“Queries don’t work.” – Philippa Burgess, Christopher Pratt, and Andy Corren
Earlier this year I made a concentrated effort to fully research and query specific agents and managers. Personalizing my queries, I reasoned, would more effectively prove my worth as a client. My indiscretionary efforts are explained in this blog entry from March.
I’ve read from multiple sources recently, and Ms. Burgess, Mr. Pratt, and Mr. Corren confirm, that query letters simply do not work for securing literary representation. I had suspected as much even before making my Spring push of query letters, but I reasoned that pitching myself as a multi-hyphenate and tailoring each pitch specifically to the intended recipient would increase my chances. It very well may have, but only in the most miniscule degree.
Each manager in this panel at the 2009 Screenwriting Expo noted that exceptions exist for every statistic, but they recommended strategies other than querying, including networking, screenplay competitions, or self-producing. I feel good about my current tract of networking and self-producing, and I am considering the competition route despite the steep cost of entering.
Ms. Burgess, who spent three years at ICM before starting her own company, stressed the importance of creating content, specifically blogs, DVDs, webisodes, and news articles. Check, check, check, and check. I’m doing all that. If I build it, they will come – right? According to the managers on this panel, yes.
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