Query Letters

A “Query Letter” is the letter you write to an agent, editor, or publisher, asking him if he’s
interested in reading more of your material.

Sending all of your material without being requested to do so is called “unsolicited,” and it’s
frowned upon in the publishing industry.

Above All Else, Proofread Everything That Goes Into The Envelope.
Always include a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE)

The [Single Page] Letter:

• Catchy but professional introduction (how you heard of agent, great plot idea, etc.)
• Your experience (credentials for writing the book – can be professional and/or personal
experience). Your credentials are crucial for nonfiction, and may be less important for
fiction, but sell yourself. Nobody thinks it’s bragging.
• Details about the project in a short paragraph. If fiction, one- or two-line “log line”, plus
word count; if nonfiction, a brief description of the project, plus finish this sentence: “My
book is the first book that …”.

The Enclosures:

• SASE: at a minimum, an email address; more usually, a postcard or business envelope;
or, if you want your materials returned to you, an envelope large enough to do so, with
sufficient postage attached. Do not send checks, cash, money orders, or food stamps.
• Press clippings about you or other books you’ve written.
• Synopsis/Outline: try to find out what the agent wants ahead of time. 2-3 pages
maximum.
• First sample pages (or chapters) if fiction; sample pages (or chapters) if nonfiction.

Don’t:

• Make the cover letter longer than one (1) page.
• Include quotes from friends, relatives, or religious mentors who think the book is great.
• Mention other manuscripts sitting in your drawer, asking the agent to choose which one
to see. Discuss only the best, strongest, most saleable manuscript you have.
• Send it until it’s the best-written, tightest prose you can possibly write.
• If this is an email query (note: many agents don’t accept email queries, so check this
ahead of time), don’t include attachments or force the editor to link to your Website to
read sample materials – make it as easy for them as possible.

Fiction Guidelines

Above All Else, Proofread Everything That Goes Into The Envelope.
When you send a query letter, agents (and editors) often like to see samples of your writing
beyond what you’ve given them in your cover letter.
Check the agent’s preferences – all of the guides to agents and publishers will tell you,
explicitly, what they want to see.
If you don’t know, or don’t want to bother checking, what each agent wants, at a
minimum send the first page or so of the novel. At a maximum, they’ll want to see the first three
consecutive chapters, or around fifty (50) pages, to get an idea of your writing style or
competence. Always send the first pages – never chunks from the middle.
Don’t send the entire manuscript on the first go-round, unless the agent or editor has
specifically asked to see the entire manuscript.

Checklist (the following are often the downfalls of first novels)

• Word count: is the word count applicable for the genre? Most novels are between 75,000
and 120,000 words.
• Genre: can the book be defined by a single genre? If not, it may get lost on the shelf, and
publishers may be wary of taking it on.
• Clarity of Writing: Making the opening pages into Agrabbers@: great writing doesn’t mean
anything if you can=t hook your reader from the first sentence on. Make the opening pages
the crispest, best pages you can B otherwise you may not be able to hold your reader=s
interest.
• Dialogue: do you have an ear for it? Do you overcompensate by using too many dialogue
tags? (she shrieked loudly, he called, she whispered, etc.) or use too many proper names?
(“Yes, Mary?” “John, I love you.” “I love you, Mary.”)
• Modifiers: Did you forget the lesson that your English teacher told you? Modifiers are
wonderful things, but they may add a stilted quality to your writing.
• Punctuation: do you use it correctly? Use exclamation points (!) and ellipses (…) as
sparingly as possible; be sure you use semi-colons (;), commas (,), and colons (:) correctly.