How can you leverage your contest or fellowship win to advance your film career?

1 Update your bio

One of the first things you should do after winning a contest or fellowship is to update your bio and resume with your achievement. This will help you stand out from other writers and show your credibility and potential to agents, managers, producers, and other industry professionals. You can also use your win as a hook to pitch yourself and your scripts to relevant contacts and platforms. For example, you can say something like "I'm a recent winner of the XYZ contest/fellowship with a script that's perfect for your company/genre/audience."

4 Seek further education and development

Winning a contest or fellowship doesn't mean you've learned everything there is to know about screenwriting. You should always seek further education and development to improve your craft and expand your skills. You can use your win as a springboard to apply for more contests, fellowships, grants, residencies, labs, workshops, and courses that can help you hone your voice, style, and vision. You can also use your win as a leverage to negotiate better deals, contracts, and terms for your work.

5 Follow up and follow through

Finally, winning a contest or fellowship is not the end of your journey, but the beginning. You should follow up and follow through with any leads, contacts, requests, or offers that you receive as a result of your win. You should also keep writing, rewriting, and producing new scripts that showcase your talent and versatility. You never know when your next opportunity or breakthrough will come, so you should always be ready and prepared to seize it.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?