Query Letter Flaws

I was working on new submissions this weekend and I ran across a trend that I felt we needed to address today. This involved query letters and the things that authors included in that first contact with me (or with any other editor or agent).

In simple terms, the writers spend the entire time talking about themselves, and not about the project.

While it is important that we get to know who you are and your successes, the focus here, because you are marketing a product, in this case your novel, needs to be on the novel and what makes the story special.

Essentially there are three parts of the query letter.

First there is the basics about the book and the reason for contact. This would be the title, genre and word count. This would also be something brief about why you are contacting that editor or agent and what it is about that story that makes it a perfect fit.

Secondly, we need to know the basics about the book. This would be a summary of the plot, a bit about the characters and a bit about the conflict. If this is a romance, we need to know about the relationship. If this is women's fiction, we want to know the central theme being focused on.

Finally, (and please note this is less that 1/3 of the query letter) we need to know something about your. This would be prior sales, prior wins, and organizations you are part of.

That's it...

Now, if you follow me on a regular basis, you will also note that I ma frequently saying that if you leave us with questions, we will not write back and request more to get those questions answered. Expect a rejection. As one of my colleagues pointed out, "A maybe means a no."