I really should have made this a Thursday thing – Tips & Tricks Thursday’s got a nice ring to it. Nevermind! Today I’d like to talk about query letters, the end of the line in the writing process. At least, it’s the end of the line for where the writer can take themselves, after this point it’s all down to the agents who receive the queries to take you further.

There’s a lot of advice on the internet about what makes a good query letter. What works for some agents might not work for others. If you google ‘query letter dos and don’ts‘ you can get some 62 million results. I’ve looked at every link on the first page of google results and here is a condensed version of what they all say.

1. Know the Agent

By this, I mean don’t address your query with ‘To whom it may concern’ or ‘Dear Sir/Madam’. That is the first thing they look at, and most likely if that’s what you’ve put then they won’t look much further. Make sure you put their name. Be professional and polite. Don’t be overly familiar in your greeting, unless you happen to know the person.

Make sure you’ve researched both the agent and the agency thoroughly. There’s no point in submitting your Epic Fantasy novel to an agent who deals exclusively with Romance. Make sure that they’re the right fit for you and your book.

2. Grab Their Interest

After you’ve gotten past the incredibly difficult opening of ‘Dear Agent’, you need to grab their attention with an interesting hook for your novel. A rule that is in almost any ‘dos and don’ts’ list is don’t put questions in your pitch. ‘What ifs’ are not the way to go when writing your query.

You should put the relevant information about your protagonist, antagonist and plot (but not the ending!). A couple of paragraphs is all you need for this. Think of it as the back cover blurb for your novel. It needs to be exciting enough to get people interested, but not reveal everything (that’s for the synopsis).

3. Leave Everything That Isn’t Necessary Out

First of all, this means any arrogant attitude you may carry towards your work. You might think that your baby is the next bestseller, but if you include something along those lines in your query it is more likely to put an agent off. Be polite and courteous, any and all accomplishments you have that are relevant (meaning books published traditionally or short stories published in magazines) should be included after your pitch. That’s the small area for bragging.

Another thing that some writers do, that agents don’t like, is waste a couple of sentences telling the agent that you value their time. Agents know they’re busy people, they don’t need us to tell them.

4. Make a Check List, Tick it Off

Basically, these are the essentials that you need to have in your query letters.

-You contact details (apparently we’d be surprised at how many people DON’T include this!)

-Information on how you met the agent (if applicable, if you’ve never met them before you leave this blank or mention why you’ve chosen them as a good fit for your manuscript)

-Your hook and pitch (this should always come immediately after the ‘Dear Agent’ part)

-Your novel’s information (target audience, genre, word count – very important. If your novel has won any competitions or been long listed/short listed, include that too)

-A brief biography of relevant information (they don’t need to know your age, where you live, your dog’s name and your hobbies – only include relevant writing related information)

By the end, you should have a query that is in this format (This example is taken from here):

Left justify:

[date] (return twice)

person’s name

person’s address

person’s phone #

person’s e-mail
 (return twice)[for snail mail. Some agents still do snail mail ONLY or you have a better chance if you do.]

Dear [form of address][surname],

[How you met said agent... if you didn't leave this out. Some agents prefer this with the novel info.]

[Your hook, which does not exceed 3 paragraphs or make the query letter 2 pages.]

[Why you are qualified... unless you have some short stories published, or if you have a related degree in the field, leave this area blank. This is not the place for your autobiography! That comes later.]

[Title] is a [#] word [genre]. [Any inclusions or attachments?]

[What you'd like done with the manuscript. Return or dispose?] Thank you for considering my novel. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

(return twice, don’t forget to put your signature here if you’re doing snail mail. I’ve done this a few times…)

[your name]

Your address

your phone #

your e-mail 
(returned twice)
Encl: Manuscript and SASE (Don’t forget them!) [If by mail]

It’s a good example of how a query should be set out. For more in-depth information on query letters, this site has numerous links for writing a query letter, polishing it, researching agents and submission etiquette.

Happy Wednesday!