Earlier this year, despite some solid success, I let the Inkshares funding campaign for Mission 51 end without asking for an extension for two reasons: I wanted to focus on the writing and not on the campaigning, and I wanted to submit Mission 51 to Hollywood’s Launch Pad Competition 2016. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed it didn’t make it to the finalist group, but today I received some very strong encouragement!
I received the formal Feedback Notes from Launch Pad, essentially an opinion about my submitted sample from an industry judge. Let me give you a few excerpts from the report:
"This is a knockout premise, and those are very rare."
"The fact that Mat’s story... is an immigrant story, takes this premise from being a great high concept to being a great high concept with real emotional subtext, and one that has resonance with our modern world today."
"The pages here consistently communicate the story clearly, with great momentum, and a very palpable sense of empathy for ALL the characters... This is a great read, and a very capable execution of a highly evocative premise. This project has tremendous potential."
"The quality of the writing here, not just on the conceptual level, but also in terms of the story in these pages and the writing of that story, is uniformly strong. The dialogue’s good too, voice specific and smart in its use of subtext."
"This project feels like it has strong potential for either a TV or feature adaptation, and stands on its own as a great read as a manuscript."
Well isn’t that just awesome!!! I am greatly encouraged that I am on the right track!
Looking forward to the next suitable Inkshares contest so I can jump in and try again. I really want you to read the story!
Peace, and Happy Thanksgiving!
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First, congratulations to everyone selected for The List 2016 -- very happy for all of you. There are some amazing stories there. I have to confess, however, I’m still a little confused about how this competition and Launchpad will interact.
So, I understand from some comments here and from the FAQ for The List, that for those who are in both competitions, Launchpad "trumps" The List (for lack of a better word) and if those who are in both win Launchpad, then they are eliminated from The List.
However, if you look at the leaderboard for Launchpad right now, the three leading books have all disappeared giving the appearance that they’re no longer in the competition. So it currently shows me in the #1 spot by a single reader, which is delightful but unfortunately inaccurate.
Do those of us who are only in Launchpad need to check both competitions to figure out where we really are in the standings? Or do I clearly need some more coffee because I’m just not "getting it." (which in the week leading up to having both families at my house for Thanksgiving is ENTIRELY possible. :-))
Thanks for any clarity you can provide!