The Query Letter

Everyone asks about the importance of the query letter. Writers often feel stumped by the style, significance and length of this missive.

If you want to sell your material you had better pay attention. The query letter can make or break your big chance at getting read.

As an agent, I received thousands of letters over the years. They arrived every day. The worst letter began, “I have wrote a script.” Now what do you think I did with this letter?

That’s right, the circular file. It hit the trash before I reached the writer's name. You might think that this sort of letter is impossible, but it was real, and it wasn’t the only poorly written cover letter that I’ve received.

Sometimes the writers go on and on about themselves or their work. Sometimes they tell nothing about themselves or their work. Either way is bad.

Here’s the story of a good query letter. One day, I received a letter in the mail. In it, The writer told me a little bit about himself and added about two (2) paragraphs about his latest screenplay. It was a fascinating idea about the discovery, in current day, of the Garden of Eden. There were no misspellings, no grammatical errors, no cross-outs and no superfluous information.

I grabbed the phone, called the young man, and asked him to bring in the script.

I read the script the day that it arrived. It was wonderful, creative, smart, interesting, very well formatted and professional. It also had heart and amazing visual potential. I phoned him before I even finished the script and made an appointment for him come in to meet with me the very next day. At that point in his life he and his wife were selling their old CDs to buy gas for their car.

We met and discussed his many, many other ideas and completed screenplays. We signed contracts and I went to work.

Within a week, my phone was ringing off the hook from production companies and studio executives who had heard about this script and wanted to read it. They sent messengers day and night to pick it up.

Disney studios stepped up to the plate and I made a deal for this young writer, on his first sale, for $750,000.00 plus profits.

Your query letter is your introduction. It tells the reader who you are. Paying attention to what seem to be the small things in life can sometimes mean everything.