntlet works, gives you solid feedback and highly actionalbe suggestions. Just sayin'.....
I'll miss Coverfly. I'm not enthused about Stage 32 becoming a contest hub since I'm not comfortable hosting my scripts on that platform. I like ISA and hope they'll expand to include even more competitions screenwriters can submit to via their platform.
Also, I received the exact same hyped-up emails from the producer Clark mentioned — eleven over the course of two weeks, begining June 23rd. Some even included videos of her delivering her spiel. The first email began, "If you’re getting this, it’s because at some point — a consult, a pitch, or a script — you stood out. I tagged you in my [redacted] files as “Writer with Promise.” I don’t hand that label out lightly..."
Oh yeah? Then why did she ghost me after requesting my comedy almost immediately via Virtual Pitch Fest a few years ago? (I followed up twice.) Quite the hustler. No thanks!
I'm really really glad I'm no longer in this game - I'm in the different one, of trying to actually produce the stories I've written. Good luck with that, but I'll keep you informed of any developments.
But as for Stage 32, and Coverfly for that matter, my own long past connection to them was that a 3-month membership was won via a contest (I think). What spooked me about Coverfly was how they'd have records for contests I entered. I didn't see the connection, but I think they said that "some" contests conveyed the information to them. Pretty useless, and I never did anything with it. As for Script 32, I just felt it was a money-making machine akin to Black List, so the "membership" I won never got used.
So why are these background facts, and recent developments, of interest to me?
Because I've never been able to get off of Stage 32's annoying maillist. At least Coverfly never bothered me (except today's announcement about it's coming fate).
And how much do you want to bet that somehow Stage 32 starts to ping me up because of a maillist they buy from Coverfly? Or maybe it's far more simple: They just bulk mail every screenwriter on their own existing maillist and offer a way to "import" their data into Stage 32, or that somehow they can offer you the same services that Coverfly did ... for 50% off for the first 3 months!
Yep, I am SOOOOOO glad I'm off that part of the dream.
All the submissions posted on Coverfly are also on SR, FF and ISA. Will deleting them from coverfly affect them on the other platforms? Also, why would I need to export data, and where to?
I think they're encouraging us to post on FF as opposed to S32 because three of their top techies are now at Stage 32.
"I do think that Coverfly aggregating a lot of subjectivity did count for something. Not a great deal, but certainly more than the fragmented mass of subjectivity writers were trying to leverage before. It's still all mainly bollocks though. Bollocks combined with gambling."
Thanks for this CJ, gave me a good laugh. I'm an inveterate gambler, lotteries only now, although I used to enter The Reader's Digest and various other contests when they were done by PO mail and not on-line. I won lots of merch but never the big bucks!
> Also, why would I need to export data, and where to?
The very thing I did before I checked the forums here this morning was blow away my "Deleted Email" folder contents in my email client, so I no longer have the email Coverfly sent me about this. Somebody else should have it, or there should be some sort of announcement on the site itself. It was a step-by-step for getting a full record of your stuff on Coverfly. I track everything that I do anyway so it didn't matter to me, but for those who used Coverfly I gather it could be useful or important.
Hi Steve, Coverfly already did an export data early this morning and it's in my Download. As none of my scripts on Coverfly were currently submitted to any programs or competitions I deleted them.
Shame about Coverfly folding, I liked the medallions they awarded and being on their Red List one time!
I saw all this coming miles away down the Jersey Turnpike. Once Nicholl and Coverfly threw in the towel, I knew a certain someone was gonna step up with a dramatic announcement to "altruistically" step-up to be top-dog and offer their services to land you a Hollywood career! Instead, another entire generation will sink thousands into this with no more to show for it in the end than debt.
This has a streaming wars feel to it: Stage 32 vs. Black List vs. (maybe?) Film Freeway. Whoever wins in the end means little to nothing, just like the odds of them breaking a screenwriter into the business.
As Steve mentioned, I too am glad I'm no longer in this game (not the writing aspect, but the nonsense competitions, coverage services, pitch sessions, etc.). I've literally lost writer-friends to this delusional madness, watching them subsist on anecdotal success stories thinking they're going to be next. After over 25 years, it never happened, and probably never will.
I can see Netflix doing a documentary about all this someday, in their "Trainwreck" series.
I made an episode about the death of these services. In my opinion they were all a bit scammy. I think the term "coverage" is an indication. Coverage for who? There is no universal standard. If I am a producer looking for a horror, I don't care that someone gave a romcom a "recommend".
Eduction is a completely different matter. But many of these services would help you move closer to a Save The Cat conforming screenplay with little to no education. I suspect that this is because they lacked the deep understanding of the craft themselves.
It is a hard truth to face. The sheer number of screenwriting hopefuls is why it is so hard to be heard. The only defence the industry has against the flood is to build walls to keep us out. Many of these services promised ladders.
I know I'm late to the party here, but is ISA of any use at all?
Believe it or not, I think InkTip is legit because of something that happened to me a few years ago. I accidentally overpaid them and InkTip, without me needing to contact them for a refund, offered to give me my money back. Honestly, I didn't even realize I'd overpaid them until they told me of their own volition. They could have just stolen the money and scarpered and I wouldn't have noticed.
I've read some horror stories about ISA sucking people in and trying to bleed them dry whilst offering nothing useful in return though. Several of those stories, all within the last year or so, involved needing to contact TheresachinRecovery INC in order to get their money back. How much credibility those stories have is something I'm not 100% certain about but it apparently happened multiple times.
I don't have much experience of ISA, but there's certainly a hate campaign out there aimed at the founder. I got some email circulating that was clearly some sort of smear campaign. I'd be very wary of anything critical right now. The email also signed off with a competitor's site. It might have been created to try to stir things up.
Inktip are very much legit. It's much like Script Revolution, where there's no gambling, and that tends to make a platform look boring. It's been more effective than most, it seems, for quite some time now.
inkTip has been very good in making sure that everything works for me. As far as script hosting sites, it's one of the best in terms of communication. I just wish it wasn't so expensive.
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