Query Letters

© Rebecca Chester

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!

News/Analysis

What Nobody is Telling Querying Writers About What's Happening in Publishing Now

Good Articles

How to Personalize a Query in Ten Minutes

How To Write A Query Letter That Wows Literary Agents

How to Write a Query Letter: All the Do's and Don’ts

Nathan Bransford: How to Write a Query Letter 

The Ten Do's and Don't's of Writing a Query Letter

Basics of a Solid Three Paragraph Query Letter

How To Write a Good Query Letter: Query Letter Basics 

What Do I Write? Author Blurbs for the Prepublished

How to Ensure 75% of Agents Will Request Your Materials

A Pretty Much Foolproof, Never-Fail Silver Bullet Query Letter Opening

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

How to Write a Query Letter: Nonfiction and Memoir

How's the Voice in Your Query Pitch?

New Video on How to Write a Query Letter

9 Tips on Writing Query Letters to Publishers and Literary Agents

When Should I Stop Sending Query Letters?

Do Not Worry About Spoilers in a Query Letter

Tips for the Query Trenches

The Key to a Good Query Letter: Summarizing Through Specificity

Elements of a Query Letter

Cover Letter Samples for Book Submissions

How to Query an Agent: 10 Tips for the Submission Process

11 Successful Query Letter Examples from Different Genres

I Still Think the "Nuts and Bolts" Belong After the Plot Description in a Query Letter

If Your Novel Doesn't Get Agent Traction Immediately, It Doesn't Mean It's Dead

Query Math: An Agent's Take on Tackling Queries

Submission Errors to Avoid

7 Common Writer Mistakes (agent Clelia Gore)

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

The Biggest Mistake Writers Make in Their Query Letters

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

The "Voice of God" from Movie Trailers is Killing Your Query Letter

Key Details Are the Difference Between Generic and Unique (Query Critique)

Comps


Comparable Titles 101

Finding Comp Titles

There's No Excuse for Not Knowing Where Your Book Fits in the Market 

5 Things to Know in the Search for Comps

How to Find Compelling Comps

Zeroing in on Comps

How to Come Up with Good Comp Titles for Your Books

Don't Stress Over Comp Titles

How to Pick Comp Titles for  Your Query Letter

Comp Titles: What Are They, Why Do We Use Them, and How to Find Yours

Bio Section

What to Write in the Bio Section of Your Query Letter

The Wrong Bio

Turbo Charging the Bio Section of Your Query Letter (Top Tips)

Query Letters That Worked

Query Letters that Worked, Query Letters That Didn't, and the Stories these Letters Tell 

The Query Letter That Got Me 7 Offers of Rep

Good Websites

Sub It Club

How to Pitch Your Story

Pitch is Concept

The Art of the Quick Pitch

How to Write a Killer One-Sentence Pitch (or Longline) for Novels and Memoirs

Your One Sentence Summary

Synopses

5 Tips on How to Write a Novel Synopsis

How to Write a 1-Page Synopsis

The Importance of a Synopsis

3 Story Uses for a Synopsis

Anatomy of a Synopsis

The Hack's Guide to Writing a Synopsis

How to Write a Synopsis for a Novel

Taming the Synopsis: 4 Steps for Perfecting One-Page and Long Form Synopses