I think the good ones are worth going for. But of course I owe a lot to the Tracking B contest since it got me repped with a top management company off being a finalist, and ultimately ending up 2nd.

But some of them won't lead to anything. You have to do some research and find out which ones are going to be worth it.

That's just my opinion. I'm obviously biased in some fashion.

I think there are some worth applying to, so long as you know exactly what you're going to be getting from them.

ScriptSavvy is a monthly contest that provides really good coverage and advice for your script if you want it. That, to me, is worth as much as trying to win it.

And the Nicholl is great. I was only a semi-finalist and I got lots of contacts from it.

It seems to me the ones that really matter are Nicholl, Slamdance, and Sundance. The latter seems best if you have a smaller, personal script; I don't think they're interested in helping people work on robot-filled blockbuster specs.

I may try TrackingB because only agents, etc read them. Nearly every other competition uses "low-paid" readers who may not really understand the elements that make a successful movie - or screenplay for that matter.

Well I think The Insider uses readers to sift through the entries for Tracking B but if you make the Finalist then all the people on the panel read the 8 final scripts.

But those people aren't going to sift through 900 something odd scripts.

The Insider is a great guy, extremely nice and helpful. I definitely recommend Tracking B because it's a little closer to the industry than most.

For me all contests are guilty pleasures -- all except the Nicholl.

Truth is, I don’t really care much for contests, but I do enter from time to time. Why? A chance for validation. A chance to fan the fires of that secret hope that this time my script is good enough. I know. Wrong reason. Guess that’s why I refer to early spring, when most contests begin, as The Silly Season.

Like I said: guilty pleasure.

Keep Writing!