How To Write A Query Letter

What is it? Why write it?• A query letter is a formal letter sent

to magazine editors, literary agents and sometimes publishing houses or companies. • Writers write query letters to propose

writing ideas.• The literary agent then decides

whether to contact the author and request to see the manuscript.• A query letter is an author's first step

towards getting his/her manuscript published.

Necessary Components

•Bio•Hook•Synopsis•Word count•Genre•Comp (comparison) titles

Bio – What should I say?• Just write a few lines about yourself:•What do you do? – Ex. High school student•Have you ever been published?•How long have you been writing?•Won any writing awards or contests?•Member of a writing organization?

Hook - a concise, one-sentence tagline for your book

Give era and location:• During the summer of 1889 in a rural Texas

town...• Taking place in turn-of-the-century New York City...

Set up your main character:• A chatty cozy mystery starring 50-something

college professor Bell Barrett...• Narrated by Cot Daley, an Irish peasant girl

kidnapped from Galway and sent to Barbados...

Variations on the "when" formula: • While defending a drug-addicted prostitute

accused of murder....• After years of abuse at the hands of her alcoholic

mother and step-father...

Synopsis: approx. 150 words• Give some information about your main characters, their problems and conflicts, and the way in which adversity changes their lives. • Read the back flaps of your favorite novels and try to copy how the conflict of the book is described in a single, juicy paragraph.

You are almost finished!

•Also include the word count, genre, and comp (comparison) titles of your novel.• Then, thank the literary agent for his/her time and consideration!

Query Letters of Published

Authors• Allison Winn Scotch's quer

y letter for her debut novel, DEPARTMENT OF LOST AND FOUND.

• New York Times Best-selling author and AQ success story, Heather Brewer's query letter for her vampire series, THE CHRONICLES OF VLADIMIR TOD.

• Published Author and AQ user, Catherine Delores's query letter 

Examples & Advice

• "Examples of Successful Queries“

• Successful query examples

• Query Shark blog