I know of a couple ways to get your screenplay into the hands of Hollywood executives, managers and literary agents. I have had at least a dozen requests for my script, Martin Eden by using these helpful services. Now, whether or not this means that your script will be read is another story. One rule that we must abide in this industry is never ever send your script unsolicited as this is a sure way to get it tossed in the trash.
The rule is to first put together a nice query letter. Today it is perfectly acceptable to send a query letter via email. If an interested prospect likes what you've put together or even sees potential in your idea, they will contact you and request a pdf. format version of your screenplay. I must tell you this is a most exciting time. There is nothing like getting a message from a well-established producer that says something like, "This sounds very interesting, Jim. Can you please forward me your script--I'd like to read it." In my specific case with Martin Eden, as it was faithfully adapted from Jack London's 1909 novel, it was really exciting to get a response from producers who were actually familiar with the book.
Now a query letter should be short. These people are very busy and don't have time to read more than a paragraph or two. There is no specific or required format, but generally you would include a logline (one or two sentences that capture the essence of your story). Then you might include a paragraph that describes the story in a little more detail. And getting back to the importance of first entering your script in competition, I have found that placing well in a recognized contest, such as Scriptaplooza and Table Read My Screenplay, can really help draw quick attention. I put these credits up front in my query letter. When a producer, manager or agent sees that your script did well in competition, they know it has already been read by industry people who see thousands of scripts. They also are assured that your script will be properly-formatted and well-written.
Using the services of SellAScript e-query marketing service. For only $65 to $80 fee, you can have your query letter sent directly to the inbox of up to 8600 producers, managers and literary agents.
Below is the query that I put together:
Martin Eden is a rough, working class sailor whose ambitious pursuit of self-education and personal refinement, for the sake of love, eventually elevates him to a new class status. But Martin’s view from the top was far from what he had ever imagined.
Genre: Drama/Family
Awards:
- 2nd Place in the 2010 Inkwell Opportunity Screenplay Competition
- Finalist in 2010 Scriptapalooza International Screenplay Competition (3700+ entries)
- “Top 100” in last year’s Sundance Film Festival’s Table Read My Screenplay Competition
- Long List (top 10%) in Fresh Voices Pitch Contest 2011.
Martin Eden is adapted from the 1909 semi-autobiographical,
novel by Jack London. The story is set in San Francisco, just after the turn of
the century.
Martin Eden is a young, uneducated and impoverished sailor and
seemingly destined to struggle with whatever paltry earnings he could gain from
the physical labor and toil that would keep him in the slums of Oakland the
rest of his days. That is until he meets and is immediately smitten with Ruth
Morse, a young woman deeply entrenched in San Francisco’s bourgeois society
class. In order to gain Ruth’s affection, Martin is determined to educate
himself, learn proper etiquette, and abandon the life of the sea in pursuit of
his dreams. Ruth agrees to help him on his journey to fame, and along the way,
she falls in love with Martin, at the great displeasure of Ruth’s powerful and
controlling mother. When Martin eventually achieves his long sought after fame,
he realizes that success is not everything he thought it would be.
This classic story has much to say about human ambition,
individualism and social issues not only of the period in which this story is
set, but also for the direction America is going, even today. When Martin Eden
was adapted as a miniseries by an Italian production company in the 1970’s, it
was hugely popular in Europe, particularly in France, Germany and Russia.
To request a complete copy of my screenplay, please contact
me:
Jim Farina
541 E. Monterey Rd.
Palatine, IL 60074
847-814-4992
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