Hi! Has anyone seen Wendy Kram's webinar on writing a good query letter or elevator pitch? If you have, I have a quick question. I watched it, and I got some good things out of it!
However, it seemed to me that her examples were mostly made for people who either
A. Won a contest or two
B. Have access to warm referrals such as people in the biz or people who know people in the biz, etc.
C. They are experts in the perspective field in which they write the screenplay.
D. They have a true story or have rights to a good source that would make the agent, manager or producer sit up and notice.
Here is my question: What if you have none of that? How do you format your query?
Now let me say this: only answer if you are excited about your chances of making it. If you are a person who is a Debbie/Dennis downer, please, respectively, keep your answers to yourself. I know this industry can be tough but other people have made it in, so why not you? In other words, no pessimistic stuff.
If you don't have none of those qualifications stated, how would YOU address your subject in your query and how would YOU go about making yourself stand out?
Example: You are a waitress who wrote an outstanding screenplay about:
a fairy who has to escape his planet after he accidentally killed the son of a king and the only way to dodge being executed is to hop on the next space thing to Earth where he starts a new life.
You know no one, you didn't graduate from high school, let alone college, you won no contests, etc. But you've always been a GREAT storyteller.
I appreciate the help.
Peaches
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Hi, Janelle Rollins. I haven't seen Wendy Kram's webinar yet, but I made a post that might help. www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Tips-for-Writing-an-Email-Query-Letter
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Hi Janelle! I'm in your shoes as far as none of the things you mention except one--I entered my completed screenplay in a number of festivals late last year, not expecting much and already have two wins, one "finalist" and one "official selection." The festivals themselves aren't that large or reputable compared to say ISA, DIFF, or PAGE, but they are still objective validations of the screenplay I wrote. I bring this up because if you have a completed screenplay, you might consider entering it into a contest or festival. There are plenty of cheap ones (in the $10-25 range) and they often provide discounts. If your screenplay collects a couple of laurels, it might be the foot-in-the-door attribute that gets your query letter noticed. Maurice's guidance in the link he shared is also great. I bookmarked it just now for future reference.
Also no Downer here! My motto is "persistence rewards talent" (a Michael Stackpole quote). In other words, as long as I hone my craft and continuously improve, it's only a matter of time before something lands. It might be a year from now or a decade from now, one screenplay or ten screenplays later, but at some point, I hope to break through. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the journey and the learning. Good luck to you! Please keep us posted on your progress.
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Hi Janelle, think about your connection to the material. What made you write it? Don't include a long story in your query about your writing process, but a sentence about it can help get you there. The people you are querying are just looking for some credentials. I bet you have them, you're just not seeing it yet! Keep writing.