How dramatic! Well, when the life of your precious story is at stake, yes!
You rejoice in the moment you finish your final draft of your screenplay! Your movie script is written! Indeed this is an applaudable moment, but the next step is a necessary and tricky one, which must be given the best approach for ultimate success.
Of course it is sensible to note that those of you who have been commissioned to write a script, or those who have contacts within the industry, you are lucky to not have to embark upon the Query Letter.
What is a Query Letter?
This is the key to open the door for your script. Query Letters are used in the book writing industry, as well as stage and screen.
Think of it this way:
You’re at a party and meet someone in the movie business. You have a few minutes before they get drunk to pitch your idea. You tell them the title, genre, and give a brief synopsis. If still sober, the executive might ask you a few brief questions about yourself and how you see your story fitting in the industry.
It is rare to be lucky enough to be at an event or in an elevator with someone who can give you a leg up and bypass the regular process of script submission. Therefore, the above conversation needs presenting in a letter to act as an opener to a potentially interested party; The Query Letter.
It helps to be “in the know” and understand what works best in a Query Letter, and so there are a number of services online to help you write or edit your Query Letter. I typically work for ScriptMailer, and take on the editorial provided via the web form from their website. This is a typical process yielding the same kind of information.
This brings us to the point if this post. I am focussing here on ensuring you fill out the required information as we see so often that clients fall short or get it wrong. Let’s look at what details are commonly asked for.
Query Letter Form:
Beyond the obvious contact details (name and email address), title, and genre, there are two sections which matter most and are pitfalls to those who rush through them.
What is your story about?
Author Biography.
What is your story about?
The first is essentially a brief synopsis. However, if you are submitting to an editorial service, then part of the job will be to help you cut that down and maintain the key story points. Now, the worst submission in this section from clients is too little information. This is not the place to copy and paste your log line and hope that it is enough.
You want to be entering enough to paint a fuller picture of your story but not worry about explaining the sub-plots and secondary characters. A page worth of information would be hitting the upper limit. It’s going to depend on the complexity of your story, but provide a summary of the three acts and ensure we see that journey of your main characters.
You also don’t want to be holding back the finale as a secret. This pitch goes to potential moviemakers, so they need to understand your ending.
What you don’t want to happen is have an editor work on your short story synopsis and have to bulk it out by adding in what they think fits. This can lead to mistakes and misinterpretation of your intentions.
You might now think, “So why doesn’t the editor get in touch with me and ask?” The problem is that for the time allocated and fee charged, there just isn’t enough time to allow for the back and forth of emailing to question and edit the perfect Query Letter.
Similarly, if you submit a copy of your screenplay with your form, don’t expect an editor to take an hour or three to read your script first. It just isn’t cost efficient. If you were to really want this service, I’m sure you could ask for an advanced package at an extra cost.
Example:
The screenplay follows a lazy, unemployed young woman who lives with her parents. She is forced to work due to a new scheme proposed by the state, where the unemployed are sent into the National Guard which creates animosity between the unemployed, the state and the National Guard.This example above is inadequate, as it doesn’t beg for interest and the desire to know more. It fails to show what will happen in the story or provide any sense of threat or the cost of failure. Just put yourself in the position of a producer who has millions of dollars to spend. Why should they pick up on your story and take that financial gamble?
Be aware of this:
You spend weeks, months, or years writing your script. You get to know and develop your characters and know how the story unfolds and what the scenes might look like. You get comfortable in your head. When it comes to a synopsis or some kind of pitch, you write with all this knowledge in your head and become a little presumptuous. The question is this, “Does what you have summarized accurately reflect what you mean in terms of a reader grasping your thoughts and ideas?”
Have a watch of my YouTube video here to understand this more.
Author Biography
This second section of information asks you for a biography. This is an area of concern as all to often what is written either falls short or is way too long and speaks of superfluous and irrelevant information.
This is your brief opportunity to display your accolades relevant to writing/film and show your passion for the craft. This is not to talk about where you grew up or which jobs you had on banana plantations or legal firms, unless relevant to the stories you write.
Try not to be too specific about your current script in your author bio. Essentially, the same biography covers multiple scripts across their respective Query Letters. You are always the same person with the same passions and credentials.
Please don’t ever misspell your own name! You may be in a rush, or not a native English speaker, but your name is your identity and must not be the mistake you make in writing.
Best of luck in promoting your story, and do reach out if you need help with your Query Letter:
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