Writing the Perfect Query Letter

It's been a while since we've done this. But we have so many new visitors that it's time once again. We're going to talk about the bane of all writers, the horror of horrors in the world of writing, the DESPICABLE QUERY LETTER.

Oh, we hate them. Yes. We do. But they are a necessary part in the wooing of an agent or publisher. So, since they are so important, we need to be able to do them well. We need to be able to do them so well, in fact, that the agent or publisher simply MUST request a sample of our work.

This is not virgin ground we're covering—not by any stretch of your so-very-creative imagination. There are tons of resources on the web dealing with how to write a query. And, for the most part, they all seem to regurgitate pretty much the same lecture and repeat that there are specific formats and rules for content that writers need to follow. And if the neophyte writer should carelessly wander off that straight-and-narrow path, they better have a really good reason for doing so.

So, let's take a quick look, once again, at the query letter. We'll break it down to the skeleton and start with that. Here's a shopping list of all the items you need to include:

Salutation.

Make sure to say "Dear" and make doubly certain you have the agent's name spelled correctly. Failure in this initial area can result in an instant trip to the circular file, regardless of how well the rest of it is written.

Introduction.

This is where you tell the agent the genre, the word count and the title. Here's an example.

Since you have an interest in middle grade fantasy, "Parry Hotter and the Half-Baked Prints" should be right up your alley. It is complete at 1,000,000 words.

Any creativity you can add to this section without over-reaching and ending up too cutesy can help encourage the agent to read on.

Body.

This is the meat and potatoes. This is where you really need to get the agent's attention. Even though you mention supporting characters, this section needs to be centered around the main character. All events should relate to that character. Also, keep the stages of THE HERO'S JOURNEY in mind as you write this part. (Orphan, Wanderer, Warrior, Martyr). For a more descriptive explanation of that, check a previous blog post HERE.

As Steven King said, "The road to hell is paved with adverbs." Keep that in mind and don't overuse them in the query, just as you don't overuse them in your writing. Avoid cliches, too. An agent can spot those as if they were printed in red ink, in bold type, italicized and underlined. Also, since the query isn't a synopsis that lays everything on the table, you want to end with a cliffhanger of sorts so that the agent simply MUST find out what happens next. That will encourage a request for a sample, which is the sole purpose of the query.

Credits.

If you are published or have other notable accomplishments, this is the area to list that information.s.

Closing.

This is where you hurry away by simply saying thank you and that you will be happy to send a partial or a full at their request. Then you say "Sincerely" and type your name. You're done.

BUT DO NOT HIT THE SEND BUTTON YET!

Go fix yourself a cup of coffee or a glass of iced tea. Have a Dove bar or a Ferero Rocher, a Ghiradeli square, or a Lindor Truffle. Wait five minutes or so and then go back to that document and read it from beginning to end. Correct any typos, grammar, phrasing, order of sentences, adverbs, cliches, punctuation, word choices, whatever you need to fix to make it The Perfect Query Letter.

Once it's perfect, check the word count. If you're over 250 words, you need to compress things a bit. Total word count for a query is typically around 250 words. If your novel is over 70,000 words, you can expand on that number a bit, but 300 words is typically the point of no return.

After fixing everything and making it absolutely perfect, do not send it to the agent of choice. At least not yet. Send this version to a writerly friend, or post it on Absolute Write for other writers to pick apart. Whatever you do, don't be in a rush to send it until it has been given the seal of approval by at least two or three other writers. Then you can send it. But check it again before you do and run that spellchecker program on it one last time.

And that's a summary of How To Write a Query Letter.

Feel free to leave a comment below. And speaking of below, don't forget to enter our contest to have your book featured on this blog at the top sidebar position for the rest of the month. Scroll down to check it out.

The starting bell has chimed. It's time!

Submission entry window opened at 9:00 a.m. Central Time this morning. You can now email your query. If you're among the first 50 entries, you'll be included in the contest. You should receive a reply email from me sometime today with your entry number. In case you're a newbie and weren't aware of the contest, the official rules can be found HERE! Just click that link and read what's required for entry.

Also, and I didn't include this in the previous post, all entries are open to comments from any readers of this blog. In addition, any writer who enters should comment on at least five other entries. Please give constructive input. Any obviously snarky comments will be deleted.

And there you have it. Keep in mind that the contest is open to the first 50 entries, based on the time stamp of the email containing the entry. When we reach the entry limit, any additional entries will not be included. In addition, when the clock hits 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 14, 2010, the contest entry window closes.

So click on the link above for the rules, and best of luck to all who enter!

Amanda Morgan signs with Andrea Brown

A couple of months ago, it was my pleasure to read some of Amanda's writing. I had just started the blog at that time, and decided to host a query contest. Amanda entered. We started out with our own critiques. After that, I sent everyone to Query Letter Hell at Absolute Write for further assistance and suggestions for improvement. Meanwhile, I was busily trying to find a literary agent to judge the entries. It was my good fortune to link up with Chris Richman at Upstart Crow, who generously offered to act as judge.

Amanda's entry, ZOMBIE IS AN INFLAMMATORY WORD (AND I RESENT THAT), was a winner, which resulted in a request for a full from Chris. As sometimes happens, the manuscript wasn't quite what he was looking for, but Amanda didn't let that stop her. I'll let her tell the rest of the story in her own words...

"About a week and a half after the contest, I queried Mary Kole of the Andrea Brown Agency.  One of my good writing friends, Ryan Gebhart, had recently signed with her and loved her, so I was excited to see what she thought of ZOMBIE.  I actually broke a rule and queried two manuscripts at once, focusing mainly on ZOMBIE and a little on a sex, drugs, and roll and roll manuscript Mary had on her wish list at kidlit.com.

"Mary asked to discuss representation the very next day.  Her vision and revision plans were absolutely in line with mine, so I signed with her pretty quickly, and I'm so glad I did.  Mary's great!

So, there you have the rest of the story. Congratulations to Amanda, and I'll speak for all of us when I say that we wish you the best of luck as your journey continues and look forward to reading Zombies!

And since we're talking about queries and agents and all that stuff, don't forget about tomorrow. You've had the weekend to get your query in a stupendously polished condition. At 9 am Central Time, the window for entries opens. In case you need to review the rules and mechanics of how it works, click HERE!

Andrea Brown agent will judge contest!

That's right! Our query contest will be judged by an agent from the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Does it get any better than that? Nope.

Agent will request 

a full manuscript

from the winner! 

So here are the details you've been waiting for. This contest is open to all writers, including previous winners. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to create a mind-blowing query that will knock the reader's socks off. We've studied the mechanics of queries in the past, so you know the drill. As mentioned earlier, there are prior posts on here that will give you a starting point. (Remember the Hero's Journey?) Plus, if you'd like to read some queries that just won a similar contest, agent Jason Yarn has posted his comments on Querytracker.

DO NOT SEND ANYTHING YET! ENTRIES RECEIVED BEFORE THE CONTEST OPENING WILL NOT BE INCLUDED. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW FOR SUBMITTING YOU ENTRY.

The following rules apply to this contest:
1. Your query must be for a completed YA or MG manuscript.
2. Maximum word count is 350.
3. Contest entries will open 9:00 a.m. Central Time Monday, April 12, 2010.
4. Contest entries will close at 9:00 a.m. Central Time Wednesday, April 14, 2010 or when 50 entries are received, whichever comes first.
5. Only one entry per person.

When the contest entry window opens, please do the following:
1. Email your entry to me at michaelvette@gmail.com.
2. Subject line should include QUERY CONTEST - YOUR NAME
3. You don't need to include a salutation.
4. Your email should begin with the TITLE and GENRE.
5. Paste your query below the title. (350 word maximum)
6. Include your name and email address at the bottom.

That's it! Meanwhile, if you'd like to post your query below for comments, feel free to do so. You can also visit Query Letter Hell at Absolutewrite and post it there for additional comments and suggestions between now and the time the entry window opens. If you don't know how to get there, leave a comment, and someone will give you directions. Try to get as much feedback as possible and polish, polish, polish.

Now, for the prizes!
Our Mystery Agent will select one winner and two runners up. The winner will be asked to submit their full manuscript to the agent for consideration. The two runners may submit their first 50 pages.Anything can happen from that point on.

Good luck to all. Feel free to post your query below if you'd like. Visit Absolutewrite.com for more help. And be sure to check back tomorrow for some related info that will be very exciting.

Great Contest — Fabulous prize!

You can tell from Max's expression that he's as shocked as I am by the results of our poll on the right sidebar. When we saw where it was heading, Max and I had a discussion. It didn't take long to figure it out — you don't like queries. It's obvious.

You. Don't. Like. Queries. In fact, with only four pitiful votes, the query letter is clearly your least favorite thing to write. It's apparent that the majority of you are leaning toward that 250-word snippet. So that's what we're going to do.

But not this time. What?

Not this time. This time we're going to do that thing you hate. That dreaded, despicable, hateful query letter. Come on, you're saying, why do we have to do that? We hate queries. You know we hate queries. I suck at queries. My dog ate my query.

I know you hate queries. Every writer I've spoken with hates queries. I'm guessing that even agents hate queries, sometimes. But they're a necessary part of landing an agent, getting published, and getting your wonderful writing out there and into the libraries and book stores where readers can get lost in your beautiful words and fall in love with you and your story.

But no matter how well you write a scene, how believable your dialogue is, how clearly detailed your visual elements are, you have to be able to use that ability to create a query letter that's going to pique an agent's interest enough for them to request a sample of that writing. That's why doing it well is so important, and that's why we're having the query contest. This post is simply an advance notice so you can create that query and polish it to perfection. Have others read it. Visit Absolutewrite.com and post it there for comments and suggestions, and revise it until it shines like a rare gem. There's time for that, but none to waste.

So stop groaning already. You haven't heard the good part yet. This is one very special query contest. This one might get you published. Although our previous contests have been helpful because of the reader comments and suggestions for improvement, we're not going to judge the queries ourselves this time. We hate queries, right? And since we hate them so much, we're going to have someone much more knowledgeable do that ominous task of judging. (I can hear your sighs of relief.) Now, get your faces right up to the monitor —  closer — because you don't want to miss this next part. Ready?

We're having a real literary agent judge them. But wait —it gets even better! This agent, herinafter referred to as the Mystery Agent, is from one of the most prestigious agencies in the country. If you haven't heard of this agency, you've been living in a cave with a lava lamp, drinking Ovaltine, and listening to an 8-track tape of James Brown and the Famous Flames Live at the Apollo Theater. Or something equally distant from the real world. Enough of your lame humor. Give us the details!

Sorry. That's all I can tell you at this point except that it's a done deal, and it's Game on! I will have the rest of the story tomorrow morning, so be sure to tune in to find out exactly what's going on. Same bat time. Same bat channel.

Now get to work on that winning query I know you can write. If you haven't read the two previous posts below, you might want to do that first. Both could provide a spark to ignite that bonfire of a query letter you're capable of writing. That's all for now, but check back tomorrow for the rest of the story.


Also, look for a special post this Saturday regarding something serendipitous. You're going to love it!

Your Query at 30,000 Feet

To continue our topic of yesterday, I wanted to offer you a little writing exercise that will incorporate the Hero's Journey and your query letter. As we know, query letters are one of the hardest projects to tackle. Many times we are so interested in giving the agent the entire plot that we include a lot of unnecessary information and actually fail to capture the real story. Getting mired in the minutia, trying to reveal all the sub-plots and all the characters and their relationships, isn't the direction your query needs to take. Your query may be more effective in getting an agent's attention if you step back and take a look at it from a 30,000-foot level.

So here's the exercise: Think about your story and condense it to four sentences. This isn't going to be easy, but it will help you condense the story to its bare essence, and it may prove valuable as a starting point when you write (rewrite?) your query. The sentences should include:

1. ORPHAN: Who is the main character and what happens to toss them into a new situation? Examples: With Dorothy it was the tornado that landed her in a whole new world. In The Hunger Games, it was the reaping that placed Katniss in a new situation. What happens in your story that changes the playing field?

2. WANDERER: What does your character do once their lives change? (Bilbo Baggins sets off on a journey to find the ring. Coraline goes through the door in search of her missing parents. Etc.)

3. WARRIOR: Who or what is the character fighting? What is at stake? How are they planning on changing the situation? What happens if they don't?

4. MARTYR: What does the character have to do to make things right. What sacrifice will they have to make in order to fix everything?

If you'd like to leave a comment with your four sentences, feel free to do so. Then others can comment as well and perhaps add some additional insight. Have fun!

Winner Announcement!

The results are in, and you have decided.

Chris Guise is the official winner of the Hook Me competition. Thanks for your patience while we worked out the tie and figured out what to do about it, and for my recent disappearance while taking care of line edits from an agent expressing interest in my MG steampunk adventure.

Stay tuned, because there's more stuff on the way.