How to Write Your Query Letter Well
In the competitive world of book publishing, new authors must find a way to stand out from the thousands of submissions if they have a chance of getting their book to a publisher. The standard way of introducing yourself and your work to a publisher is through a query letter. The query letter is unique for each novel you produce, and should tell the publisher, in a concise and interesting manner, what your book is about, how long it is and that it is completed, why you wrote it and who you are. Think of your query letter as a work of promotional advertising that needs to persuade the reader that he or she must take a look at your book.
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Instructions
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Keep your query letter to one page. Keep it short, simple and easy to read. Most editors and agents will not waste their time looking at long query letters.
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Double check and address your query letter to the specific agent or editor. Addressing a query to "editor" or to a literary agency as a whole reeks of amateur.
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Make sure that the specific editor or agent still works at the publication or agency that you are querying. This can be accomplished by a quick phone call before sending. Those few minutes of double checking can really help your endeavors.
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Keep your query professional and to-the-point when sending it to an agency. Have the letter clearly state the title of your book. Some say that your book should be mentioned, by name, three times in a query, but as long as you call attention to it clearly you should be fine. Making the query humorous or cute doesn't bode well in many offices, so keep it simple and keep it official. Include in your query letter both the word count and the genre of the piece. This word count and genre should go near the end of the first paragraph of the query letter.
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Do your homework beforehand. When querying a publication or agent, make sure that they have either represented books like the one for which you are seeking representation, or that the publication does publish the genre of the piece for which you are seeking publication. If it's an agency, draw attention to the fact that the agent has represented "X" and that your book "Y" is comparable to that.
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Give several ways for the agent or publication to reach you. List your phone, your cell, your mailing address and your email address all on the query. This is so that the agent has all the necessary information to get in touch with you quickly and not be searching for your contact information. Remember that query letters get passed around, and generally the envelope is lost. If you are using postal mail for your query letter, add in a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) for easier and quicker replies.
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Proof your query letter. Check for misspellings, grammar errors and punctuation goofs. Make sure that the letter uses proper business letter spacing with a 12-point font (generally Courier or Times New Roman), and keep it single-spaced. Keep your alignment to the left without any paragraph indents. Space between the paragraphs.
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References
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