Querying in August - waste of time?

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  • Querying in August - waste of time?

    I'm in my first year of research and querying, have no sense of the ebb and flow of action in Hollywood.

    Is August, in general, a bad month to query?

  • #2
    Re: Querying in August - waste of time?

    Others will know trends better than I, but someone somewhere on the boards said that agents & managers "always and never want to hear from you", which I think is probably true to some degree.

    Personally, I just started querying w/ a new script and I'm batting .750 - 6 queries, 4 requests.

    ETA:

    My experience may be a bit misleading, however. From those 4 requests, 2 were from managers that I had communicated with in the past. I knew they would read it. But the other two were cold.

    Today is going to be a big, big query day for me (perfect since it's thunderstormy outside!).

    I'll post my query success/fail rate when it's done and see how it went. The rest are going to be cold queries.

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    • #3
      Re: Querying in August - waste of time?

      Agents and managers are on vacation around that time, but what do you have to lose if you do query?
      "A screenwriter is much like being a fire hydrant with a bunch of dogs lined up around it.- -Frank Miller

      "A real writer doesn't just want to write; a real writer has to write." -Alan Moore

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      • #4
        Re: Querying in August - waste of time?

        Oh wait. It's not even August yet.

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        • #5
          Re: Querying in August - waste of time?

          Originally posted by thought_arcade View Post
          Oh wait. It's not even August yet.
          True, TA. But close enough.

          Thanks for your thoughts. I agree that anytime is a good/bad time to query, but it's kinda like blackjack - you're always in a losing position, but there are some things you can do to increase your odds.

          I'll be interested to see your stats. Can I ask what type of script you're querying and how you're approaching it format-wise? For the cold queries, I mean.

          I've done a little querying myself this week, and it's not going particularly well. Trying to determine if it's my idea, my logline, my approach ... or just me.

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          • #6
            Re: Querying in August - waste of time?

            Originally posted by thought_arcade View Post
            Others will know trends better than I, but someone somewhere on the boards said that agents & managers "always and never want to hear from you", which I think is probably true to some degree.

            Personally, I just started querying w/ a new script and I'm batting .750 - 6 queries, 4 requests.

            ETA:

            My experience may be a bit misleading, however. From those 4 requests, 2 were from managers that I had communicated with in the past. I knew they would read it. But the other two were cold.

            Today is going to be a big, big query day for me (perfect since it's thunderstormy outside!).

            I'll post my query success/fail rate when it's done and see how it went. The rest are going to be cold queries.
            Any chance to see a copy of your query letter and logline. That's a huge success rate!
            If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base.
            Dave Barry

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            • #7
              Re: Querying in August - waste of time?

              Actually I just started querying this morning as well -- hit up 10 managers/management companies with a simple logline. I'll post if anyone gets back to me...

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              • #8
                Re: Querying in August - waste of time?

                Sure, I'll share, but after I'm finished querying if that's cool. Superstitious

                I will add one thing. In the query letter I'm mentioning that the script is being developed into an online graphic novel: www.ageofamazing.com.

                I'm including a link to a "secret" section of the site (nothing is on the main site yet) that has the first few parts and rough sketches.

                The genre is Paranormal/Adventure/Comedy. To do the horrible thing and compare, it's Grosse Point Blank meets Harry Potter.

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                • #9
                  Re: Querying in August - waste of time?

                  Originally posted by thought_arcade View Post

                  I will add one thing. In the query letter I'm mentioning that the script is being developed into an online graphic novel: www.ageofamazing.com.
                  Brilliant. Sort of a pre-pre-existing property angle. Nice work.

                  And by all means, honor your superstitions. You're doing great, don't make the Gods angry. Share when you're comfortable.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Querying in August - waste of time?

                    Is August really a bad month to query? We can we start again?

                    --John

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                    • #11
                      Re: Querying in August - waste of time?

                      Originally posted by JKB View Post
                      I'm in my first year of research and querying, have no sense of the ebb and flow of action in Hollywood.

                      Is August, in general, a bad month to query?
                      No.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Querying in August - waste of time?

                        Thanks SBS, that seems to be the consensus.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Querying in August - waste of time?

                          Great, let's move on. There's been a lot of good info, but this thread has run it's course.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Querying in August - waste of time?

                            Originally posted by Bono View Post
                            Great, let's move on. There's been a lot of good info, but this thread has run it's course.
                            Are you going to lock the thread now?

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                            • #15
                              Re: Querying in August - waste of time?

                              I already mentally locked it.

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