Recently I noticed screenwriter posts that detailed how many submissions they did per each script they wrote. I was blown away by the shear volume of it. I already thought I wasn't doing enough by way of my scripts. My scripts are lucky to get submitted to 4-5 and those posts revealed that those guys were submitting to 300+ including every studio you've heard of and those that you barely heard of or never heard of.
So I'm turning over a new leaf soon, well as soon as I deal with the sh*t storm I'm currently dealing with as I make my way back to my home, Las Vegas.
What about you? 4-5 or hundreds of submissions for every script you wrote?
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Hi. Thanks for this thread. I'm just starting to submit my scripts and I would have fallen into the 4-5 category, but your post has made me think again. 300+? That's mad, or maybe that's what it takes. I will research.
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In my first couple of years trying to break in, I got pulled into the whole query culture thing. I ended up sending out hundreds of emails to what turned out to be dead email addresses and "thanks but no thanks" auto-responders.
It felt like spamming and vowed never to do it again.
I haven't sent a submission since mid 2013.
It can easily become a madness and form of gambling where time is spent instead of money where people adopt little more than a scatter gun approach.
I prefer to do things that pull people in toward me.
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CJ Walley "I prefer to do things that pull people in toward me."
That is a very good principle of marketing. I used to be a Google Adwords Consultant. That's all about getting targeted traffic, rather than old school marketing of "not knowing which half is responding". Spamming would never be the way to go. I guess I was just momentarily thinking that there might be that many opportunities out there. Let's say it still does take a high number, it should be a high number of targeted individuals that you've researched before hand. Thanks.
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That's the crux of it. There's this narrative around writing that you just need to get rejected enough times someone eventually says yes, and while there's some truth it that, the advent of email means that "strategy" can now become an obsessive delusion unless it's highly targeted.
Now I have a little juice as a producer, I get hit with read requests regularly and they always reek of self-serving opportunism.
That said, I know of plenty of writers who have has success submitting queries to the right people at the right time with the right content. All things in moderation.
It just wasn't for me. I find that trying to push things through creates the wrong kind of relationship. I'm not too surprised that almost every writer I know who's queried their way into getting an agent hasn't gone any further than that.
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I don't count how many times I submit a script, but the number is high. I search and search for leads and producers, directors, etc. who are looking for scripts. I customize my emails for each person. I add their name. I ask "How are you?" I thank them for their time/thank them for hearing my pitch. I try to keep my emails/queries short.
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Can you explain what "reek of self-serving opportunism" means, CJ Walley?
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Just blatantly copied and pasted generic copy with names switched over. Getting hit with concepts/genres/tone I have no track record with. The worst are people just trying to get to my producing partner through me - especially when I already run a free exposure platform they can take advantage of.
Screenwriters can be really creepy in their approach. It's why I refuse to support some of the advice on here that recommends cold approaching people on set, in the office, or while people are out enjoying their social life. There's been some suggestions on here that are bordering on deserving a restraining order LOL.
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CJ Walley Thanks again for your input here. "...reek of self-serving opportunism." Yes. We all hate being on the recieving end of that in any walk of life. Again to relate this back to marketing a product:- The best marketing meets the need of a problem.
Think about searching for and finding a piece of software or online service that solves your problem. As the searcher you are halfway sold when you find one. So much more powerful than randomly putting your product in front of random people.
In this respect I am wondering as to the usefulness of entering screenwriting competitions. Hopefully being read and making it deep, or even winning the competition, means you are closer to meeting the need of supplying the right script for that genre.Any thoughts on that?
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I guess my question at this point after reading all the responses is, isn't that what agents do? I mean when I looked at the spreadsheets of their submission loads it seemed like maybe that was an agent? They didn't say that but if I think about an agent I think they send out far and wide to their "contacts" list ie every studio gets the pitch that they can pitch to, have access to. Authors in the literary world send out hundreds too, I've seen that tons of times since that's where my journey started. So isn't it what they're used to in the movie world too? I'm not talking about hunting someone down at dinner I'm talking about emails because all that I saw seemed like that's what it was, just emails.
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WL. I can't even match an average of four or five submissions per script...let alone three hundred.
My stuff tends to be off the beaten path, what with my feeling more comfortable writing what I want to (instead of following trends) as far as spec scripts are concerned.
Right now, I'm averaging less than one submission per script...and that average would be even less if it weren't for my being on Network ISA. At least I'm finally trying to submit to agents/producers who've proven to look for material from new writers...and even then, I'm restricting my own submissions to stuff that resembles scripts the agents/producers have okayed from other writers in the past.
And I'm okay with averaging less than one send per screenplay. I just want to make sure I know what I'm doing...and I want to make sure I'm familiar with each company I'm querying.
Thanks for the post, WL! All the VERY BEST to you! (And I'm glad you're here on 32!)
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Who is your target market and then target that market. The pipeline is so clogged with trash that it's become impossible to find that one worthy script. True: It's like trying to take a sip from a fire hose.
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I had no idea there were writers that submitted each script 300+ times. I wonder if they're submitting it all at once, or waiting to hear feedback from the submission and then doing the revisions? I know I need to increase the number of scripts I submit.