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How to Write a Query Letter by Marilynn Byerly
I often start my query letter with the blurb (book description) as the "hook" of the letter. (How to write this book description is covered in a separate article-- "How to Describe Your Romance Novel in Queries." ) I follow this book description with the boring information about how many words long the book is, if it is completed, the kind of book it is, etc. I then give my most pertinent bio information. For me right now, that's the highlights of my publishing career--books published, major awards won, bestseller lists, etc. I often include a publishing resume on another sheet with the particulars. For an unpublished author a bio would probably consist of writing contests wins or finals, memberships in professional writing organizations like RWA, writing classes, etc. If you're published in other fields, that may or may not be of use. Short story publications within the genre you are trying to sell can be included but not poems published in small journals. Published nonfiction is mainly useful to show that you are a professional who can finish an assignment on time. If your bio is still pretty thin, mention how long you have been reading the genre and how well read you are. In other words, if you are trying to sell a book to Silhouette Presents, mention that you've been reading most of the books in that line for several years. That will tell them that you know what they want in their books. Finish the query off with more boring business details like you've included the synopsis requested and that you've also included a self-addressed stamped envelope for the editor's reply. I'll add here for the total newbies that the query should be in business letter form, addressed to a particular editor, and be as perfect grammatically and in spelling as you can make it. You should also include a self-addressed stamped envelope for their reply. Copyright © 2003 by Marilynn Byerly This article may be reproduced, but only with the permission of Marilynn Byerly (marilynnbyerly@aol.com). It must contain the byline and copyright information.
Marilynn Byerly is teaching three online writing courses in 2008. To learn more, click on the link of each course. "The Big Question: How to Create a Powerful Novel from a Few Ideas and One Big Question" Magic, Monsters and Amour: Creating a Believable Paranormal World. |
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