Aside from contests, the Black List 3.0, and other sites that allow you to keep your script in a database in the hopes that some enterprising agent/manager/producer will find them (Tracking Board, Spec Scout, etc.) the only way to gain the attention of Hollywood is to query. This is something I’ve put off, partially because I wasn’t confident enough in my work and partially because it’s intimidating. As evidenced by my short time as a telemarketer (I lasted three days) I’m not one for soliciting or marketing myself. I would much prefer someone stumbles on my work and recognizes me for the genius I am without me having to submit myself to the awkwardness of asking strangers for personal favors.

Alas, ’tis not the type o’ world we live in. So I wrote a query letter. It’s generic so I can tailor it as needed:

Dear (Insert name of Agent/Manager/Producer),
LOGLINE
This is the story of (INSERT TITLE OF SCRIPT). It is a (GENRE) that has (ACCOLADES from CONTESTS or BLACK LIST).
If you would like to read the full script, contact me via the information provided.
Thank you,

Craig Gusmann

This is how it turned out for The Inhabitors:

Dear (Insert name of Agent/Manager/Producer),
A broken young man and his friends struggle with the ethical implications of using a mysterious box to control the consciousness and view the memories of others. As he learns the secrets people keep, and the secrets his friends have kept from one another, he spirals into madness.
This is the story of THE INHABITORS. It is a Science Fiction Thriller that recently placed as a Semifinalist in the Screencraft Screenwriting Fellowship and was rated a 9 from a reader on the Black List 3.0.
Based on your work on (INSERT PROMINENT TITLES) I think you would enjoy THE INHABITORS. If you would like to read the full script, please contact me via the information provided.
Thank you,

Craig Gusmann

I plan on further tailoring it based on what I find the needs/wants of each respective agent/manager/producer is. I cobbled this together based on advice I’ve read in several places online, including the Done Deal Pro Forums, blogs, and common sense. What seems to be the most prominent advice is to be concise. You’re soliciting busy people who are already inundated with unwanted solicitations. Be polite, be concise, be unique if you can.

My letter isn’t super unique in any way. I kept it straightforward and focused for one main reason: Professionalism. My sense of the unique or humerous, I’ve found, tends to be different from others and also long-winded. My favorite jokes are rambling, incoherent messes that don’t reveal themselves until later. Don’t know why. So, for me, adding too personal a spin on a query letter is a tenuous prospect. I believe that my logline is strong enough, my premise interesting enough, that it will get me at least a few reads.

As I experiment and send queries I will post statistics and lessons learned. Until then, I’m going to have a drink to tame my crippling anxiety.