It’s true that the writing sample is the most important part of any query letter. However, you need to spend some time making sure that the query letter is solid as well.

First impressions matter, and you can rub agents the wrong way if your query letter isn’t up to snuff.

Here are the 10 biggest mistakes screenwriters make when querying.

1. Using A Generic Greeting

If you are submitting a query letter, address the agent properly by name in your greeting.

It’s unprofessional to use a generic greeting when you know the name of the addressee and gives off the impression that you don’t really care about your query.

2. Querying The Wrong Agent

Not all agents accept queries for all genres. If you wrote a romance, you wouldn’t query an agent that looks at only Sci-fi. It wouldn’t make any sense.

You will have a better chance of getting a screenplay agent if you submit to an agent who personally understands your genre well.

3. Breaking The Submission Guidelines

There are rules and guidelines for submitting queries to screenplay agents, and they vary somewhat from agent to agent.

Make sure you follow those submission guidelines to the letter, or your query will be swiftly rejected.

4. Coming Off As Arrogant

When you are trying to land a screenplay agent to help you get published, the last thing that will impress them is bragging and coming off arrogant. Don’t try and convince them that your script is going to be bigger and better than The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.

No one really truly knows what the next big hit will be, so it’s best to keep your ego reigned in a bit.

5. Not Proofreading Your Query

You wouldn’t submit an unedited version of your script to a publisher, so why would you submit a query letter to a screenplay agent full of typos and grammatical mistakes?

Use your spellchecker and make sure your letter is free of mistakes. If you have a friend or two who have the time, get their feedback on your letter, and correct any mistakes they point out.

6. Being Rude

The journey to becoming a screenwriter can be long and fraught with rejection. It can be frustrating, and the urge to lash out at the next agent who rejects your script can run high.

However, being argumentative and nasty to someone who could help you down the road is always a bad idea. Avoid being rude at all costs.

7. Not Understanding Your Own Genre

Make sure that you know and understand your own genre. Each genre has its own conventions, pitfalls, and tropes. If you are writing within that specific genre, your writing should clearly reflect those conventions throughout your script.

Sometimes, a script can fall into more than one genre. It’s best to choose just one genre when you are querying, and more than likely, it will fit more into one of those genres as opposed to the other one.

8. Querying Too Soon

Don’t waste your time querying if you haven’t finished your script yet. If an agent likes your pitch, they will want the full script and if you don’t have it, you will be rejected.

9. Your Synopsis Is Too Long

The temptation to give a really detailed synopsis of your script when you are querying is high but refrain from doing it.

5 lines long is the absolute maximum length for your synopsis. Any longer and your query letter most likely won’t even be read.

10. Being Over Apologetic in Your Query Letter

You are the expert on your own script; therefore, you are the only person who really knows anything about your work. Apologizing for “For not knowing what you are doing” or “not being published.”

These are the top 10 mistakes that screenwriters make when querying for a screenplay agent.

Avoiding making these mistakes will give you a much better chance of getting an agent’s attention.

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