Query Letters

© Sarah Holden



How to Write a Query Letter (at a Glance)  


A query letter is a letter geared toward literary agents or editors asking if they would like to see your manuscript. Query letters are your introduction and a TEASE of your book. Query letters need to be perfect, free of spelling and grammatical errors. They need to be concise and professional! Avoid gimmicks at all costs! 

If you're having difficulty writing one for your manuscript, a freelance editor or critique group can help. Below are additional resources to help get you on your way. Good luck!





How to Write a Query Letter - a Basic Breakdown

How to Write a Query Letter in 7 Simple Steps

My 6 Top Tips for Authors Querying Agents

In Closing: Resources We Love (great links to querying, synopsis-writing, more


How to Write a Query Letter: Nonfiction and Memoir


20 Querying Tips from Roaring 20s Debuts

How's the Voice in Your Query Pitch?


Top Ten Query Tips






The Key to a Good Query Letter: Summarizing Through Specificity


10 Things Not to Say in your Query - Advice from a Children's Publisher


Query Quiz: What Gets an Immediate Deletion v. Email Rejection


Querying a Complicated Book: Dissecting the Elephant


The Biggest Mistake Writers Make in Their Query Letters

Best of Ask the Agent: Kindly or Creepy? (on Personalization)

Don't Begin Query Letters with Empty Rhetorical Questions 













Bio Section




Query Letters That Worked







Good Websites

Sub It Club


How to Pitch Your Story


Pitch is Concept


The Art of Pitching: A Story in a Sentence