So my query letter got chosen out of the slush pile for Jericho Writers Slushpile Evaluation session next week – w00t!

I’ll be learning whether my query letter is effective and if not, how to fix whatever’s wrong. Here are some tips on making an effective query letter.

1. Find the right agent. All agents have a wish-list, either on the website or on social media somewhere. It’s not hard to find. Before you send out that query letter, make certain what you’ve written is what that agent is looking for.
2. Spell the agent’s name correctly. You may call them by their first name or Mr/Mrs Whatever — but be sure it’s spelled properly. Take the time to do a bit of research and double-check yourself.
3. If you have an edge, say so. If you met them at a conference or were recommended by one of their authors, by all means brag a bit. Certainly if they requested your pages, mention that right at the first. If you’re just querying blindly, say something neutral like “I have an adult science fiction novel that I thought you might be interested in…”
4. Research the agent. Find out something you can mention in your letter, like they’re looking for something edgy and dark, or they prefer happily-ever-afters. It’ll say something on their website that you can use to show them you’ve looked them up carefully.
5. Your pitch should be one to two paragraphs max. If you can’t condense your story down that short, you need to rethink your plot. Pretend you’re describing a movie to a friend who’s on their way out and just give the bones of the thing. Never mind the subplots, plot twists, backstory, and anything else not essential to understanding the basic plot.
6. If you have writing credentials, mention them. If you’ve sold stories under another pen name, say where. If you’ve got a degree or any professional experience, say so. If you have anything that helps sell your story, mention that too (if your book is about teeth and you’re a dentist, for example). If you have nothing, just give them a very short, general bio like “I live in Maine and have seventeen cats.”
7. Don’t bother the agent. If they say they have a 3 week turnaround, don’t expect to hear back before then. After that time passes, you may send a polite email asking if they received your letter, but if that goes unanswered as well, assume they are not interested. Sometimes the agency is just not very polite and thinks ignoring you is as good as sending you a rejection.

You should work as hard on your query letter as you do on your pitch and your synopsis. Each of these three should be polished until they shine from beneath the slush pile!

I attended my first writing conference last year. Oh, I’ve been going to DragonCon’s writing track for years, so I figured I’d pretty much heard everything I needed about writing. I was going for the chance to pitch my book to an agent or editor. Maybe I’d pick up a couple of new ideas, but I was paying for that face-time.

Boy, was I wrong.

I did meet a lot of agents and editors – and other authors, who are not only great people to talk with, but can help you connect with even more agents, authors, and editors. I did pitch my ideas, and even got positive results from all of them.

But I also learned more than just a couple of new ideas. We had lectures like “Treating Your Story’s Setting as a Main Character” and “Crafting a Gripping Opening” and “World Building 101.” We wrote, and we critiqued each other’s work. We shared ideas and websites and contact information.

We had classes on social media, and on publicizing yourself and your books. I think I learned more in one day than I’d learned in two years of playing around on Facebook. My Facebook author page – and I learned to set up a separate page for that instead of using my personal page – went from a few friends to over 3,000 in around six months, and it’s still growing.

If you’ve never attended a writing conference, save up the funds and go! You’ll learn a lot more than you think you will, plus you’ll meet all those people who will play an important role in your career later on. The contacts you make now can only help you in the future.

Plus, it’s just a whole lot of fun.

What’s the best conference you’ve ever attended — or the one you’ve always dreamed of attending?