I’ve shared with you that, a couple of years ago, I entered and won a couple of prose writing contests on a film industry platform called Coverfly. I did this in an attempt to show prospective agents that my book is literary-leaning, yes, but it also has cinematic/commercial potential.
Last week, thanks to a hard-working script analyst named Lauren, I received a flurry of emails from Coverfly. Lauren read my manuscript and wrote a lovely recommendation of it. Because of Lauren’s recommendation, Coverfly (1) added her recommendation to my project listing, so industry pros will see it anytime they look at my project; (2) included my project in its 2024 Summer Holiday Reading List for industry pros; and (3) featured my project on this week’s industry pro dashboard.
This means there will be a lot of eyes on my project in the coming weeks. But it doesn’t mean much in the big scheme of things—film and TV producers aren’t really looking for unpublished linked short story collections. Still, it made me so happy that someone read my book and liked it that much, and I’m counting it in the win column as I continue to query agents for my book.
But here’s the best, most super cool thing to come out of all this:
Yesterday morning, I was thinking how much I wish I could thank Lauren for reading my book and recommending it. But I’m not on the industry side of the Coverfly platform, so all I can see is her first name. Coincidentally, only a few hours after thinking that, I had a Zoom catch-up call with my MFA friend Nelson, who happens to be a literary manager, and guys … he knows Lauren! He is going to pass on my gratitude to her, and he said she’ll be so happy to know she made my day. It’s such a serendipity that she will know how much her efforts meant to me!