<\/a><\/p>\nYour query letter, according to Jane Friedman, should contain five things (in no particular order):<\/p>\n
\n- Personalization<\/strong> – the part of the letter where you customize for each individual agent or editor. Be sure you spell their name correctly!<\/li>\n
- What You’re Selling<\/strong> – the genre and subgenre, title and word count<\/li>\n
- The Hook<\/strong> – this is the meat of your query. One to two hundred words is enough for most fiction queries<\/li>\n
- Bio<\/strong> – this is optional. If you don’t really have anything of note to report, just skip this part and go straight to the …<\/li>\n
- Closing and Thank You<\/strong> – always thank the agent or editor for taking the time to look over your manuscript<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Here are some “Red Flags” for your hook:<\/p>\n
\n- Is it longer than 200 words<\/strong>? That’s too much wordage – cut it back.<\/li>\n
- Does it reveal the ending of your book<\/strong>? Save that for your synopsis.<\/li>\n
- Does it mention more than two or three characters<\/strong>? Just mention your protagonist, antagonist and maybe a sidekick or romantic interest.<\/li>\n
- Does it go into the minor plot points<\/strong>? If it has nothing to do with the main plot line, skip it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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