The purpose of a query letter is to entice the reader, usually an agent but sometimes a publisher, to ask for the full manuscript, which is complete and ready to send at moment’s notice. With your words alone, the idea is to reach right out, grab the reader by the shirt collar, and pull him squarely into your world.
Successful queries come in various forms but they should include these three elements: the hook, the super-condensed version of your project, and your bio. Short letters are more impressive than rambling ones. Cutesy, clever, stiff, or oddball approaches will not get the desired results. Read your query aloud. If you falter on a word or phrasing, rewrite. I know some writers who read things backwards, sentence by sentence, so that they can really hear the clinkers.
The hook is a concise statement of the work that functions both as summary and lure. So often, the battle is won or lost right here. In a few quick lines, the idea is to capture interest and convey the specifics of what you have to offer, including the name of the work.
A great way to study hooks is to read the taglines on published things. What speaks to you? Can you use this format to fit your purposes? Alternatively, try one of these springboards as a means of launching your pitch:
The place and time approach.
Set in Turkey, 1915 . . .
During the last years of the Ottoman Empire . . .
Taking place in Turkey, the last page turned on six hundred years of sultanate rule . . .
The question approach.
Turkey, 1915—could there be a worse time and place for a young Armenian girl to come of age and fall in love?
What if you were sixteen, hard in love, and your beloved disappeared? What if, one by one, everyone you loved disappeared? Would you . . . ? These are the questions that . . . must resolve in my novel [TITLE] . . .
The character approach.
Narrated by the dark-haired, lively-eyed, and headstrong . . .
The “when” approach.
Following a coup that ushered in the age of the Ministers . . .
When the prosperous rug merchant took on the newest weaver, a pauper from the streets, he never dreamed that . . .
While a wider war raged . . .
The “is” approach.
[TITLE] is a love story set . . . and narrated by . . .
Any of these approaches—and a thousand others—will work. Just keep the writing vivid, clear, and to the point.
The 2nd part of the query letter builds on your hook and is your mini-synopsis. Here’s where you sketch out your story more fully. Just who is this protagonist and how does she get tested? What does she want and what is thwarting this effort? Set up the tension and tone. Give the reader something to care about—a reason to want more. Raise the complex issues, but don’t answer them. The book answers them. The letter is just meant to spark interest so that the agent will request the entire work. Try to keep this section to about 150 words
The 3rd part of your query is the easiest: your bio as a writer. Education is helpful but not decisive, unless you are trying to present yourself as an authority on something. Employment is not relevant unless that job at Dunkin’ Donuts is somehow germane to your pitch. Previous publication credits are very nice. Writing awards are very nice. And if you don’t have any of these, simply move on.
Finally, close the letter with a word of thanks. Someone is taking time to read for you. State that entire manuscript of x-thousand words is available upon request.
As for what to send with the query, check the agent’s or publisher’s submission guidelines. For fiction, a one- or two-page synopsis and first chapter are typical—usually no more 15 pages combined. Some agents want less. Some only want the query. Most want it all by e-mail.
Check out these critiqued examples of queries. And. And then, get comfortable. A good query will take some time.
Photo credit: Fred R
Interesting and great advice. I’m not finished with novel #1 yet, but wonderful advice from blogs such as this has already been incredibly beneficial, and I imagine life-saving once I get to the querying point. Thanks for this!
Sarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)
Hi Sarah. Thanks for writing. Where are you in your novel process? First draft? Fifteenth? Glad you found the post helpful. Happy Friday.
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Thank you so much for this post. I am currently working on my first draft of a novel and although I have some time before I am anywhere near sending out a query, I like to know what is ahead of me. I’m definitely bookmarking this post so I can come back to it when I’m ready for it. Thanks again!
Hi Kaye. The hard work, truly, is the novel itself and first drafts in particular. The query is simple after that. It does a writer good, however, to force herself even now in the drafting stage to put the novel in a single sentence. It keeps a writer focused and clear as to purpose. Thanks for your comment. If you feel like it, drop me a line. Let me know what your novel is about. D.
Like Kaye, I am working hard on a first draft and will be bookmarking this post. Hopefully, I will just FINISH already and be able to use this post sometime in the next couple of months! Thanks so much for the advice.
Hi April. Writing is really slow. And it’s hard. You can’t rush a finish, though you can work, day after day, and that’s what it takes. Sounds like you’re at it, so good for you. Keep me posted. D
Hi. I’m not writing a novel at this point, but I’m interested in query letters for freelance articles and projects in magazines. Is this form of query specific for novels or is it in general? If it is in general, sometimes it’s not possible to have the article finished upon sending the letter, as you have suggested, because the letter might be more of a pitch than a, “Here’s my work please publish it.” What can you suggest if this is the case?
HI Caylena. Thanks for writing.
The query letter for an article is pretty similar. It still needs that hook and concise statement of what you have in mind, as well as your credits and bio. Where it differs is that it should also include how you intend to get the job done — that is, the research you expect to undertake, why you’re particularly well suited to do it, maybe some background to the issues, and the timetable you propose. It might also list the sources you have available to you, including those that separate you from the pack. If it’s a subject that is timely, you need to address that as well. If it’s the same old, same old, you need to explain how your take on it is fresh. Some publications don’t mind long pitch queries — two to three pages even! — but the general rule is still to keep it to a page. An editor knows that if you can secure his or her attention in a page, anticipate and answer his questions, , you surely have the talent to deliver the full piece. Check out ttp://web.me.com/danbaum/Nine_Lives/New_Yorker_tweets.html. It’s the story of how writer Dan Baum was fired from The New Yorker and it includes links to his actual queries.
Regards. D.
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Thanks for the mention!