Writing a good query letter can be tough, especially if it’s your first one.
Here are some things you should do:
- Address the agent by name – and always be sure you’re spelling the name correctly.
- Get to the point – don’t waste the first paragraph trying to introduce yourself. Save that until the final paragraph instead. Start right off with your book blurb or pitch.
- Sell, sell, sell – make sure your pitch reads like the back blurb on a book cover. You want to sell that story as hard as you can to hook the agent’s interest.
- Get the details – mention your book’s title, genre, and word count. Yes, the agent will want to know that last fact – if your book is too short or too long, it might not be marketable.
- Tell them why – explain why you’ve chosen this particular agent. If you can’t honestly say your book is like another they represent, at least you can say they represent the genre you’re writing.
- Mention your platform – if you have one, that is, and you should. Let the agent know you’ve got a following on social media or on your website. This will be important for marketing purposes.
- Read other successful query letters – here’s a good link to a Writer’s Digest page showing some good letters. Read them to see what your letter should look like.
And remember NOT to:
- Show your ego – avoid the temptation to brag or say something like “you’d be lucky to represent my book – it’s the next NY Times best-seller!” A query letter should be professional, not egotistical.
- Include your age – there’s no reason to do so, and including your age might actually make it more difficult to sell your book.
- Include meaningless writing credits – don’t tell the agent how many friends or family members love your writing. In this day of everybody and his cousin self-publishing, agents don’t care how much you’ve written unless it’s been traditionally published or won a prestigious award of some sort. Keep your writing credits professional. If you have none, just skip straight to the details of the book.
- Get cute – avoid weird fonts and crazy ideas that sound as if they’d make you stand out. They will, but not in a good way. Your work will be tossed as unprofessional (maybe passed around the agency for a laugh but that’s not the sort of attention you want).
- Say “I value your time” – it’s tempting to toss in a line or two about how you realize the agent is busy, but don’t. They already know they are and you’re wasting valuable letter space with unnecessary words.