Hey folks - I just had a very interesting conversation with an executive at a major studio.
He said to me, "If I get a query email that is a mile long, I bother don't read it. If someone can't say who they are, what they want, and why I'm the guy to help them in 5 sentences - then they clearly aren't ready."
Whether we agree or disagree - I think he illustrates an interesting point. Industry professionals receive and send hundreds of emails a day. They're making dozens of calls a day. (One Studio Head famously wouldn't let his phone calls last more than 30 SECONDS!)
I have found that the shorter I make my email the more quickly I get a reply. My goal is that they can read and respond in 2 minutes or less. Anyone else?
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Jason Mirch yes I would think this is part of the writer's capabilities in any format,
to be concise.
In the industry, it demonstrates respect and appreciation for everyone's time and energy, shows that we took the time to edit any written communications down to the essential "executive summary."
And purely in the sense of craft, we should be able to connect, entertain and focus the momentary enthusiasm of a development executive the same way we strive to capture the attention of a reader or an audience,
so I think it is a totally valid expectation on the part of a studio executive or industry person who lives in a constant flood of pitches, comms and material, to require writers to understand and work to these imperatives.
Yep, yeah, yes. As someone who often writes novels as emails and also receives them - save the novels for your friends. Keep things short and sweet with your professional contacts. I've had high-level professionals respond to me with one sentence from their iPhone, but they do it that way so they respond quickly with just enough information to keep the conversation, and relationship, going.
Great note, @Jason! Thanks for sharing!
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YEP :) " TIME IS GOLD " :)
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I agree. Just as info dumps at the beginning of a screenplay are boring so is telling your life story to industry professionals. They’re all busy so get to the point and intrigue them.
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Yes, agree. I have seen examples of query letters that are a mile long. My feeling is that this approach is outdated. We all have to deal with a full inbox in the morning, and I know that if an email doesn't get to the point in the first few lines, I won't read it.
Also, most pros are not interested in reading your synopsis in an initial email. Give them a teaser, genre and setting, and if they show interest, you send a proper pitch doc.
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Time is valuable commodity we don’t get back. Concise communication cuts to the root I always say.
Straight to the Point!
If I remember correctly, a query letter should be about 1 page long. So, for email, it should be about that, right?
Good tips Jason Mirch
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Thanks, Jason. This is great information to know. Less is more. Oh, your new profile picture looks cool. Onward and upward.
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@Evelyne That is the standard advice, but I really don't think anyone will read all that. I find it better to send a blurb about the project, and asking if they would like to see more. If they respond, they get a pitch document.
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Evelyne Gauthier. I believe you might be thinking of a synopsis instead of a query letter. A query letter is usually shorter.
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Hey Colette! There is a great Query Letter template that I give all Writers' Room members. Are you a member of the Writers' Room yet? If not email me at j.mirch@stage32.com and I will hook you up with a free month!
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This is very true which is why I tell others and do it myself to keep loglines at a max of 25-29 words as the logline already takes up 2 sentences
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KISS!
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I think all emails should read more like a logline than a feature script.Like writing a newspaper article the entire story is always in the first paragraph the rest is just details.In a querry email you only need the first paragraph the details come later if requested.
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Thanks for this post mate, good insight. I've been using the standard query letter format: quick intro/log nine/synopsis. Not getting too far so far. I'll have to re-think.