Coverfly provided a ton of resources and knowledge that helped build my confidence in my own screenwriting. Having screenplay contests all in one place helped focus my attention and build a strategy for myself. Covefly’s articles/blog posts also answered the questions I had on how to break into the industry.

I really loved getting direct support from their development staff after placing 2nd in TSL’s Free Screenplay Contest. Speaking with Tom [Dever] about my screenwriting goals totally prepared me for the conversations I’d have with reps around town. It also just helped to know I had someone I could ask stupid questions to since I didn’t have a manager!

- Khaila Amazan

The two biggest challenges to breaking in are craft: writing a bulletproof script that gets attention, and access: getting your work in front of industry folks who can help launch your career. There are plenty of solutions to the first challenge, like taking screenwriting classes, workshops, and joining a good writer’s group. But the Coverfly development team is committed to opening doors for emerging writers. When I was taking manager meetings, Lauren and her team worked on expanding my options by submitting samples to managers that I didn’t have any connections to. It’s been great having them in my corner.

A year ago I was living or dying by contest results. I’ve since learned that while they can play an important role in getting eyes on your work, they are not necessarily a referendum on the quality of your writing. The same script that won a big contest in 2020 and got me repped, failed to make it past the first round in seven different competitions that year. Contests and fellowships are useful tools to get traction, but never tie your self-worth or confidence to those results.

- Amadou Diallo

I’m an endorsed writer at Coverfly and Tom and the team have been an incredible support and constant advocate for me. This was my first time submitting to the Launchpad Feature Contest and, well obviously, I am happy with how I’ve done!

- Cate Honzl

Coverfly was absolutely instrumental in helping me sign with a representative. They are encouraging, have a wealth of knowledge and industry connections and effortlessly helped me find my perfect match. I would absolutely recommend other writers use Coverfly if they are struggling finding avenues to take their entertainment careers to the next level.   

- Helena Hawkes

I began writing the screenplay 13 years ago after coming out of a serious relationship, and am finally in production on it. The project is a postcard to New York City and all of the women in my life, both past and present, who have helped shape who I am today.

Coverfly provided me with amazing coverage on the project and helped me realize that the project isn’t a comedy as originally intended, but rather a drama with a dark comedic tone.

- Bandar Albuliwi

Coverfly has been an enormous boon to me as an aspiring screenwriter. Although I came to it merely to use it as a submission platform, I soon discovered the many other services and benefits it offers–at no cost–to authors like myself. After I started submitting, the Coverfly Score and RED LIST immediately increased my script’s visibility in the industry.

Because of this exposure, I was able to network with a writer/producer with whom I now have a nonexclusive shopping agreement to pitch my project to studios. I have received other inquiries from industry professionals through Coverfly as well, and Coverfly has offered to promote me and my project further with their community of pros.

- Stephen Woodworth

Working with Coverfly thus far has been a pleasure. The team is dynamic, personable and super reactive.

What drew me at first was the simplicity and efficiency of Coverfly, which was for me a perfect answer to the information overload you can often experience in the screenwriting world. The fact you can find so many great vetted competitions and script coverage services in one place is amazing. It makes it so much easier to map out a development and marketing strategy for a script and to give oneself deadlines through competitions.

- Stéphanie Joalland

I had been many years away from the industry and began my screenwriting career five years ago in a tiny apartment cuddled in the botanical garden of Cape Town, South Africa, led by screenwriter/director Matthew Kalil. Being all the way in South Africa as a writer seemed so distant from the action in Hollywood. How could I ever get my stories heard? Then Coverfly was suggested became the bridge to the gap. Coverfly is a meeting place where storytellers can get their work in the right hands.

Coverfly has an easy application process to contests and great service of reminding writers of contest deadlines.

- Lindiwe Mueller-Westernhagen

I’ve found Coverfly to be head and shoulders above other talent discovery programs. Their passion and energy are truly outstanding and the level of support amazing. You just feel like they really have your back, want you to succeed and will do anything to make that happen. To have that kind of passionate support and community spirit behind you is a great feeling. I’d like thank them for all their help. They’ve been fantastic.

- Patrick Holden

Coverfly is a great place to look at your project and your work as a whole. You don’t (and shouldn’t) base everything off one person or competition or festival – it’s more helpful to look at patterns in what’s working and what’s not. That’s where Coverfly comes in and helps you grow as a writer based off a cumulative response.

My experience was excellent. Geoffroy, a development exec, helped me so much in putting all my work together and getting it into the right hands. He really refines writers and prepares them for the next steps.

- Rachel Hein

I am beyond grateful that Coverfly connected me with a literary manager that ended up being a wonderful fit for me! I wouldn’t have otherwise had the opportunity to connect, and the folks at Coverfly have been so supportive and forthcoming.

My advice is to keep collaborating! Rewrite and be brave enough to put your work out there. Making your own writers’ groups with friends will allow you to give and receive feedback with your peers and build each other up. Don’t be afraid to keep improving, build your own momentum, and then put your best work out there for others to see!

- Serenity Garcia

There are definitely barriers to entry getting writing jobs. Coverfly has helped me push past the cycle of needing representation to get jobs and needing jobs to get representation.

I was pitched to coverfly, so I was happy to learn about the resources you were willing to offer, and the one-on-one support.

- Malloy Moseley

Coverfly has been instrumental in helping make all this happen. First, their portal: when I found their portal several years ago, I thought it was a perfect place to keep my updated scripts, get connected with other writers, and make entering competitions easier. It became so much more. As my writing improved and I started placing in competitions, the Red List became a place where industry folks and fellow writers could access them. Team Coverfly has actively connected me with managers and producers, helped set up meetings, and provided opportunities to pitch to Industry Professionals during Pitch Week. All of this…from Coverfly…for free. I can’t say enough about how Coverfly helps support upcoming writers and gets dreams ignited.

After winning the ScreenCraft True Story Competition in September, the team from Noble Story Co found me through Coverfly and just optioned ENDURANCE, the true story of Master Sergeant Cedric King. who survived an IED in Afghanistan in July 2012, witnessed the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013 while taking his first steps on prosthetics, and then committed his life to bringing hope to wounded veterans by completing the Boston Marathon less than one year later. I’m very excited to partner with Noble Story Co and look forward to helping them get it sold in 2021.

- Rich Orstad

It was great to be able to have a sensible, third-party perspective on the ‘ins and outs’ of the industry where, on the surface of things, everything appears immaculate. I was able to learn as we went along together, picking up certain wisdom and techniques in weaving through every threshold to start a career. if anything, Coverfly pushed me to become the writer that I am today, one who now confidently feels that they are ready.

- Malachi Moore

I was recommended to Coverfly by a friend! She told me about how much success she’d had with the team, and she wanted to spread the love, so to speak. They answered every question with speed, patience,  and an expertise that I hadn’t been fortunate to receive probably ever. They were an incredible resource to talk things through with, and they had a very clear plan from the beginning that helped guide me through everything. I couldn’t be more grateful.

- Nick Rodriguez

“Pitch Week was a breezy and most welcome chance to break free from the confinement of central-European filmmaking. My eyes were blood-shot tinies when I met with Dan and Chris from Echo Lake at 2 in the morning – but turns out, it was all good and well.

Cheesy, but be persistent, always. I’ve been putting myself out there through competitions, fellowships, virtual pitches etc. for ever. You never know which submission will suddenly bear fruit. Keep applying, and while you wait for your future representation to find you, keep writing. Love the process and trust there’s place in this world for your voice and your stories.”

- Maria Hinterkoerner

The biggest obstacle to my screenwriting career goals has been living abroad. I am from Guatemala, and even though I graduated from the LA Film School, I have had to build my career from home.

I received very personalized and friendly attention from Coverfly. I have had open communication with them, they’re always there when I have questions, and they really have given me more support than anyone else has on my career path. I am extremely grateful to have met them.

I worked very closely with the Coverfly staff to send my work to companies and managers that would fit well with my profile, and I had the good fortune of hitting it off with a very enthusiastic and excellent manager from Inclusion Management. Being LatinX, this was the perfect fit for me. Now I have the guidance and support to get my screenplays into the right hands to accomplish my goals.

- Javier Tessari

“I’m from Los Angeles, and grew up with two parents who were screenwriting partners. I watched my parents get jobs together and get fired together, look for work together and be unemployed together, almost sell a script together, and then not sell that script together. I didn’t understand as a kid what could possibly keep them going on this rollercoaster of heartbreak. It felt volatile and cruel, considering the other person in their partnership couldn’t pick up whatever slack was being led to dangle by this taunting industry of sorrow (I was a really dramatic child btw). I realized then, to my great dismay, that I also wanted to be a writer. I had denied that internal phone call for a long time, given all of this. But now I suppose I understand what kept my parents going all those years writing- if you don’t do it, that phone just keeps ringing and ringing and it’s very annoying. My goal with writing starting out was simply to get some peace and quiet.

I still have the same difficulty I’ve always had with it- which is that perpetual feeling of having a homework assignment due. Wanting to turn every experience into something translatable, and thus missing out on the experience itself, as I dissect it in real-time. Feeling badly for not doing an idea the justice of perfect execution, for muddying it up with my humanness, then remembering that the humanness is what I was seeking in the first place, being mad at myself for forgetting that, finishing it, experiencing the solid minute of elation, the most wonderful satisfaction imaginable, and then hearing the phone ring again, and it’s my internal boss telling me I’m not done ( then remembering I’m never done, of course, and so on and so on).

ScreenCraft has been a wonderful resource for me. I felt when I was first starting out that the most important thing to have was representation. If I had that, I would finally be able to relax (ha) and then I’d get some writing done (ha ha). At a certain point, I remembered I just wanted to write, and that’s what I did. One of the projects I wrote ended up receiving second place in Coverfly’s pilot writing competition, and Tom Dever and everyone at Screencraft has treated me like I received first place ever since. They just believed in my work. They’ve stopped at nothing to get me represented at a company that aligns with my goals. The positive reinforcement of having them on my side, plus the endless action around building a larger network of support for me is something I could never have given myself on my own, as much as I’d tried.

Coverfly’s pilot writing competition got me generals at major networks and production companies, one of which I was able to spin a job out of. Coverfly is an access point and I’d recommend getting involved with them to anyone who feels like they’re not being let in the door.

I’m working as a Creative Executive on a couple of shows (one is at Fremantle, and one is being produced by Brad Falchuk) and I’ve completed two script since quarantine, and starting a third today (I swear!) but mostly I’m looking forward to starting my new relationship at 3 Arts and feeling supported. Whenever I’m focused on “how will I ever get noticed,” I’m not writing. Screencraft helped me get noticed, so I’m looking forward to keeping my attention on the writing part.

Advice to aspiring writers… I feel like the correct answer is just “write.” And I agree with it. But I think I would add “and be soft with yourself when you aren’t.” If for no other reason, do the second part because it makes your writing better.”

- Moira O’Neill

Coverfly provided a ton of resources and knowledge that helped build my confidence in my own screenwriting. Having screenplay contests all in one place helped focus my attention and build a strategy for myself. Covefly’s articles/blog posts also answered the questions I had on how to break into the industry.

I really loved getting direct support from their development staff after placing 2nd in TSL’s Free Screenplay Contest. Speaking with Tom [Dever] about my screenwriting goals totally prepared me for the conversations I’d have with reps around town. It also just helped to know I had someone I could ask stupid questions to since I didn’t have a manager!

- Khaila Amazan

“Coverfly was a great and efficient way to meet people and get my story out. It was like speed dating, but for your career.

There is not one way to break into this industry. So try everything. Apply to festivals and fellowships, reach out to alumni, friends, friends of friends. Your third cousins’ sister-in-law. There are multiple paths to this industry, which can be a blessing and curse.”

- Brianna Adams

“I was compelled to write from a very young age. When I learned that I could combine it with my other passion for film, it was game over and I knew that it was the only thing I wanted to do. I started working in the industry when I was seventeen years old, without any prior connections, so some obstacles that I faced early on were access, and being taken seriously – because of my age and being a woman. I basically learned the politics of Hollywood the hard way. There was also a period where I didn’t write anything new for years, because I got stuck between working myself to death at very demanding industry jobs in order to make rent, and finding more time and energy to write. It was definitely tough to manage that work-life-dream balance. Took a lot of sacrifice and focus.

I began to really target my contest entries to programs where the main prizes or benefits were exposure. Launch Pad competitions kept coming up in recommendations, through other writers and research. So, I gave it a shot! Hoping to gain connections and more direct access to reps and producers.

Guidance! Working with Coverfly’s writer development team was such a great experience. They genuinely care about helping writers who are ready get to where they need to be in order to succeed. There are countless books, blogs, and other resources out there that can advise you on how to write better scripts, how to enter contests, how to network, how to query managers and agents. But there is almost zero information about what happens after that, once you get to the point of being on the brink of breaking in. Like the nitty gritty of what to expect once you’re signing with reps and really getting your work out there. Coverfly was so supportive, and helped guide me through that complicated and stressful period. For me, it was the first time that I really felt like I had someone in my corner, who understood all the struggles that writers go through and have helped many to successfully overcome them. I’m very grateful to them!

To continue building my team with my manager, and keep getting my winning pilot and other specs out to the town while strategizing my next moves. I’m most excited about just finally becoming a real working writer, and to persist on that path wherever it leads.

Having started out in the industry so young, without going to film school and having no connections, I just kind of threw myself into the fire and took jobs to get experience wherever I could. I wish I would have known to try and focus the work more specifically earlier on into areas that would more directly benefit my ultimate goal of becoming a screenwriter. Such as becoming a writer’s assistant or writer’s room PA. The idea of working at an agency terrified me, but in hindsight it might have been a good way to go. Also, keep in touch with literally everyone that you meet and work with! I worked as a set PA for a while and then got hired as a director’s assistant. But when that job ended a couple of years later, I wasn’t as connected with my production contacts anymore and essentially had to start all over again. It really is about who you know, so keep up your relationships genuinely!”

- Alexandra Amadio

“I’d say the biggest obstacle was having a writing sample and aspirations of breaking into the TV/Film writing world, but no connections or a clear way of connecting with industry folks. It always feels like a catch -22 when starting out that you need experience to break in, but no one will give you opportunities to gain experience.

A BIPOC TV writer, Camille Corbett raved about Coverfly, and was gracious enough to connect me. I was looking for guidance and advocates who cared about helping me progress as an up and comer in the industry.

Incredible! Specifically, Tom was always such an advocate of me and my writing, as well as invested in helping me achieve my goals. They were always there if I needed to ask a question, and offered great advice, and insight into the biz.

I just signed with Bellevue, and I am excited to develop that partnership, and continue working on samples and pursue staffing on a TV show.

Be persistent! Every single day I was strategizing on how I could help make my goals a reality, and ultimately that helped me achieve them.

As cliche as it sounds, don’t give up. Be reliable, consistent, personable, and specific about what you want, and watch it come to you!”

- India Gurley

“My biggest obstacle was location. Not being in LA made it much harder to be taken seriously by the industry. Also, I was writing female-driven content for a market owned and operated by men. If anything good can be said about 2020, it’s that these are much smaller obstacles for new writers now than when I was starting out!

Trust your instincts. Your gut is almost always right. (Case in point, back in 2006 I had an idea for a feature that essentially would’ve been BAD MOMS, which released in 2016, but let my reps convince me to write something with a male lead. I’ve lost count of how many ideas from my early files have been made very successfully by someone else.)

I already knew about Coverfly from submitting to competitions. I’m excited that a studio has expressed interest in one of my pilots, and look forward to announcing specifics when I can. It’s hard to reconcile having a banner year professionally during what’s objectively been the worst year of my lifetime in nearly every other category. The only way I’ve been able to own it is to keep making this promise: I’m a creator. I have a voice, and I’ll continue using it to amplify others’. And to the best of my ability, I commit to making writing and casting choices which allow everyone to see themselves represented on screen.

Study the craft. It’s much more than just having cool ideas or being great with words.

And don’t aim to write better than “the crap out there.” Aim to write better than you think you can.”

- Leanna Adams

“My biggest obstacle was location. Not being in LA made it much harder to be taken seriously by the industry. Also, I was writing female-driven content for a market owned and operated by men. If anything good can be said about 2020, it’s that these are much smaller obstacles for new writers now than when I was starting out!

Trust your instincts. Your gut is almost always right. (Case in point, back in 2006 I had an idea for a feature that essentially would’ve been BAD MOMS, which released in 2016, but let my reps convince me to write something with a male lead. I’ve lost count of how many ideas from my early files have been made very successfully by someone else.)

I already knew about Coverfly from submitting to competitions. I’m excited that a studio has expressed interest in one of my pilots, and look forward to announcing specifics when I can. It’s hard to reconcile having a banner year professionally during what’s objectively been the worst year of my lifetime in nearly every other category. The only way I’ve been able to own it is to keep making this promise: I’m a creator. I have a voice, and I’ll continue using it to amplify others’. And to the best of my ability, I commit to making writing and casting choices which allow everyone to see themselves represented on screen.

Study the craft. It’s much more than just having cool ideas or being great with words.

And don’t aim to write better than “the crap out there.” Aim to write better than you think you can.”

- Julie O’Hora

- Sam Josephs

- Tamika Lamison