Query letters

"Above all, a query letter is a sales pitch and it is the single most important page an unpublished writer will ever write. It's the first impression and will either open the door or close it. It's that important, so don't mess it up. Mine took 17 drafts and two weeks to write." ~Nicholas Sparks

Writers agonize over query letters. Personally, I dread the synopsis more, although, considering the above quote, writing a query letter still makes me sweat. In a query, you have about three short paragraphs to tell agents or editors about your book and about yourself.

The opener

Agents and editors receive a lot of queries every day. One way to catch their attention is to let them know you've done some research about them and their company. Drop in a few of the titles they represent that you've read, tell them why you think they would be the right fit for your book. 

The blurb


This is the hard part. How in the world do you decide what to include and what to leave out? In a query, you have one paragraph to entice a potential agent or editor to read your sample chapters. Explain your main character and what happens to him in a consice and engaging way. Many agents and editors like to know the setting as well. Imagine you're writing the blurb for the back of the book. They say a query should be written in the same tone and voice as the novel so editors/agents can get a better idea of the book.

 Your bio

This is where you tell about yourself. If you don't have any writing credits, just tell them where you live and what genres you write in, or something along those lines. I do believe having a resume helps when it comes time to query for a novel. Not to say that if you have no previous stories published agents and editors will write you off, but if they see you've been published in various magazines and anthologies it shows them that you already know how to work with an editor, at least to some extent. It also shows them you're most likely into this writing thing for the long haul. Believe it or not, some people feel they've accomplished all they need to with only one book. They can somehow continue on with life without imagining things and writing them down. I don't get it, but I've heard it's true.

The internet provides a ton of good information about writing query letters. Here are some helpful links:


http://poewar.com/how-to-write-a-query-letter/

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2010/08/how-to-write-query-letter.html

http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-write-a-query-letter2

Tomorrow's post - Rejections