A QUERY LETTER
is written to an editor or agent to describe a piece of writing to ask if
they'd like to see it. It is sent in lieu of an unsolicited (unasked for)
manuscript. (A COVER letter is a letter sent to ACCOMPANY a manuscript.)
Before you write a query letter, check to see if the agent/editor offers
guidelines to writers - make sure you are targeting the right market for your
writing. (Many publishers now have guidelines on the Internet.)Also check your
Writer's Marketplace guide.
New York agent Don Maass, in his interview
with
Writing For Success, offered these guidelines on writing a query
letter: "Make sure your query letter is brief and businesslike. I really
recommend the four-paragraph query letter as follows:
FIRST
PARAGRAPH Say something like: 'I'm looking for a literary agent
for my mystery series.' What more do you need to say than that? The agent
thinks: Okay, so what is this series?
SECOND PARAGRAPH
The second paragraph is a description of the property that you're offering.
All I really care about is the story. Does the story have an interesting
commercial premise? If you don't have the knack of coming up with a neat hook
or a pithy, strong pitch then all you have to do is tell me the beginning of
your story. What is the problem that he/she faces? If you can give me those
three things, and give them to me in an interesting way, I promise you I will
want to know what happens next.
The job of the query letter is not to
sell me on representation. The only thing the query letter has to do is
convince me to read the manuscript. Sometimes we ask for a couple of chapters
and a synopsis, but even if we ask for those, the query letter has done its
job. All that I need is to be hooked - and the beginning of any good story will
hook any reader.
THIRD PARAGRAPH Now that I'm
interested in the story, who is the author? Who wrote it? A little bit about
the author is helpful - not too much. How does your experience relate to the
story?
FOURTH PARAGRAPH The closing: Say something
like this: "I look forward to hearing from you. I'm prepared to send you the
first three chapters and an outline or an entire manuscript; please let me know
what you would like to see."
Keep it short, simple, sweet,
businesslike. When you're reading 250 letters a week, and trying to do it in an
hour or two - trust me: brevity counts.
Make sure you include a
stamped, self-addressed envelope for the editor's or agent's reply. If an
editor responds with a 'yes, we'd like to see your work' then your writing has
been SOLICITED, or asked for. Send it promptly, and in your cover letter
mention that the piece is being sent at their request.
ABOUT THE
AUTHORMarg McAlister has published magazine articles, short stories,
books for children, ezines, promotional material, sales letters and web
content. She has written 5 distance education courses on writing, and her
online help for writers is popular all over the world. Sign up for her regular
writers' tipsheet at
http://www.writing4success.com/ 
