Writing The Amazing Query Letter

I know all of you hate writing these, but the reality is that the query letter is going to make or break you when sending in submissions. You have to make the sale immediately to make us want to read more.

Think of it this way. Those blurbs on the back of the books you read, or the previews for that movie to TV series, if they are really good, get you to buy that book or dive into your next binge watching spree without thinking. When those nuggets about the book or movie are so amazing, you have already decided you like it, even before really getting into the pages or through the first episode. The reverse is also true. Write a blurb that sucks, or release a movie trailer that is garbage, and you have already signed off. Even if the book or movie is amazing, you have already decided.

Since editors and agents are massively busy, they rely heavily on those query letters. Yes, there will be a lot of editors and agents that say they skip the query and dive right in, but the reality is, when they open up that email, if you have not given them something to want to move forward, they will never make it to the partial.

As you think about your query letter, always ask yourself, if you read this, without knowing who you were, would you honestly be swayed to read more. Would you open the attachment with the synopsis or the partial, or would you pass on it? When you read that query letter, do you immediately scream "Ugh, crazy cat lady!" or do you scream, "I have to have this RIGHT NOW!" Let me give you a hint, you want the second response.

Remember that when it comes to emails and those query letters, we are only looking at it for a few seconds. While you might have taken hours to craft, re-read, and re-write that opening of the query letter, we are making an immediate decision and not contemplating it like you did. That is how fast your sale needs to be.

There needs to be three major things in every query letter. I break these down to THE BASICS, THE BOOK and THE BIO. We don't need anything else to get us hooked.

I am a firm believer with starting of with THE BASICS. This includes:

1. Title
2. Genre
3. Word Count
4. High Concept
5. What makes this a perfect fit for the agent/editor

When you give us things such as the genre, word count and high concept, you are immediately shaping the way the agent/editor is going to think about your book. As an agent, I will start thinking about which publishers might be interested in your book. The high concept is what you are going to tell and show me of how this book is going to fit into the market and what unique twists you are bringing to the table. As far as how this fits with the reader, show us how you have ticked the boxes of exactly what we have told the world on our website or in social media of what we really want in a story. For example, when I say, I want a women's fiction novel that delves into a single topic and gives us a view of how women see the world, then SHOW ME! If I met you at a conference and you highlight the conversation, then I will start to make connections. If one of my authors told you to pitch it to me, then tell me. 

The second part is THE BOOK. This is where you tell me something about the book. We need to know who the main character(s) is/are, the conflict and a sense of the plot. If you tell me something such as "And along the way the heroine meets quirky characters, hot cabana boys and finds herself in tough situations" you have told me nothing. Again, think about those previews. 

Finally, the BIO is where you tell me about your writing career. If you are new, tell me about what other projects you have in the works. If you are previously published, tell me when and with who. If this is a book that was self-published, show me the sales numbers (not reviews). If you are pitching a non-fiction project (of course not to me) you need to show us why you are the specialist and why I should trust you on this project.

That's it.

And one final note. Submit only what that editor/agent has asked for. Do not deviate from those directions. If one wants a synopsis embedded after the query letter, the do it. If someone says only send a query then ONLY send a query. We all want something slightly different. This of course means that while the general structure of the query letter will remain the same, you will change it with every person you send it to. 

Yes, that means those of you who just BCC every editor and agent out there are going to be rejected.