The query letter.  It’s enough to strike fear into the heart of the brave.  There’s so much information out there about
query letter writing that it’s hard to know what to accept as true and correct.  I’m not here to muddy the waters.  I’m going to give you a handful of tips on query letter writing, from format to submission, that will help you draft a successful letter of your own.

You’ll hear authors talk about multiple offers of representation, percentage rates of response from agents, editors, and publishers alike, and how incredibly successful they were in the query process.  Statistics don’t really mean squat.  What other writers really want to know is this: did you obtain agent representation or a publishing contract?  This is what our efforts all boil down to once the manuscript is polished enough you could use it as a beacon to send messages ship to ship on a dark night.  It’s so incredibly cliche that I’m loathe to include this adage, but it’s also fundamentally true: it only takes one yes.  So here are a few tips to help you get there.

1. The K.I.S.S. Method: Keep It Simple Sweetheart.  Your query is not a synopsis, jacket copy, autobiography, or anything else.  It has one purpose, and one purpose only: to garner interest in your manuscript.  There is a basic formula I used for every single version of my query letter and I was very successful in terms of responses, requests for more, and obtaining both representation and a publishing contract.  The letter is opens with a Hook, proceeds to the Body which is one or two paragraphs telling what the book is about (the main character, the conflict s/he faces, what happens if s/he chooses a and what happens if s/he chooses b), the Summary which is a brief touch on word count, genre, comparative works, etc.  This is followed by the Biography if you have publishing history, and then the very simple Close (Thank you for your time).  That’s it.

2.  The body of your query should be 250-300 words.  That’s what you’ve got available to sell your manuscript.  Period.  Don’t spend those valuable words talking about yourself, your desire to publish, how fabulous or (please don’t do this) mediocre your work is, or how you’re going to be the next hot thing.  Each word of your query should be valuable.  This will be the tightest writing of your life.  Your query needs to be one page, single spaced, and formatted as a business letter.  This means: date, agent/agency and address, personal greeting, hook, body, summary, biography, close.

3.  Your query sells your book first, you second.  You need to focus on the hook to grab the agent’s attention and the body.  The body introduces your main character, establishes the primary conflict, touches on the action (what does your main character do about the conflict), and ends with the clear obstacle(s) your main character must overcome to resolve the conflict.

4.  The summary is very simple.  It establishes word count, genre and comparative works.  Never compare yourself to a major author (i.e. Nora Roberts, Dan Brown, James Patterson, Jim Butcher) because they are their own brand.  Instead, pick out a couple of lesser known but successful authors in your field for comparison.  A major no-no in this section is writing “The Next Great Thing is a contemporary romance and is complete at 85,000 words.”  Yikes.  Why yikes?  Because of course it’s complete–you wouldn’t be querying an incomplete novel.  Instead try “The Next Great Thing is an 85,000 word contemporary novel.”  Much better.

5.  A biography tells what your publishing background is and also establishes credibility.  If you’ve been published, what were your novels names and with whom were they published?  (Note: Don’t include self-pubbed works unless they were wildly successful.)  If you’re writing a non-fiction book about photography, why are you qualified to write it?

6.  The closing.  This should be short and sweet: Thank you for your time and consideration.  Yep, that’s it.  Nothing more is needed.

7.  Sign your letter “Best, Your  Name”.  According to former agent extraordinaire, Nathan Bransford, there’s no reason to include a blank line between “Best” and your name.  Beneath your name you need to include your physical address, contact numbers (home and cell) and your e-mail address.  This should be included on every piece of communication you have with anyone during the query process.  Make sure that they don’t have to hunt for your number if they want to get in touch with you.

8.  Use spell and grammar check on your computer, then get someone else to read it over line by line.  If you don’t have anyone you are comfortable asking, read it yourself but do it backwards.  You’ll be amazed what you find that you missed as you scanned it, but keep the Advil at the ready.  It can be headache inducing.

In closing, let me tell you that this outline and these general rules are what worked well for me, but there are few hard and fast rules about querying.  If you have questions or comments, feel free to contact me through the contact box or at the e-mail address listed on the “Contact” page of this site.  I’m happy to help where I can.

Next post:  Developing Your Hook