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They sport names like InkTip Pitch Summit, Great American Pitchfest, FadeIn, Screenwriting Expo, Virtual Pitchfest, StoryLink, The Golden Pitchfest and more, and each year thousands of aspiring screenwriters without Hollywood connections attend these pitchfests for the opportunity to gain brief access to production executives, talent managers and literary agents in hopes of fulfilling their screenwriting dreams.

Likened to a ‘speed dating’ of screenplays, a pitchfest provides writers with access to production companies looking for material to option, agents and managers seeking new talent to represent, and other resources and information on launching a screenwriting career.

The concept is simple: give writers a few minutes to sell their screenplay ideas to big-time production executives and watch as the million-dollar deals get made and scripts green-lit. The reality is quite different, of course, but with preparation and reasonable expectations, writers can open some doors at least a little and get a few steps closer to their dreams of super-stardom.

A pitchfest is like an antiques roadshow, except with screenplays instead of cut glass punch bowls, and Ray Ban-wearing Hollywood producers instead of bow-tied antiques appraisers. But the process is basically the same. Writers stand in line, and when their turn comes they have a few minutes to present their scripts to the producers before being told to make way for the next nervous bard in line.

Methuen, MA-born screenwriter Don Levesque attended the popular Great American Pitchfest three years ago. “It was so much fun!” Levesque exhorted. “The best analogy I can make is that it felt like sledding when I was a kid. Anticipation, followed by a sheer adrenaline rush, followed by the excitement of getting to do it again.”

According to Signe Olynyk, organizer of the Great American Pitchfest, “Thousands of meetings happen in just a few hours, and many of the relationships that are formed begin the careers for many of our writers.”

The Great American Pitchfest occurs in June in Los Angeles. This year nearly 500 writers met with representatives from more than 100 production companies, talent managers, and agencies. Autumn brings another round of pitchfests in Los Angeles and at select film festivals around the country.

New England screenwriters can usually be found at each major pitchfest, hoping for the big break that moves them from Beverly, MA to Beverly Hills.

David Wheeler, Ph.D., is a tenured professor of marketing at Suffolk University, book author and aspiring screenwriter who uses his gift of Texas gab at numerous pitchfests.

“I’ve pitched at the Creative Screenwriting Expo six times. I plan to attend the Expo again in Los Angeles October 8-10th of this year,” noted Wheeler. He’s pitched at the Great American four times, most recently in June of this year.

Wheeler pitched his script Dying Changes You, loosely based on his book tour promoting his book Life After Death. Wheeler pitches his well-prepared logline, “It’s strange when you die, but life really gets weird when you go on a book tour.” It’s a great opener, and generates interest among the production execs.

It’s Who You Know

Production “exec” may be a misnomer. The established pitchfests will have representatives from dozens of Hollywood production companies. The representatives may be the actual producers. More likely the “exec” across the table from a writer will be an assistant to the producer. That could mean anything from a junior executive to a secretary to a mailroom clerk or even an unpaid intern fresh out of college.

While the assistant-level executives may not have decision-making power, their jobs at the pitchfests are to weed through the story pitches in search of the rare gem that will excite the producer into making it into a movie. The representatives gather up all the pitches, toss out the majority of them, and then present their boss with the few notable pitches for consideration.

A good executive will know a good script from one that isn’t right for their boss’s company. These representatives long to be producers themselves one day, and one way to do that is to find and attach themselves to a hit movie. Easier said than done, but it’s important for a writer to know that a good way to move his or her script into the Hollywood system is to get one of these “lowly” assistants excited enough about the script to stick his neck out and promote it to his boss.

Set Reasonable Expectations

Don’t expect to “sell” a screenplay at a pitchfest. The executives, assistants, and interns representing production companies leave their checkbooks at home.

A reasonable expectation would be that a certain, small number of executives may request to read your screenplay. That process itself may take weeks or months, and a major win from that process would be a general meeting with the production company. Beyond that is fantasy land. Big breaks do happen, but most writers advance their careers by small steps, not big leaps.

Boston-based writer Kristine Ochu went to the Great American Pitchfest in Burbank in June armed with five different scripts, two romantic comedies and three teen/family comedies. She weathered the lines of aspiring writers to meet with 13 production companies over an eight-hour day.

“I’ve done this twice before,” Ochu said. “My goal was to have at least three or more production companies actually ask for my script. It’s a tough scene and important to be realistic.”

Ochu exceeded her goal. Six production companies requested her scripts to read.

Beyond the preparation, a large amount of energy and stamina are also required to be “on” over and over in front of the development executives.

“I do believe I made valuable contacts but am realistic that they are not going to be falling over me. It’s up to me to follow up.” Ochu had modest success in the past with two scripts optioned but not produced. But she remains optimistic and committed to her calling. “If you love to write, you love to write.”

Pitchfest Logistics

The goal of every pitchfest is to put the writer in direct personal contact with Hollywood production executives, talent managers and literary agents. Each pitchfest attempts this objective in slightly different ways, and are sometimes differentiated from each other not so much by the caliber of the companies in attendance but by the logistics of funneling hundreds of writers through the speed dating process.

A common complaint regarding some pitchfests is that writers spend most of the day waiting in long lines and met with only a few development executives. Events such as the Great American Pitchfest and InkTip, for example, address this issue head-on as part of their marketing, promising access to a dozen or more executives for the single price of admission.

Plan to spend the day or weekend on your feet most of the time. The rooms are loud. You may lose your voice by the end of the day. You need to engage the executives right away and hold their attention. They are tired. Overwhelmed. Have to go to the bathroom. You need to bring your A-game.

Fortunately, many pitchfests start the weekend with a series of educational seminars and workshops to prepare you for the actual pitching sessions.

Many events also offer workshops and seminars for screenwriters on topics from creating loglines to Q&As with famous writers or directors. For example, noted script consultant and Winchester, MA, native Pilar Alessandra is a frequent speaker at screenwriting pitchfests such as the Great American and the InkTip Pitch Summit.

These seminars are sometimes free, included in the basic admission, or priced separately.

Have Fun and Follow Up

“I have learned that even if I don’t sell my script through the pitchfest, I am energized to write again,” notes Ochu. “I have met so many great people and also get a better feeling for what the market is looking for from a firsthand experience versus a magazine article.”

Writer Levesque garnered some sage advice from the parking lot attendant at his pitchfest. He said, ‘You’re gonna make a lot of contacts here, make sure that you keep in touch with the contacts that you make.’

But like so many others, Levesque let the opportunity slip through his hands. “I didn’t follow up, at least not as much as I should have. The guy working in the parking lot was right.”

Did that deter Levesque from future pitchfests? Not at all.

“Yeah, I’d go again,” he said. “But this time, I’d know what to expect and I would be a lot better prepared. Oh, and I’d make sure to keep in touch with the contacts that I make.”

Because in Hollywood, it’s not what you know, but…