How to Write a Query Letter for a Screenplay (With a Full Example)

A screenplay query letter is a short email, under 250 words, that asks a manager, agent or producer to request your script. It leads with a logline, gives a two- or three-sentence synopsis, names a couple of comparable titles, states who you are in a line, and ends by asking whether they would like to read it.

Updated 2026-09-22 · About 7 sections · 5 answered questions

How to write a query letter for a screenplay: the short answer

A query letter has one job: to get the script requested. It is not a pitch, not a synopsis and not a biography. It is a polite, specific email that makes a busy reader think "I would read that" and reply with two words.

The structure, in order:

Hook. Title, format, genre and the logline. One or two sentences.
Short synopsis. Two to four sentences: protagonist, what goes wrong, what is at stake. Do not give away the ending.
Comparable titles. One line. Two recent, successful, tonally honest films or shows.
Bio. One or two lines. Only what is relevant.
The ask. One sentence offering the script and thanking them.

Total length: 150 to 250 words. If your letter is longer, you are explaining instead of hooking. The letter assumes a finished, polished, standard-format script exists behind it; if you are still writing, how to write a screenplay is the place to be, and the rest of the screenwriting guides cover the steps between the idea and the query.

The five parts of a screenplay query letter

1. The hook. Open with the script, not with yourself. The reader wants to know what it is in the first line: MOTHLIGHT is a 98-page contained thriller. Then the logline. The logline is doing most of the letter's work, so write it separately and rewrite it until it carries protagonist, goal, obstacle and irony in one sentence; how to write a logline covers the mechanics, and logline examples shows what a finished one looks like.

2. The synopsis. Not the full screenplay synopsis; a paragraph. Who the protagonist is, the event that upends their life, the choice they face, and the cost of failure. End on the question the film asks, not the answer. Write it in present tense, in the tone of the script: a comedy query should be a little funny, a horror query a little unsettling.

3. Comparable titles. Comps tell the reader what the script feels like and that there is a market for it. Choose two titles from roughly the last ten years, successful but not enormous, that share tone or structure rather than plot. The Guest meets Coherence tells a manager more than a thriller like nothing you have seen. Never comp to the biggest film in the genre.

4. The bio. Contest placements, produced credits, a relevant day job, a fellowship. If you have none of those, one line of who you are and where you write from is enough. Do not apologise for being new; do not list your degree unless it is a film degree; do not mention that your friends loved it.

5. The ask. The script is complete at 98 pages. May I send it over? Then thanks and a signature with your name, email and phone. A WGA registration number is optional here and on the title page; how to copyright a screenplay explains what to do before the script goes anywhere.

Screenplay query letter example

A complete email query for an invented feature. Everything in it is made up; the shape is the point.

Subject: Query - MOTHLIGHT - contained thriller (98 pp)

Dear Ms. Okafor,

I read your interview on the Scriptnotes forum about looking
for contained genre scripts with a strong female lead, and I
think MOTHLIGHT may be a fit.

MOTHLIGHT is a 98-page contained thriller. When a lighthouse
keeper on a three-month solo posting discovers that the
supply boat has been delivering food for two people, she must
work out who else is on the island before the next delivery,
knowing the boat's crew will believe her only if she is still
sane by then.

JUNE HALLORAN took the posting to disappear after her
daughter's death. She finds the second set of footprints on
day nine, the second bunk made up on day twelve, and on day
fifteen a voice on the radio that answers to her daughter's
name. With no way off the rock and a logbook the coastguard
will read, June has to decide whether she is being hunted, or
is doing the hunting herself.

Tonally it sits between THE LIGHTHOUSE and THE INVITATION:
one location, two speaking roles, a budget a first-time
director could raise.

I am a former merchant navy radio officer, and MOTHLIGHT was
a quarter-finalist in this year's Nicholl Fellowship. The
script is complete and available as a PDF.

May I send it over?

Thank you for your time,

Daniel Reyes
[email protected]
+1 555 010 2211

Count what it does. Personalisation in the first paragraph, tied to something the manager actually said. Format, genre and page count in one line. A logline with a protagonist, a goal, an obstacle and a clock. A synopsis that ends on a question. Comps that describe tone and budget. A bio with exactly two facts, both relevant. One-sentence ask. 230 words.

The free query letter generator assembles a first draft in this shape from your logline, synopsis and comps, and produces the one-pager that often gets requested alongside the script.

Subject lines, length and personalisation

Subject line. The reader is triaging an inbox. Give them the category and the essentials: Query - TITLE - genre (page count) or Query: TITLE, a half-hour comedy pilot. If someone referred you, that goes first: Referred by Ana Ruiz - Query - TITLE. Never Amazing script!, never a question, never blank.

Length. 150 to 250 words, five short paragraphs, no attachments unless the submission guidelines ask for one. The script is sent only when requested. A query with a PDF attached is often deleted unread because unsolicited material is a legal liability for companies.

Personalisation. One sentence that proves you chose this person deliberately: a client whose work you admire, an interview, a panel, a stated wish list. If you cannot find one true sentence, leave the paragraph out rather than fake it; a generic opening is better than a wrong one. Address the letter to a named person and spell the name correctly. Dear Sir or Madam is a form letter and is treated as one.

Tone. Plain, confident, brief. No exclamation marks. No I have always dreamed of. No claims about the script's brilliance; the logline makes that case or it does not.

Who to query: managers, agents or producers

	Managers	Agents	Producers
Take unsolicited queries?	Often, especially smaller firms.	Rarely. Most take referrals only.	Sometimes; small and mid-size companies more than studios.
What they want	A writer with a career ahead of them and a script to prove it.	A writer who is already generating deals to negotiate.	A specific script they can make or set up.
Best for	New writers with one or two strong scripts.	Writers with a manager, a sale or a fellowship.	Contained, budget-realistic scripts; genre.
Response time	Weeks to months.	Often none.	Weeks to months, sometimes never.

For a first script, query managers first. They read more widely, they develop writers rather than only selling them, and they are the usual route to an agent later. Query producers when the script is genuinely makeable at a budget their company works at; a producer who makes two-million-dollar horror films is a real target for a contained horror script and a waste of a query for a space epic.

Build a list of twenty to forty names before you send anything, in batches of eight to ten. The first batch tells you whether the letter works. If ten queries produce no requests, the letter or the logline needs rewriting before the next ten go out; do not burn the whole list on a draft.

Common query letter mistakes

Leading with the bio. Nobody cares who you are until they care what you wrote.
A synopsis that is the whole plot. Three paragraphs of story, ending included, is a reason not to request the script.
No page count or format. The reader needs to know it is a 98-page feature and not a 140-page one, or a pilot, before they decide to spend an evening.
Comps that are too big or too old. It is like the top-grossing film of all time tells them you do not know the market.
Attachments. Unsolicited PDFs get deleted; some companies cannot open them for legal reasons.
Querying an unfinished script. A request can come the next morning. If the script is not ready to send within a day, the letter is not ready to send.
Mass-mailing with every name in the CC field. It happens, and everyone on the list sees it.
Selling multiple scripts in one letter. One query, one script. Mention that you have others only if asked.
Typos. A reader will assume the script has them too.

And make sure the script behind the letter is the script the letter promises: standard format, correct margins, clean title page, the stated page count. If a request comes back and the PDF is a Word document with 1-inch margins, the query was wasted. Zen Writer exports a standard-format PDF with the title page attached, and the free spec script checker flags camera directions and other shooting-script habits before a manager sees them.

Follow-up etiquette after a query

No reply: wait six to eight weeks, then send one short follow-up as a reply to the original email so the context is attached. Following up on my query for MOTHLIGHT; happy to send the script if it is of interest. If there is still no answer, move on. Do not follow up a third time.
A request: send the PDF the same day, in the format they asked for, with a one-line email. Do not send a new draft a week later; if the draft was not final, it should not have been queried.
A pass: reply with one line of thanks. Do not argue, do not ask why, and do not send a different script in the same reply. A gracious pass keeps the door open for the next one.
A request for something else: if they ask what else you have, answer with loglines, not attachments.
Timing: avoid December, the week of a major festival and the days around a holiday. Tuesday to Thursday mornings get read; Friday afternoons get buried.

Keep a simple log: who, when, which script, outcome. Twenty queries feel like a lot until you cannot remember whether you already wrote to someone. Keep it wherever you keep the script; Zen Writer's synopsis and notes fields are one place, and the app is free on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android from the download page, so the log and the script are in your pocket when the request comes in.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a screenplay query letter be?

Between 150 and 250 words, in five short paragraphs: hook and logline, a brief synopsis, comparable titles, a one-line bio and the ask. Anything longer is explaining rather than hooking, and a busy reader will skim or skip it.

Should I attach my screenplay to a query letter?

No, unless the submission guidelines specifically ask for it. Send the script only when it is requested. Many companies delete unsolicited attachments unread because unsolicited material is a legal liability, and an attachment marks the sender as someone who did not check.

Should I query managers or agents first with a screenplay?

Managers. They accept unsolicited queries more often, they read new writers more widely, and they develop careers rather than only negotiating deals. Most agents take referrals only, and a manager is the usual route to one later.

What should the subject line of a screenplay query email be?

Category, title, format and length, so the reader can triage it at a glance: for example Query - MOTHLIGHT - contained thriller (98 pp). If someone referred you, put the referral first. Avoid questions, superlatives and blank subject lines.

How long should I wait before following up on a query?

Six to eight weeks, then one short follow-up sent as a reply to the original email so the context is attached. If there is still no response, move on to the next name on the list. A second follow-up gains nothing and can cost you a future read.

Ready to turn this idea into a screenplay?

Zen Writer exports the standard-format PDF with title page that a manager expects when they say yes, so the script is ready the morning the request arrives.

Export a Request-Ready PDF

Free on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android.

Continue reading

Screenwriting Education

How to Write a Query Letter for a Screenplay (With a Full Example)

How to write a query letter for a screenplay: the short answer

The five parts of a screenplay query letter

Screenplay query letter example

Subject lines, length and personalisation

Who to query: managers, agents or producers

Common query letter mistakes

Follow-up etiquette after a query

Frequently asked questions

Ready to turn this idea into a screenplay?

Continue reading

How to Write a Logline:

How to Write a Screenplay Synopsis (With a One-Page Example)

How to Copyright a Screenplay:

How to Format a Screenplay Title Page

Query Letter & One-Pager

Logline Builder & Pitch Grader

More in screenwriting education