Adding Supplemental Material to TV Pilot Contest Submissions to Gain an Edge Over the Competition

Photo by Arnel Hasanovic on Unsplash

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UPDATED 7/3/2020 AT BOTTOM

Submitting scripts to competitions and fellowships is a good way to gauge where your work is and how the industry will respond to it (especially when opting for the additional feedback). When I first started submitting to script competitions I was mostly submitting feature scripts, but I submitted one of my early TV scripts to a well-known competition once, and got a surprising note. The reader said the script "badly needed an episodic breakdown at the end of the teleplay" to determine if there was enough material to sustain a season or two.

I was surprised, and a little put off. In my limited experience with script competitions I understood that only the script was to be entered into the competition. I had, in fact, done extensive research on the subject of my series and had several seasons planned out already. I had character arcs, episode arcs, and season arcs, along with much more information about the themes of the series, etc., but had no idea that I was allowed to include that with my script.

I went back to the competition page to search the FAQs, and it didn't specify anywhere that I was allowed to include more information. I searched other competition pages, as well, and none (to this day) include any information on including supplemental material with my TV script submission. So, for future competitions I decided to be proactive and just ask. So far, two competitions have responded to my emails about whether they accept supplemental material with TV script submissions. Both WeScreenplay and ScreenCraft told me that I wasn't required to, but that I could include extra information like character breakdowns and season/series arcs if I wanted to.

Including these kinds of materials is incredibly helpful to a reader, who is not only trying to understand the script in hand in an incredibly short amount of time, but trying to know whether the series holds up for multiple seasons. I think it should be included right in the competition FAQs page whether or not they accept these kinds of supplemental materials so that beginning writers know that it's an option. But for those that read this blog, now you know! If you're submitting a TV pilot to a competition and don't know whether they will accept supplemental materials shoot them an email. ScreenCraft and WeScreenplay were both very quick to respond during the early submission period.

When you do include these materials you can put them at the end of the script with a page break to separate it. I generally title the page "Supplemental Materials" and then list descriptions of the main character(s), a quick season one breakdown, a paragraph of options for further season, and series themes. If you have other things you'd like the reader to know, like a really specific tone or style, you might want to add that as well. If you're submitting through Coverfly there is usually a box that asks for additional notes. This is where I note that supplemental materials are included at the end of the script, and I give the page number so readers can quickly jump down there.

Readers get hundred of scripts during competition season. Why not give yourself the advantage of having some extra material to help them get into your script?

Happy writing!

UPDATE

After some helpful feedback from professional competition readers I'd like to add a statement of caution. Your script should adequately describe your characters and set up your series. If the script doesn't fulfill all the qualifications for a top script adding additional material may hurt you, and the reader won't appreciate having to read extra material. Additionally, some competitions, in fact, do not allow supplemental material. So please make sure you know for sure when you submit your script and use discretion when deciding if, what, and how much to add.

If you're submitting a straightforward network comedy or drama additional info may not be necessary, as the format and character introductions are fairly straightforward. My advice is based on my experience and scripts, which tend to to be complex, slow-burn, historical, or genre and format bending. For example, a character that is introduced in the pilot as a hero may in fact be revealed as a villain halfway through the season. Or, a character that was introduced as secretive in the pilot may have a bombshell revelation about themselves that reading the pilot doesn't reveal, but a character description might shed some light on that secrecy and intrigue the reader. Should the intrigue already be there in the script? Absolutely. Does it help my score if the reader knows that information? Maybe not. But if they read it and understand a little better, I feel I've been helpful.

I'll continue to give updates in future posts as I get more feedback and as more scripts have been evaluated. So far, I have been told in one script that I should have included it and have been highly praised for a different script that included the materials (top 3% kind of praise). It's not a fair comparison, as they're two different scripts, but they are both waiting on feedback from several competitions in which I have or have not included supplemental material. I'll post again once I know more.

The experiment continues!

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Holly Holstein is a Los Angeles based writer with over ten years creating content. She writes independent reviews and articles and is not compensated for her posts. If you enjoy her articles, please sign up to become a member!