Read 'Can your query letter synopsis be two pages?' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

I got this question recently:

“Is it okay to include a two page synopsis with a query letter, or does this fall under the ‘Unsolicited Submissions Will Be Thrown in the Trash’ policy of so many production companies and agents?”

I would keep your synopsis short, like less than 1 page, but certainly not two. There are no exact rules for this but keep in mind who our you’re submitting to: a very busy person who gets lots of submissions. If you’re having trouble boiling your story down to a half page it means you’re probably not too clear on what your story is all about, which is a very bad sign. My advice is to get your query letter down to less than half a page and to also get your synopsis down to less than half a page.

Read 'What’s the difference between a screenplay synopsis and a screenplay treatment' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

I got this question recently:

“I’m a little confused. Say you have the Hollywood Creative Directory and have only the fax and address of a given company. Do you fax the query and treatment or just the query by itself? And if you use use snail mail, do you send the query and treatment? What is the difference between a treatment and synopsis?”

Typically a treatment is a much longer and more detailed description of the screenplay than a synopsis. Treatments are often written before the script is written as a guide for the screenwriter and producer so that the screenwriter doesn’t waste time writing a draft that the producer isn’t going to like. In fact many paid writing assignments have a payment schedule which includes the treatment as a step towards the first draft. I’m a big proponent of outlining your story before turning it into a screenplay, but there really isn’t a good reason to write up a formal treatment if you’re writing your screenplay on spec.

Typically a synopsis will be a less than one page summation of your screenplay’s story. I usually try and include a short synopsis (like less than half a page) of my story in my query letters. In some cases if you submit just a logline in your query letter you will get someone asking for a short synopsis and in other cases you might find an assistant who reads your script and likes it and then wants a synopsis from you to pass along to their superior. I also include synopses of all my scripts on my screenwriter website so if a producer is checking out my site they can get a good feel for which projects might be right for them. I also feel like a short synopsis really helps you boil your story down and decide what’s important, so it can be a very helpful tool in trying to do re-writes, too.

There really is no exact definition or specific requirements (that I’ve ever heard) that defines what a treatment is or what a synopsis is, but that’s the gist of it.

Now to answer your specific question about what to include with your query letters… I would include a short synopsis with your query letter no matter how you make your submission (fax, snail mail, or email). If it means sending two pages via mail or two pages via fax that’s fine. But if you can be very precise and pack your synopsis into your query and keep it all on one page that’s even better.

Check out my post Writing a synopsis for your screenplay if you have any questions about how to write your synopsis.

Read 'How long should your screenplay synopsis be?' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

I got this question recently:

“I was curious how often after writing a screenplay you get asked for a synopsis or a treatment? I know a synopsis is 1-3 pages. If you have done them, how detailed do you get? Do you go over the broad strokes, or do you go pretty much A-Z through the scenes?

For a contest I’m entering they are asking for the script as well as a ‘supporting description’ which to me sounds like they want a synopsis more than a logline.

I have to admit I’m also kind of terrified of ever being asked to do a treatment. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to put together 30-60 pages of description about the screenplay.”

What I usually do with every script is write a concise logline and a less than 1 page synopsis. If you can get it down to half a page all the better. Obviously in less than one page you have to be very concise and only hit the high points. Mainly you want to concentrate on your story and show a clear beginning, middle, and end and clearly show your protagonist, antagonist, and how your protagonist changes through the course of the story. This is a good exercise to do before you’ve written your script, too. It might change while writing the actual script but it’s a good idea to keep a handle on what it was you set out to write before you started. While writing your script it’s easy to lose sight of the main elements and a short synopsis like this can really help keep them above the fray.

This less than one page synopsis will be very useful for a variety of reasons. In most cases you can use it as the synopsis with your query letter. When someone wants a short 1 – 3 page description of your script this will work, too. As you pointed out, many contests want a short synopsis, too, and this again, will work.

I’ve never been asked to write a long treatment, usually the one page synopsis is enough to suffice. However, I always outline my scripts out before writing so if I had to produce a detailed treatment I could probably go back to my original outline and come up with something fairly easily. I would be skeptical of anyone who asks for a detailed treatment. It’s certainly not common practice and as you point out would be quite a bit of work. You want people to read your script and your logline and synopsis should be enough for them to figure out if it’s worth reading or not.

Read 'Screenplay Synopsis Critique: The Question' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

Someone recently sent me this pitch for review:

Title: The Question

Logline: Random daily encounters lead a brilliant thirty-something to a different
perception of his body.

Synopsis:
What would you do if tomorrow you discovered that there is nothing in your head? If you could no longer put a sandwich in your mouth nor drink a glass of water? If your heart stopped beating? If you found that you are unable to die but all the people that you speak with won’t find anything out of the ordinary
in what is happening to you?

Matrix has shown us what can hide behind the word “reality”. The evolution of a certain idea can put the spotlight on the protagonist that gives meaning to our “reality”. We need only ask the following question: “why is our brain the most complex organ in the universe?”

To be honest I do not have a background very different to many of the others who send you their screenplay. I love to ask myself questions and, like in my story, I have tried to give a simple answer in an amusing and enjoyable way.

Well… it seems interesting but I don’t see a clear story line with a protagonist and a real thrust to an ending.

Your synopsis is very abstract and it needs to be concrete.  For instance in your logline, I’m not sure what “a different perception of his body” means.  We need to know who the protagonist is, who the antagonist is, what the central conflict is, and at least some idea about the resolution. A story, and especially a film, is about a journey with a beginning, middle, and ending. Those things aren’t clear in either your synopsis or your logline.  But it should be clear in both.

I wouldn’t say this: “To be honest I do not have a background very different to many of the others who send you their screenplay.”  Aside from the grammatical problems it doesn’t sound professional.  What’s the point in telling a producer that you’re a novice?  If there any upside to that?  Act professional and you will be treated professionally.

You should check out my posts about Writing a screenplay logline and Writing a synopsis for your screenplay.

Good luck!

Read 'Screenplay Synopsis Critique: Hollywood House' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

Reader Mike James sent in a synopsis and asked me what I thought of it.  I thought it was a good chance to actually put some of the ideas I’m trying to teach to work so below you will find Mike’s synopsis and my criticism of it.  Keep in mind as with any writing my opinion is just that – my opinion.  Writing is very subjective so you don’t have to agree with my comments.  I might be completely off base.  I also encourage you to post your own comments so Mike can improve his synopsis and others can learn from your ideas.  Constructive criticism only, non-constructive comments will not be posted.

If you’re wondering about the basics of how to write a synopsis please have look at my post: Writing a synopsis for your screenplay.

Mike sent this as a MS Word attachment and when I opened it at first glance it looked pretty good – meaning without reading a single word it looked like a screenplay synopsis.  It was slightly less than one page long (and in a normal font size) and the paragraphs were pretty short and broken up nicely.  This may sound like a strange comment but trust me, producers read hundreds of these per year and making a good first impression is essential.  If you cram a two page synopsis onto one page in a small font with long paragraphs and no breaks you’re dooming your synopsis before the producer has read one word.  You don’t want to over whelm the person reading your synopsis.  A page with lots of writing on it and little white space is exhausting to look at.  Remember, all you’re trying to do with this synopsis is entice people to request the full script so you don’t have to give everything away.  Just briefly describe your story in enough detail as to give people a feel for the story, characters, and tone.

After reading the synopsis it’s clear that Mike has a story with a beginning, middle, and end and I get a sense of the characters and tone of the story – all very important things to do with your synopsis.

The biggest criticism I have is that I think the whole thing seems too ordinary and bland.  I don’t see what’s so special about this story or his high school experience that would merit making a movie about it.

The good news is that I think he can fix it.  When I write my own synopses I like to just get the story down in the basic beats and then go back and try and jazz it up.  Because he’s done a good job with the basics (structure, characters, and tone) I think he’ll be able to make this synopsis work with a little rewriting.  He’s got to make the story more interesting.

The first sentence is this:

“HOLLYWOOD HOUSE” is a coming of age “dramedy” that takes place in the late 1970′s during disco’s heyday.

What about changing it to something like this:

“HOLLYWOOD HOUSE” is a coming of age “dramedy” that takes place in the late 1970′s during the birth of rap music.

Unless you’re writing a Will Ferrell comedy I would leave disco alone.  Rap is cool today disco is a past musical dead end and I don’t think you’re going to sell a script that’s about trying to rekindle disco music – especially when your story really sounds more about the birth of rap than the death of disco.

In the second sentence he says this:

The story is a semi-autobiographical account, based on my high school experiences growing up on Long Island.

What’s so special about his high school experiences?  We all went to high school and we all have some fond memories but what’s so special about his high school experience on Long Island that it should be made into a movie?

What about changing that sentence to something like this:

The story is a semi-autobiographical account of my high school experiences growing up in the late 70′s in New York and being a part of the birth of rap music.

Maybe he went to school with some people who eventually became famous rappers and were at the forefront of the movement.  If so include that.  Rappers always have colorful names so try and use some of them as references – even if the reader has never heard of the specific rappers that Mike knew it will still add color and authenticity to the story.

What if the second sentence was something like this:

The story is a semi-autobiographical account of my own experiences growing up in the late 70′s and partying with the pioneers of rap music – guys like D.J. Pimp Daddy and M.C. Busta Brown.

All the rappers names are made up (I’m sure you can tell I’m a white boy from Maryland!) but the point is the same: adding some cool sounding names ads color and authenticity to the synopsis as well as giving the story an “insider” angle.  Which script would you rather read: a story about a kid in high school during the dying days of disco or a story about a kid who was involved with the guys that invented rap music?

I think this is a typo:

Keyon asks about Clay’s interest in a new form of music, rap.

I think it is Clay asking Kenyon about rap, right? Always clean up typos.  Anyone can clean up typos if they care enough to spend the time doing it.  Make sure you care enough.

The middle 6 paragraphs tell the story (which is good) but without much pizzazz.  Each sentence just needs to be jazzed up.

For instance, the third paragraph has this sentence:

Keyon invites Clay to a high school dance and introduces him to three of Keyon’s friends.

High school dances aren’t the coolest thing in the world.  What if Kenyon took Clay to an underground party where Clay hears rap music for the first time?  I realize that I might be actually altering the script but I think part of the use of your synopsis might also be to find the weak parts of your story.  A high school dance gives me the impression of a boring 1950′s movie.  It’s not anything I care to see.  But an underground party in the late 70′s with some of the pioneers of the rap music… now that’s something we’d all like to experience!

I think some additional short character descriptions would also do a lot to add color and texture to the synopsis.  What’s unique about Kenyon’s friends?  What dose Angela look like?  Again, make it sexier – is she the cute girl next door type or is she the hottest girl in high school?

I like the first sentence of the final paragraph:

 ”HOLLYWOOD HOUSE” is one of those Spike Lee-type comedy/dramas that harkens back to the early days of disco, rap & hip-hop.

It does a lot to tie things together and tells the reader exactly what type of story this is.  Although I would remove the disco reference!

However, the themes that are mentioned in the next sentence (racism, peer pressure, and love) don’t seem original enough.  “Peer pressure” is too trite, “racism” seems a bit over used these days and “love” was old when Shakespeare was writing.  I think he could find more original themes or at least make the ones he has seem a little fresher.

Here’s the sentence from the final paragraph:

Racism, peer pressure, and love are just many of the topics the film covers.

Maybe this would work better:

Growing up in a racially charged world, teenagers trying to find their place and high school love are some of the themes the film covers.

The final sentence just seems sloppy:

The story will resonate with those who’ve experienced the highs, lows and in-between of being in high school.

What exactly does that mean?  Does it mean the script will resonate with every single person in the world since pretty much everyone has experienced some highs, lows and in-betweens while in high school?

I think something a little more specific would work better:

The story will resonate with anyone who had a dream in high school and made a naive attempt to make it happen.

I’m not into high concept stories so the fact that this story doesn’t have one doesn’t bother me.  But what that means is that for this to be a good script it’s got to be well executed and right now I’m not sure that this synopsis convinces me that it is.  The synopsis as is seems very plain and I’m guessing the script probably is too, at least that’s my impression.  It reminds me of the film Koolie High – which was a great film although probably not one that a studio would make today – so I think a sentimental story about high school kids that pulls at the heart strings could work, especially against the backdrop of the last 70′s and the birth of rap music.

I don’t want Mike to get too down on himself because of my (and other’s criticism) so I want to make one last point.  Years ago I read scripts for an agent who would look at virtually any submission that was sent to him (or should I say I would look at them for him!).  I would say 97% of them were such a mess that they were literally un-filmable.  They were incoherent messes and made no sense.  Because he was able to clearly tell a story I would say this script is probably in that final 3%.  He just needs to get it over the hump and into that final 1% before he starts sending it out.

What do you think of the synopsis?

Read 'Writing a synopsis for your screenplay' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

You’re going to need a short synopsis for your script.  It should be a little less than 1 page long and clearly show your characters and story.  You’re going to use it when you send out query letters or when someone you meet wants to learn more about your script but isn’t quite ready to read the entire screenplay.

A couple of things to remember – there’s different types of synopses for different purposes.  What I’m going to show you in this post is how to write a short synopsis that you would include in a query letter in an effort to get your script read by a producer or director.  Sometimes longer synopses are called treatments and can range in length from a couple of pages to more than twenty pages.  There’s a variety of reasons why a producer will request that you write a treatment but to be clear I’m not covering treatments (or longer synopses) in this post. The purpose of this short, less than one page synopsis, is to get a producer, director, or agent to read your entire script.

Always stay focused on exactly what you’re trying to do with this synopsis which is to get people to request the full screenplay.  You want to tell your story and demonstrate mastery of your craft.  You want to give the person reading it a clear idea about what your story is about.  You want the reader to know you have clearly defined characters with a solid story that has a beginning, middle, and end.  But you don’t have to give everything away.  In fact you simply want to intrigue them enough so that they can’t wait to read the entire screenplay.  If you have a twist ending you can tell them about the twist without giving it away. Make them want to read the full script.

Below you’ll find two examples.  I didn’t chose these because I think they’re perfect and can’t be improved, I’m sure they can, but if you’re wondering what a screenplay synopsis looks like these should serve as good examples.  I’ve used them both for a little while and they have worked.  I also choose these synopses because these are the two scripts I pitched in my example query letter so it will give people a complete view of what I send out.

I think both synopses make it clear that my screenplays have clearly delineated characters and a solid structure with a beginning, middle and end.  While this may not seem like much of an accomplishment, if you can accomplish that in your synopsis you’re probably way ahead of the pack.  In fact I think this is more important than trying to be overly cleaver or hilariously funny with your synopsis.

With Irrefutable Evidence I open the synopsis with a bit about the production budget – saying it could be made on a limited budget.  Most of the producers who I send this to are low budget producers and this script is a perfect vehicle for them and I want to make that clear.  I don’t think you need to bring attention to the budget you foresee for your project unless it’s a selling point.  For most of the people I send this to a minimal budget is a selling point.  But I would take it out if I were submitting it to larger more established production companies.

The first paragraph of The Meaning Of High Art synopsis and the second paragraph of the Irrefutable Evidence synopsis is a sort of quick summary almost log line of the entire script.  What I’m trying to do is get people to keep reading by giving them a little taste of my story and characters.  With The Meaning Of High Art it’s my high concept pitch, if there is one: an artist makes it big on some paintings he painted as a joke while drunk.  Hopefully people can see the humor in the basic set up without me having to be overtly funny in the synopsis.

With Irrefutable Evidence I pretty much give away the ending… sort of. Film noir isn’t so much a “who dunnit” as much as a “why they did it.”  While I’ve given clues about what happens the really interesting thing about this story (I think) is the unraveling of Gene’s character and his inability to avoid his ‘fate.’  I’m hoping people will recognize this.

My synopsis for The Meaning Of High Art basically captures the character of Leo and hopefully makes it clear that this story is about a struggling artist with some funny twists.  It’s been many months since I wrote it and looking over it now I think it could actually use some polish.

Read my post How to write a professional query letter for your screenplay.  The idea is to send a producer a short query letter with a couple of synopses in it.

Then read my post Getting your screenplay to producers and production companies.

Between these three posts it should give you everything you need to know to start getting your scripts to producers.

I’m sure people will have lots of great ideas about how to improve these synopses and I’d love to hear them.  What do think I did wrong and how could these synopses be improved?

Read 'How to Sell Your Screenplay (in a nutshell)' at http://www.SellingYourScreenplay.com.

Since the title of my blog is “Selling Your Screenplay,” and I want that to be the focus of my blog, I figured an obvious first post was to write a simple guide to getting your screenplay sold.

Keep in mind that this blog is not an exhaustive list of ways to get your script sold.  It’s just a few ways that I’ve tried and had good luck with.  Always be on the lookout for other ways to get your script sold and realize that some of the things I’ve done may not work for you.  Hopefully if you see exactly what I’ve done and how I did it you will be able learn from it and apply it to your own situation.

To sell a script the first thing you need to do is write a great screenplay.  I know this sounds obvious, but really, it’s got to be great to get noticed.

I would guess that for most of us to write a “great” screenplay you’re probably going to write a half dozen (or more) not-so-great ones.  I read once that Platoon was Oliver Stone’s 11th screenplay – but the first one that actually got him any recognition.  So don’t be ashamed about being a novice, everyone is at one time or another, just keep writing, and with each script you’ll get better and hopefully you’ll eventually start churning out scripts that are up to industry standards.  Just because your first one (or first ten) are terrible doesn’t mean you’re not capable of writing a great screenplay, it just means you’ve haven’t acquired the skill yet.

Once you’ve written a great script write two more so that you have at least three solid screenplays ready to go.  It’s very common for a producer or director to read one of your scripts and think it is well written but not quite right for them – that’s when you’ll want to pitch them one of your other “great” scripts.

Don’t be too eager to start sending out your first few scripts if they’re truly not up to industry standards – and if you haven’t written at least half dozen scripts or more they most likely are NOT!

There are lots of books on how to write a good script.  Ream them. I personally recomend Screenplay by Syd Field and The Art Of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri for starters.

You can learn more about Field’s Screenplay by checking out my post Syd Field’s Screenplay

So how do you know if your script is up to industry standards?  You’ll never know for sure.  But as a screenwriter you should be interacting with other screenwriters, reading their scripts, and reading scripts from produced screenwriters.  So by the time you’ve written a few solid scripts you should have some idea about where you stand compared to industry standards.  If you’re not doing any of these things your script probably isn’t ready and neither are you – so start reading other people’s scripts while you’re working on your writing.

Make sure you protect your work by getting a copyright on it or sending it to the WGA for registration. Check out my post How do you protect your work? Screenplay copyrights and WGA registration to learn how to protect yourself and your script.

Okay… so now you’ve written several great scripts and gotten them all copyrighted. Now what?

You’ve got to get your script to someone who can turn it into a movie. While this may seem obvious (and easier said than done) it’s all you have to do.

Who do you know that could turn your script into a movie?

Perhaps you have enough money to produce the movie yourself.  I’ve done this and it allows a lot of creative control over the final product.

Or perhaps you have a rich relative or friend who might be willing to invest in your project.

In this day and age you can produce a feature film for very little money and if you’re looking to get your first project off the ground this is going to be the easiest way to do it so seriously consider it.

But if you’re goal is to simply sell your script then you’ve got to find a producer who will raise the money and make your movie.  While this is very difficult this is precisely what most screenwriters are looking to do.

Many novice writers assume they need an agent to help them sell their script. While a good agent can help I recommend going straight to the produces themselves. In my experience when you have no credits finding an agent that can really help you is actually harder then finding a producer who will make your movie so you’re better off spending your time trying to find a producer than an agent. Check out my post How do you get an agent for your screenplay? (And why you don’t need one!) to learn more about finding an agent.

Many of the trade publications (The Hollywood reporter, Daily variety, Backstage West) will often  have ads in them placed by producers or directors seeking screenplays.  Over the last few years I’ve noticed that there are fewer and fewer of these sorts of ads in the trades as they have moved to Craig’s List.  Read my post about submitting to Craig’s List.  While you do have to be very careful, it is a great resource for writers, especially beginning writers. I recently optioned a script to a producer I met on Craig’s List so it can be done.

I actually began my screenwriter career by submitting to Reader’s Digest Writer’s Market.  They have a section for screenwriters and have filtered the list a bit so that most of the listed production companies will read scripts by unproduced writers.

The Hollywood Creative Directory (HCD) is a comprehensive list of every single production company in the United States with addresses, phone and fax numbers, and sometimes email addresses.  While this isn’t an easy road I have optioned screenplays through unsolicited submissions this way.  It’s going to require a lot of letter writing, faxing, emailing, and phone calls, but if you do it on a large enough scale you will eventually get some of these companies to read your material and hopefully option it from you.  There’s well over 2000 companies listed so you have plenty of places to submit.

Check out my post Getting your screenplay to producers and production companies for more information about exactly how to do this.

No matter who you submit to you’re going to need to write a good query letter and synopsis for your script.  A query letter introduces yourself to the producer.  You want to list any writing credits you have and a logline (one-sentence synopsis of your script) about your script in about half a page.  Then you’ll also include a 1 page synopsis about the script you mentioned in the query.

Read my full post about how to write a professional query letter by clicking here.

Read my post Writing a synopsis for your screenplay to learn exactly what you need to do to write a professional synopsis.

Read my post Writing A Screenplay Logline to learn how to write a great logline.

Make sure you include both your phone number and email address in the query letter so that they can contact you and have a choice about which method works best for them.

I would say as a rule if you get a response from any of these sources 5% of the time you’re doing pretty well.  On Craig’s List you should be higher than that.  Submitting to the companies in Writer’s Market you should be right around 5%.  Submitting unsolicited letters to companies in the HCD will probably result in less than 5% – maybe even as low as 2%.  If you’re response rate is significantly below these numbers you need to take a step back and really look at your query letter and synopsis, re-write them, improve them, and then try again.

I have never been a good talker so I’ve never tried cold calling companies but I’ve known other writers who used this method with great success.  I typically will send emails, faxes or letters through regular mail.  Try all 4 methods and see which one works best for you. The HCD lists all 4 bits of contact information for most production companies.

I’ll be expanding on all these ideas and more in future posts so check back often.  

Also, feel free to comment below if you’ve used some of these methods to submit our script or if you’ve used other methods.

Good luck.