Countless competitions, script consultants, and coverage services are falling over themselves to provide you with feedback on your script. But what about your logline? Who can you turn to provide professional feedback on the one sentence that can open the door to industry reads?

Your logline is your one-sentence movie pitch. It’s what producers and agents want to hear before they’ll even glance at your script. Ideally, you should have a solid logline in place before you even start writing your script, because if your idea doesn’t work as a logline, you can be pretty damn sure it won’t work as a script.

Plenty of articles go into the details of how to craft loglines, and those articles can be extremely helpful guides. But ultimately, you have to sit down and write your logline. And it has to be amazing. And there aren’t many people offering to help.

That’s why we’ve started the LA Screenwriter Logline Competition.

Why Should I Enter The Logline Contest?

Winning our monthly competition comes with its share of perks, but everyone who enters this contest comes out ahead, because every single logline submitted receives detailed feedback* in five days or less. For an entry fee of just $9.90, LA Screenwriter will give you a detailed breakdown of your logline’s strengths and weaknesses and provide you with suggestions for making your logline stronger.

You don’t need to have written the script to submit a logline, and you can submit as many loglines as you like each month, including variations of the same logline.

What Will My Feedback Include?

We grade loglines on the six Cs. Your logline must be:

• Clear – The logline is simple to read, easily understood, and grammatically correct.
• Creative – The idea presented feels unique OR like a fresh take on a common story type.
• Complete – The logline manages to get across all of the most important elements of the idea (the main character, the world, the problem, the stakes).
• Concise – The logline is high concept. It doesn’t waste words and is no more than two sentences long (ideally one).
• Compelling – The logline is attention-grabbing, uses emotionally charged language, and avoids clichés. (By “emotional” words, we mean words that evoke an emotional response in the reader.)
• Commercial – The idea should draw the attention of producers, investors, or managers. It hits (ideally) all four quadrants.

Every logline receives a score from 1-10 in each of these categories, including an explanation of why your logline scored the way it did. See our Sample Feedback* to get a better sense of what we’re talking about.

What Do I Get If I Win?

Each month, one grand prize winner and two finalists will be announced. The winner and finalists will be notified by the end of each month, and their names and winning loglines will be posted on LA Screenwriter (skip to the next section if you’d rather keep your logline private).

The Monthly Winner receives:

• 6-month Citizen Membership to Talentville.com
• 5 Pitch Package from Virtual Pitch Fest
• 5-year membership to the Script Pipeline Writer’s Database
• Promotion on LA Screenwriter
• Free Logline Polish by LA Screenwriter founder Angela Bourassa

Two Monthly Finalists receive:

• 6-month Preferred Membership to Talentville.com
• Promotion on LA Screenwriter
• Free Logline Polish by LA Screenwriter founder Angela Bourassa

Find full descriptions on our Prizes page.

What If I Don’t Want My Logline Shared?

If you’d rather not share your logline with the world, you can still submit your logline for feedback and decline to participate in the contest. You’ll be provided with that option when you submit your logline.

Bear in mind that people end up writing similar ideas all the time in Hollywood, and keeping your logline to yourself probably won’t prevent that from happening. Loglines are ideas, and ideas can’t be copyrighted (more on this here). If you’d like to copyright your scripts, you can do that through the WGA or the US Copyright Office.

Can I Submit Loglines for Television Pilots?

Absolutely. As long as your logline is for your own television or film script idea (no plays or books), we’ll provide you with feedback and consider it in the contest. Just make sure the idea is entirely your own. Loglines for spec television scripts (i.e. “I’ve got this idea for an episode of Grey’s Anatomy…&rdquo are ineligible.

How Do I Enter?

Each month, entries are accepted until midnight PST on the 25th. Winners and finalists are announced on the last day of the month (or the closest weekday). You can enter as many loglines as you like, including variations of the same logline, but you’ll have to pay a separate entry fee of $9.90 for each one.

Once your logline is ready, go to the SUBMIT NOW page and make your payment using the Pay Now button. Once your payment is sent, you’ll be directed to an online form for submitting your logline. The form includes an option for opting out of the contest and receiving feedback only.

Repeat the process as many times as you like in order to submit multiple loglines. If you have any problems with your submission, please email LAScreenwriterLoglines@gmail.com.

I’m Ready to Enter!

Submit Now

For more info visit: http://la-screenwriter.com

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