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This Insider InkTip is from Philippa Burgess, literary manager at Mason/Burgess/Lifschultz,
who represents screenwriters working in Hollywood. The company shares clients
with the major agencies and deals directly with the studios and numerous
studio producers.
Philippa addresses a question that is often asked of us here at InkTip.com
(formerly Writersscriptnetwork.com), which is how should writers approach
reps and producers. This week we've got The Art of Query.
THE ART OF QUERY
Now that you've got your material together, you are ready to take on that
next important step of getting it into the right hands. Thus begins the
query process. As a manager, we receive thousands of queries, review them
all, and only request a handful out of every hundred. It is my sincere hope
that this provides you with valuable information to distinguish yourself
in that all-important next step of getting the right people to want to consider
your script.
Managers are usually the most responsive to queries from new writers. From
the industry's point of view, we are the front line to scout, develop, and
nurture new talent and material. Agents also accept queries, but they have
a larger client base and are typically more deal oriented, so they are usually
looking for material that is ready to sell. Some producers, especially those
who do not have deals with the studios, usually accept queries and may consider
un-represented material; however the more established studio producers typically
do not. You can either start with an e-mail query, hard copy letter or fax;
or a general e-mail inquiry to see what the submission policy is or if they
are currently considering new material. I recommend e-mail queries, and
at our company that is our preferred way of reviewing queries. You can just
send your query directly to agents and managers with your genre and logline
for their consideration. A general query is the more conservative way to
go about it, although I would only do this with e-mail. I would recommend
this approach more in the case of producers where their acceptance of submissions
is often restricted to material sent by a representative.
If you don't get an initial response to your e-mail, you may want to send
a letter instead (don't mention that they ignored your e-mail), but take
it as an opportunity to try an altered pitch on yourself or your material.
The standard letter query has mostly been replaced by e-mail, so don't forget
to include an e-mail address with your contact information in a hard copy
letter for the fastest response. In almost all cases do not expect to hear
back from them about a query unless they are requesting the material. Just
put it out there and let it go. It may take them up to a couple weeks to
review your query, but if you do not hear back from them by then, you can
assume they have reviewed it and are not interested. Move on to querying
new companies or eventually move on to your next idea. Keep in mind that
they are either not interested in your idea, or may not be interested in
considering ideas from new writers, either just for now or ever. And whatever
you do, do not send multiple query letters or follow up on the status of
a query.
Some e-mails queries are formatted as letters and can be addressed to an
individual, to the company, to the literary department, or as 'Dear Agent',
'Manager' or 'Producer'; while other inquiries are just the script facts
alone, and in that case there is no need to use a salutation at all. Any
of these forms are acceptable, but it doesn't hurt to have a personal approach
as long as you are sure that you have the correct information for whomever
you are addressing. All too often I get referred to as Mr. or Agent, and
it is forgivable but not favorable. It is also worth mentioning that although
e-mail is somewhat more informal than a regular letter, typos, misspellings
and bad grammar are never acceptable from someone who wants to be taken
seriously as a writer.
As a very short intro, or as an aside after you present your one or two
ideas, and only if it is noteworthy, you can mention any screenwriting awards,
top rankings in prestigious writing competitions, your experience or relationship
to the industry, any relevant film education or personal expertise on the
topic. With e-mail, your entire query is all best received in the body of
the text and not as an attachment, and NEVER send the script as an attachment
in a query. Just keep in mind with any query letters, less is usually more
and it is ultimately about the idea. Your query letter is serving as an
invitation for them to consider your material. This is not a resume for
a job interview or your life story. Your only request is to see if they
are interested in your idea; that they let you know and you will send it
to them for their consideration.
As a representative, what we are primarily looking for in a query is a
script that looks like it has the potential to sell in the 'spec market'.
The spec market is a unique buying situation where representatives blast
a script to studio buyers and it gets sold in a competitive bid. If you
want more information on what is selling on the spec market or what a logline
looks like, I recommend the Done Deal website at www.scriptsales.com*
and www.hollywoodlitsales.com
which track all the literary material being bought by the studios in any
given month. There are others, including
www.moviebytes.com, which also provide some similar tracking information
and additional resources.
The scripts that sell as specs tend to be very basic-genre driven. As someone
once told me that means the ideas ~sit in a chair, as opposed to falling
between chairs~. A basic-genre has a particular structure and certain story
beats that it needs to hit. The genres that typically have the most commercial
appeal are -- on the light side, comedy ~ which can be ~broad comedy~ for
a wider audience (LIAR, LIAR or BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE) or ~teen~ oriented
(AMERICAN PIE), romantic-comedy (SWEET HOME ALABAMA or THE WEDDING PLANNER),
action-comedy (LETHAL WEAPON or TRUE LIES); and -- on the dark side, action
(FAST AND THE FURIOUS), thriller (SIXTH SENSE), and horror (THE RING). Each
of these genres elicits a certain emotion from the audience unlike the terms
'period', 'sports', 'musical', 'family', or 'sci-fi, which can be married
to these basic genres.
Right up front we want to know the genre of the script because that's the
first thing that grabs our attention. Then we read the logline, which IS
the one or two 'sell' sentences that capture the story and hopefully, our
interest. The logline not only tells us the gist of the story, but it also
gives us just enough so that we are intrigued to want to know more. The
elusive ~high-concept~ usually fits squarely in a basic-genre and is something
that has an interesting twist. We want to hear those great new ideas that
work within the tried-and-true genre formula. These are the kind of projects
that studios are looking for from new writers (and they write the checks).
We personally don't like to consider dramas unless they are industry referrals
or they have received some recognition for exceptional writing. The reason
that we shy away from dramas is that they tend to be difficult to sell without
a high profile actor or director attachment. If you are pitching a drama
don't necessarily mention any actors in particular, but feel free to say
if there is a strong or attractive role for a male or female star. This
can be useful if perhaps that industry professional has certain actor relationships
and is looking to find a script that would have a great role for them. If
they think they can get a star involved it exponentially expands the project's
marketing potential.
I want to emphasize that there are a lot of scripts that you can write
that will find their way to the right people eventually, but they may not
be what you need right now to use as the tool to get that initial attention
you need to get started. Your arc as a writer is to transition from outsider
to insider, and the more access and credibility you have within the system
the easier it is to facilitate certain types of projects, especially dramas,
independent films, or something you would like to helm as a director. Also
consider that most of the movies you are seeing are ideas that have been
internally developed by studio producers, based on their own idea, an article,
a book adaptation, a re-make or a sequel. New writers' ideas are held to
a higher standard than a lot of what is getting made by the insiders.
I would suggest that you only include your best one or two scripts for
consideration. These should not only be your most commercial and compelling
ideas, but also great examples of your writing. For as much as I talk about
commerciality it is equally important that your scripts have creative passion
and craftsmanship. Whatever you do, don't tell us you've written 15, or
even several, because we'll assume they are all mediocre. Just send us the
best as it only takes one great script to interest us. Then we might just
ask you, 'what else do you have?' and that's when you can tell us.
On a final note, you should not see these manager, agent, and producer
entities as separate from each other, but all inextricably linked. Remember
that everyone is always on the look out for the next great thing so use
the interest from one to get the attention of the others. The query gets
you knocking at the door and I don't doubt it is with no less anticipation
as that of picking up a first date. Going with that analogy, remember you
want to make that great first impression, and if all goes well, you are
on your way to the second date.
* Done Deal also has a great message board, which is frequented by writers
at all professional levels and as well as industry professionals who chime
in with invaluable advise and counsel. This is a great forum to ask a question
or see what others have written in response to frequently asked questions.
Best Wishes,
Philippa Burgess, Mason/Burgess/Lifschultz
I hope you find this useful.
Jerrol LeBaron
President
www.InkTip.com (formerly www.WriterScriptNetwork.com)
Copyright by Jerrol LeBaron, 2003
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