The one-sheet mentioned below is a single sheet, like a flier, that pitches the script. I like using them, although some writers don't.
I became aware of one-sheets when producers would say, "Send me a one-sheet on it." Now I use them regularly, sending them with a small cover letter.
Dear Mr. Jones: I'm very excited about my new screenplay, THE SENATOR'S WIFE. A one-sheet is enclosed. I've sold four options to independent producers, one of which is still active. I teach college screenwriting and am the webmaster of the Screenwriters & Playwrights Home Page. I came to screenwriting from playwriting and have had over two dozen plays produced. The public television version of my comedy CHRISTMAS AT THE JUNIPER TAVERN won a regional ACE award. May I send you THE SENATOR'S WIFE?
Dear Ms. Smith: Since you’ve been interested in my work in the past, I am enclosing a one-sheet for my new script, THE SENATOR'S WIFE. Thanks for the consideration.
Now this is all well and good. But what happens when you are starting out and don't have much in the way of credentials?
In this case, you might want to put the pitch in the letter to grab a producer's attention. For example:
Dear Ms. Smith: Greg Apple has never gotten over his high school sweetheart, who is now the wife of a famous conservative senator. When he sees her at his high school reunion, he falls in love with her all over again. To make the temptation greater, he learns she is unhappy and that she gave birth to his son after graduation. And now the teenager wants to meet his birth parents. But all is not as it seems, and "the senator's wife" uses Greg for her own purposes as she seductively leads him into a world of political blackmail, corruption and betrayal. THE SENATOR'S WIFE is a suspense thriller about a kind small-town man who gets sucked into the ugliness of Washington politics - but still manages to come out with his values intact. It's a political BODY HEAT with more brains. May I send you the script? I studied screenwriting at the University of Montana and have participated in a number of script workshops.
You would want, of course, to beef up your credentials as best you honestly can. Keep the letter under a page at all costs.
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