Before you start writing your query letter, it is useful and important to understand the goal of a query letter. That is, what are you trying to achieve by writing the query letter?
Are you trying to find representation with a script agent? Are you trying to make contact with a producer to sell your movie idea or film/TV script? Are you trying to secure financing for a movie/TV project. In each of these cases a good query letter can help you achieve your goals.
How Jane Williams Found Success
Take for example Jane Williams (whose query letter you will see in a later post). Jane was looking to find an agent after writing screenplays for many years without any professional success. Jane put together a good quality query letter and sent it off using our Screenplay agent’s database.
Jane’s query letter was sent to over 400 agents. Can you guess how many of those 400 agents responded? Ten? Fifty? A hundred? Well, Jane actually received approximately 20-25 responses from agents. And not all of those responses were positive.
This leads us to a key point, if you write a good query letter are you guaranteed success. Of course not. Nothing is guaranteed in this life, especially in this industry. But what is guaranteed is that if you write a good query letter and have a great screenplay you will have a highly realistic shot at success.
Jane’s story is a good example of this. Her query letter was sent to over 400 agents and only 20-25 responded. No surprise there. This is actually a very good response rate. As Jane had written a romance/drama script, there are only so many agents looking to represent screenwriters of romance/drama scripts at any one time.
Trends and demands within Hollywood are constantly changing. But be sure of this. There will always be demand for your stories if they are well-written and entertaining. Now of those 20-25 agents who responded to Jane, can you guess how many wanted to see her screenplay?
Your Talented, But Who Knows It?
I’ll tell you the answer in a moment. But first, let me reveal a key secret. When a script agent or producer reads a query letter they are looking for one thing—that one thing is curbside appeal. They want to know very quickly if your movie or TV script is worth taking the time to look at.
Speaking from personal experience, and from the experience of my colleagues here at Script Mailer (who work as agents in the industry), we have all met great writers who wrote terrible query letters. It is really no surprise at all that it took many of these screenwriters decades to to find an agent and break into the industry.
Why? Because these writers were all terrible at selling their stories. I have no doubt that there are thousands upon thousands of wonderful screenplays out there gathering dust because their writers were either too afraid to contact agents and producers or they just, plain and simple, didn’t know how to pitch their stories in a good query letter. This is a terrible shame as the world needs more great scripts and entertainment.
Now, let’s get back to Jane and find out how many agents asked to read her script. The answer is 8. “Only 8!” I hear you cry. And of those eight how many agents asked to represent Jane after reading her screenplay . . . cue drumroll . . . the answer to that great question is . . . one. Yes, you heard right. Of all the script agents Jane sent her screenplay to only one of those agents offered to represent her. But why only one? Jane had a great query letter and a great script to back it up.
There are a couple of reasons for this. Because agents and producers only have so many people they can represent at any one time. Because of market demands. Because of limited time and a thousand other reasons. And bear this in mind. All these factors change on a month-to-month basis.
Jane sent her query letter out at the beginning of September 2013. If Jane had sent her query letter off in January or April the results would certainly have been different. She might have received more script agents willing to represent her or none at all. All this goes to show that the film and television industry, although highly lucrative, is both unpredictable and uncertain.
As we like to say, if we could guarantee your success, we’d have to charge six figures for using our service. (And as an aside, you might be interested to hear that Jane Williams received a $120,000 advance from a major studio after her agent shopped her screenplay around Hollywood. Yes, that one agent who was willing to represent Jane secured a six figure advance for her work. That’s why it’s important to remember this. To be successful, you only need one person to say, “yes”).
*Jennifer Sloane has worked as a screenplay agent in Los Angeles and Nashville for the last five years. Jennifer loves good movies, music and animals. A former television and movie executive, Jennifer currently heads business development at Script Mailer (a company that connects screenwriters with agents and producers in Hollywood).