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Query Letter Do's and Dont's



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Mon Sep 07, 2009 6:43 am
airbear320 says...



Hello all! This is just my personal experience with query letters to publishers and what I wish I would have done or not done to improve them.

DO
    Do your research! Find out books a publisher or agent have previously represented that you've read and liked, or books that have similar qualities to your own. Just remember that the people that read your query letters are real people and they'll appreciate the fact that you've taken the time.
    Do make it interesting! No one wants to read something that is boring, which includes publishers. You have to hook the reader immediately, not only in your story but also in your query! One of the biggest mistakes a writer makes is spending two years of their life writing a book, but spending five minutes on a query. Make sure that your query is something you would read and say "Dang! I need to see more of of this book!" Because even if you send in a manuscript, odds are it won't even get touched unless you have a good, interesting query.
    Do use your voice! Your query should be written in the same type of style as your book. If your book is a mystery, make the letter mysterious. If it's a comedy, then make the editor laugh. If it's a fantasy, make your query sound fantastic. You get the picture. Your query should be a tantilizing tasty tidbit of what your book is like.
    Do include the ending! I don't care if you wrote a mystery and the idea of revealing the murderer nauseates you. The publisher wants to know everything about your book to make sure you have a solid story they can sell. I also realize there are some out there who worry about their book idea being stolen. Don't worry. Any refutable publisher will not do that.
    Do include only what is relevant. Your query doesn't need to include how many cats you have, how long you've dreamed of being a writer, or how your "best friend thought it was great!". Include things like any degrees you hold that are relevent to your book. If you're a history major who wrote a historical fiction, then include that. Include any articles or short stories you may have published in a magazine. But if you wrote an article on gardening and your book is about aliens who come to earth and suck human' brains out through a straw, then leave it out. I can't rehash this enough. Also, if you don't have any experience, then don't include anything. Don't just make up things to build yourself up. Let your story speak for you (through your query, that is).

DONT'S
    Don't write a generic query. I'll let you in on a little black spot on my querying history. I did this huge boo-boo, no-no and I seriously wish someone would have been there to give me this advice. I wrote a generic query letter, typing in the name of the first editor I intended to send it to and saved it that way. I figured, "I'll just substitute the name of the editor and no one will be any the wiser." (Can any of you guess where this is going?) Well, when I sent out my first equery I just copy-and-pasted that query letter and guess what? I forgot to change the name to the editor I was sending it to. And guess what? I got a rejection along with a life-time of embarassment. So, learn from me. Editors can tell a generic query when they read one. So go back to the first "Do" on the list and impelement that information when you write a query for a specific publisher. It will go a long way!
    Don't write a long query! Your query should be no more than two pages. In fact, preferably your query should be able to fit on a single sheet of paper. I know, it sounds impossible. But that's part of the fun of being a writer! Being able to condense your two hundred page book into two paragraphs. That is your duty. And it is also your duty to make it interesting to read. If any of you figure out a way to do this, let me know. I'm still working on it.
    Don't include every single detail. Choose the most important points in your story. This includes characters. If the character doesn't make a huge impact, or if a certain scene doesn't help explain the plot then don't include it. Keeping this in mind should help you to be able to keep your query short while only including the most important information.
    Don't forget to be grateful! I know this can sometimes be tough after recieving your umpteenth rejection. Be sure to include a thank you, thanking them for even looking at your letter. But a little bit of courtesy can get you very far in the publishing world.

Well, I think that's about all. I hope that this helps you in writing your query. But don't take everything I've said as the gospel of query writing. This is just what I've learned. Good luck in your pursuits and keep on writing! :D
"Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds."
-Gordon B. Hinckley
  





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Mon Sep 07, 2009 1:59 pm
Lucinda says...



=D Thanks for all the great tips! It's great to have advice from someone who has actually *sent* query letters. xD
There's just one thing I'm a bit confused about: "Do use your voice!"
I'm writing a historical novel about pirates, and my viewpoint character has a bit of a colorful language. Basically, I'd be writing, "So there's this book and I think it's right brilliant, see, and I was wonderin' if you'd want to give it a read-over..." etc. etc. XD I'm pretty sure that isn't what I want to be writing if I'm trying to come across as a mature and professional writer, right?
The history of the world
My pet
Is learn forgiveness
And try to forget!

-Sweeney Todd

I'm a damsel...
I'm in distress...
I can handle it.
Have a nice day.

-Hercules

Masquerade!
Paper faces on parade
Masquerade
Hide your face so the world can never find you.

-The Phantom of the Opera
  





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Mon Sep 07, 2009 2:00 pm
Elinor says...



This is great - I'm bookmarking this for when I'm ready to begin writing my query, but perhaps it should be moved to writing tips? I'll tell the mods.

All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.

-- Walt Disney
  





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Wed Dec 30, 2009 4:17 pm
Vampiress says...



I have a question if you don't mind. Do we send the whole 'book' or just like the first 50 pages\3 chapters? Or a summary for beginning,middle, and ending? Or both The first 50 pages\ 3 chapters and the summary??
whether they start good or bad, Every good writer starts somewhere
  





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Wed Dec 30, 2009 4:22 pm
Karsten says...



~Mackenzie wrote:I have a question if you don't mind. Do we send the whole 'book' or just like the first 50 pages\3 chapters? Or a summary for beginning,middle, and ending? Or both The first 50 pages\ 3 chapters and the summary??


Hi Mackenzie,

This depends on which agent you're querying. Each will have their own guidelines.

I think Kristin Nelson is representative of many agents, so I'll take her as an example. If you click on her "Submit Manuscript" link, it says:

Please send us a one-page query letter by email to query@nelsonagency.com to gauge our level of interest. [...] If we are interested, we will send you a reply email with explicit directions on how to upload sample pages to our electronic submission database.


Other agents might ask for a query and first ten pages, or a query and first three chapters, or even a query and the dreaded synopsis. So you should probably have a range of submission materials prepared. :)

If I could add a personal experience, out of the hundreds of agents I'm familiar with, I don't think any ask for a full manuscript right off the mark. Agents are very skilled at judging from the first few pages whether a manuscript will be worth their time, so that's all they generally need. They won't request a full manuscript until they've already read your query and probably a partial.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Karsten
  





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Wed Dec 30, 2009 4:23 pm
Vampiress says...



It helped me alot, your so helpful.
Thank you,
Mackenzie
whether they start good or bad, Every good writer starts somewhere
  





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Wed Dec 30, 2009 4:26 pm
Karsten says...



You're welcome. :) I'm glad you're doing your research. If I could recommend a few websites where aspiring authors can research, I'd suggest AbsoluteWrite, Writer Beware and Preditors & Editors.
  





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Wed Dec 30, 2009 4:37 pm
Sureal says...



Writer Beware and Predictors and Editors are a must. So many scammers out there. Makes me sad.
I wrote the above just for you.
  





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Thu Dec 31, 2009 2:56 am
Vampiress says...



What's a good publisher for a Wolf Fantasy novel?
whether they start good or bad, Every good writer starts somewhere
  





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Thu Dec 31, 2009 11:37 am
Karsten says...



~Mackenzie wrote:What's a good publisher for a Wolf Fantasy novel?


Each imprint (subdivision of a publisher) generally only handles one age range: adult, YA, MG etc. So the right imprint and publisher for you depends on the age of the target audience.

I'm not sure that talking animal stories for an adult audience are all that hot right now. I can't think of any examples more recent than Watership Down (1972) and the Duncton Wood series (1980s). You might be better off if your novel is targeted toward children: I know there are a few talking animal stories for children right now, like Warriors, which is published by Avon Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. A friend of mine also sold an MG (middle grade) novel about rats to Holiday House recently.
  





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Thu Dec 31, 2009 1:49 pm
Vampiress says...



Well, Warriors is in the childrren's section at Borders and I don't read Children's book because they are way to easy. I was targeting for ages 12+. I've read warriors.
whether they start good or bad, Every good writer starts somewhere
  








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