Tweestorm: Jeff Willis on Query Letters

Back when Twitter was fun, screenwriters would sometimes string together a series of tweets - what came to be known as "tweetstorms." Advice, personal anecdotes, reflections on the craft. It was pretty awesome.

The only problem: Once the tweetstorm came ... it went.

So, I took to contacting the writers and asking if I could reprint their tweetstorm at Go Into The Story. That way, they'd at least be stored where folks could access them in the future.

Here's an example: In May 2015, Jeff Willis, who has worked for years in business affairs, posted a series of tweets about the subject of query letters. Reprinted in its entirety by permission.

This morning, @BrendonUdy asked specifically for some insight on querying, so that’ll be the focus of this week’s series.

Querying is time consuming to do well, and at the end of the day you’re more likely than not to walk away from the process empty-handed.

The upside is that writers aren’t trying to sell a high-volume product like merchandise. We’re selling big-ticket items, like a cars.

And like a car salesman, we’re going to hear a lot of No before we find just the right customer who will say Yes.

Those extremely rare Yes people on our big-ticket item are what offset the dozens, maybe hundreds of No people that came before them.

But that doesn’t make it any easier when sending out query after query and hearing No after No (in all its variants) for long stretches.

There are two key pieces of info to understand and embrace about querying to help avoid getting frustrated at a lack of positive response:

1) Most reps/execs are approached w/ hundreds or even thousands of projects every year. They have A LOT of choices for their limited time.

2) Not everyone responds to the same things. Even if you stand out, your script still might not be one they’re passionate about pursuing.

Sometimes companies just aren’t looking for new material. Or they already have a similar project in development.

Not all of those factors are under your control as a writer or even necessarily have anything to do with your script specifically.

And please don’t take that last tweet as justification for convincing yourself that things out of your control are what’s holding you back.

And most often it IS the script that someone’s not responding to. Most just aren’t interesting/good enough to want to take the time to read.

By far, the most common query response is no response. And it’s impossible to tell why they didn’t request when there’s no reason given.

Response rates to queries are incredibly low. It’s not unusual to have a <10% response rate even when it’s a solid, professional query.

And while response rates can be instructive insofar as they can tell you how well your pitch is landing with your intended audience…

…don’t get mired down in the stats. Just because your last query got a better response doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with this one.

IMO, monitor response rates only to the point where it indicates a clear problem (e.g. dozens of queries and no response of any kind).

But beyond that, don’t obsess over the numbers. There is no magic response rate number that guarantees a successful query campaign.

Don’t freak out over submission specifics. Email is easiest, cheapest, and usually preferred… but hard copies do occasionally circulate.

Also, the subject line should be descriptive (e.g. Query — TITLE [Genre]), but there are no rigid format specifics. Just make it clear.

So all that said, what goes into a successful query letter? Each recipient is different, but here’s my list of general points:

Infusing a little personality in your letter is great… but treat this like the professional correspondence that it is.

2) Do NOT make assumptions like how much money you think the movie will make, why you’re sure it will win Oscars, etc.

People in this business understand those things are impossible to guarantee at the script stage. Those claims make you seem unprofessional.

If you want to talk your script up, stick to things you can speak authoritatively about, like the actual merits of the script itself.

3) Keep it short. Intro, couple of BRIEF paragraphs about yourself/project, offer to send, closing. It doesn’t need to be a dissertation.

4) Make them individualized. Don’t just change the address and salutation and send out the exact same form letter to everyone.

And send it to a specific person rather than an “info” email address or to a general “To Whom It May Concern:”

If you can, put something personal in there. Maybe congratulate the recipient on recent good news or cite some of their work you admire.

It’s a lot of work to tailor each query to an individual recipient, but also the single best thing you can do to increase odds of response.

It shows the recipient that you’ve taken the time research and seek them out specifically…

… rather than just copying and pasting their info into a generic form that you’re sending out everywhere without discernment.

5) Include a great logline and the genre. You’d be surprised how many have terrible loglines or don’t specify what type of movie it is.

Take your logline for a few test runs first. Ask friends, other writers, etc. Make sure people are responding to the concept and phrasing.

6) Include something about yourself. Tell them who you are and (if possible) what sets you apart from the thousands of other hopefuls.

If you don’t have any actual industry/writing experience, try a personal anecdote or what compelled you to write this particular script.

For me, I don’t find it all that impressive when this space is used to talk up contest results, unless that contest is one of the few…

…that are widely recognized for quality (Nicholl, the writing fellowships, etc.) AND you won or placed in the top 2–5% of all entries.

With all that said, the two last bits of advice I have about querying are this:

1) Learn when to let go. Like I said in my series a couple weeks ago, if it’s not a Yes, it’s a No.

And even if it’s a Yes to read the script, don’t keep forcing the issue if you’ve followed up and haven’t heard back.

Which leads me to my last point…

I have countless stories of friends who dropped all their writing efforts to agonize over read requests and the results of those requests.

Or who wasted weeks or months trying to force interest in something they didn’t realize the recipient was trying to politely decline.

The best way to stay sane in the query game is to send it off and then forget about it. Assume you’re not going to get a response.

That way if you don’t get a response (likely), you’re not disappointed. And if you DO get a response, your expectations will be exceeded.

Let those occasional read requests be a pleasant surprise rather than stewing over all the people who haven’t gotten back to you.

Jeff Willis has spent the past decade working in studio business affairs and production management. He started his career as an assistant at Beacon Pictures (BRING IT ON, AIR FORCE ONE), then moved on to work with startup production companies Our Stories Films (WHO’S YOUR CADDY, JUMPING THE BROOM) and Troika Pictures (THE CALL). He’s been with The Weinstein Company (DJANGO UNCHAINED, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK) for the past four years and currently serves as their Vice President of Business Affairs & Production Administration. Jeff is also a screenwriter; his first produced feature (THE RIGHT GIRL, written with Bob Saenz (@bobsnz)) is in post-production and due to air on Pixl TV and ABC Family in the coming months.

You may see all of the Screenwriting Tweetstorms archived on the site here.

Comment Archive