Lesson catalog

Professional Preparation

The query that gets opened

25 min

Fixes this hazard: Queries go unanswered, or read as mass-mailed.

Repairs: Professional Readiness · Marketability & Audience Connection

A query letter has one job: get someone to ask for the script. It is not a pitch document, not a synopsis, and definitely not a plea. One short paragraph, one clear ask, no attachments unless they were requested.

Structure it in three moves. Why them, specifically — name a film they made and a real reason your script belongs beside it. What it is — title, genre, page count, and the logline. Who you are — one sentence of relevant credibility, and if you have none, say nothing rather than inventing a hobby résumé.

Specificity is the entire filter. Executives and managers can tell a personalised query from a merged mailing in three seconds, and mass mailings are deleted at that speed. Ten researched queries outperform two hundred generic ones, consistently.

Track and follow up once. A polite single follow-up after two to three weeks is professional; three follow-ups is a reason to be remembered badly. Keep a simple log of who, when, and what they said, because the answer 'not this one, send the next' is a win.

HOW TO RUN IT

The three-move paragraph

  • Move 1: why them — name their film, one sentence.
  • Move 2: what it is — title, genre, pages, logline.
  • Move 3: who you are — one sentence, or nothing.
  • Close with a single question: may I send it?

Before you send

  • Confirm the name spelling and that they are still at that company.
  • No attachments. No 'this will be a huge hit'. No script in the body.
  • Log the date and set a single follow-up reminder for three weeks out.

BEFORE AND AFTER

Before

Dear Sir/Madam, I have written an amazing screenplay that audiences everywhere will love. Please find it attached.

After

Dear Ms Alvarez — you produced a contained thriller I admired for how much it did with one location, which is why I'm writing about mine. THE AUDIT is a 98-page thriller: a compliance officer finds her own signature on the document that killed twelve people, and has eleven days before the audit clears her employer. May I send it?

Named, specific, short, one ask, nothing attached.

The exercises

DO THE WORK HERE

Write your answers with the script open. Everything is saved on this device as you type — nothing is uploaded, and nothing is scored. The point is that the next draft is different from this one.

0/2

Exercise 1

0 words · 8 min

Name the one real producer or manager you are querying and the film of theirs you are citing.

One name. Not a list.

Exercise 2

0 words · 40 min

Draft the full query paragraph.

Under 150 words, three moves, one question at the end.

Saves as you type

The drill

Draft one query letter aimed at a single real producer, by name, and log the date you sent it with one follow-up reminder three weeks out.