Query letters
are your first impression on the editor, your customer. Thats why you
need to use all your creativity to write an effective query letter. Telling an
editor you have an idea isnt enough. Writers Digest editor Thomas
Clark has identified five essential aspects that should be in every query you
write:
1. A working title
2. A projected length
3. Your ideas place within the publications departments
(where it will fit)
4. Reference to previous articles
5.
Results of some initial research done for the project
Remember, at
this point you havent actually written the article. Youve come up
with a unique idea, researched publications until you found one that fit, and
done initial researchboth to prove youre serious and to show what
direction the article might take.
As I mentioned before, the query
letter needs to fit on one, typed page. If it exceeds one page, you need to go
back and rework, or tighten, your story angle. Write your letter in
traditional, business-letter format, on professional letterhead if you have it.
If youre a novice, you probably dont, but computer programs like MS
Word come with several templates you can use in a pinch.
Your first
paragraph is the most important, a creative, curiosity-arousing first paragraph
hooks the editor, just as the first paragraph of your piece hooks the reader,
and gets the editor to read more. Then outlinebrieflyyour story
idea, in a way that makes it sound exciting and fresh. (If thats hard,
you probably dont have the right idea yet.)
Aside from that,
your letter needs to contain:
1. Address, email and phone
number
2. Your background as a Writer (If youre a beginner,
dont reveal that. Act professionally and you will be treated
professionally.)
3. Your particular qualifications to write on your
chosen subject
4. Your availability and prospective timeline for
completion if you get the assignment
5. A request for a response.
Theres more to writing query letters, much more than I can put
here, but there are lots of excellent reference books that can give you more
details. I use Professional Feature Writing: Third Edition by Bruce Garrison
(which is now in its fourth edition), which also contains excellent advice on
feature writer in general. However, this advice is a beginning. Now, start
writing!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrea's writing background
includes features, editorials, reviews, profiles, poetry and fiction. She was
the winner of the MOTA short story contest in 2002 and received honorable
mentions for fiction from Writers Journal magazine in 2002 and 2004.
Check out her blog at
http://creativewithwriting.blogspot.com.




