Selling a spec that got produced "did absolutely nothing for my career" if you look at it from a certain perspective.

By that I mean, absolutely nothing came to me as a result of that accomplishment. No producers reaching out, no reps, "nothing."

But here& #39;s what it did do...

It became one other thing that I could point to when forging a career path for myself.

When I reached out to a producer to start a new relationship, the credit was there. When I negotiated my own rate on an OWA, the credit was there.

The contest placements have been similar...

Nobody "cares" that I placed in Nicholl and Austin in the same year.

But I will absolutely bring that up (when appropriate) if discussing one of the samples, and it will absolutely move me to the top of the read pile, where the script will either speak for itself or it won& #39;t...

The moral of the story is, all of it means "nothing" if you go in expecting it will do the legwork for you. Don& #39;t wait around hoping the opportunities will come to you.

Asking if something is "worth it" is the wrong question. Cost is relative. Ask what you can do with it.