- Query image Copyright © 2013 Joan Y. Edwards
"11 Essentials of a Good Query Letter" by Joan Y. Edwards
Does your query letter have what It takes? Does it contain all the essentials of a good query letter? Does it have all the necessary ingredients to cook up a good deal for you?
A great query letter follows the latest guidelines of the editor or agent listed online. Here are 11 essentials of a good query letter:
- Your manuscript is the genre this editor/agent accepts for representation and/or publication.
- Gives the following information at the top right hand side: your name, address, city, state, zip code, phone number, email, websites, and blogs, and date.
- Puts the name editor/agent, followed by name of publisher or agency in the left-hand side followed by Dear and the name of the editor or agent as directed by the guidelines.
- Contains a great selling pitch that leaves the agent or publisher so moved by the story that they can't wait to see your full manuscript.
- Tells why you believe this editor/agent is the right one for this book.
- Compares your story to 1-3 books published by this publisher or represented by this agent.
- Explains why you are the best person to write this story and gives your credentials.
- Asks the question: "May I send you my manuscript?"
- Thanks the editor or agent for considering your work.
- States when you expect to hear from him according to the guidelines.
- Send by email or snail mail with a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) as specified by the guidelines.
Here's my article: "Components of a Good Query Letter." You might enjoy it.: http://joanyedwards.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/components-of-a-good-query-letter/
Celebrate you.
Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards
Copyright © 2014 Joan Y. Edwards
Thanks for reading this post. Please share what you believe are the essentials of a good query letter.
Celebrate you.
Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards
My Books:
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Joan’s Elder Care Guide, Release date June 2014 by 4RV Publishing
12 comments:
Thanks for sharing these tips, Joan. Query letters and synopses are the hardest to write sometimes!
Thanks for sharing Joan, there were some great points here.
I wasn't aware that my info should go in the top right corner, I have it at the bottom. Also your advice for comparing the story to books they represent makes perfect sense, thanks :)
Dear Heidi,
Thanks for writing. You're right. Query letters and synopses are sometimes hard to write.
Good luck with your writing.
Joan
Dear Jacquie,
Thanks for writing. You're very welcome.
You can put your personal address info at the bottom. I always like for my info to be prominent and very noticeable at the very beginning. Do whichever seems right to you.
I'm glad you liked the idea of comparing your story to one or more of the books the company published or the agency represents. I love it when things make sense to me. Glad it made sense to you.
Good luck with your writing.
Joan
Good checklist, Joan. of course the "great selling pitch" is really the crux of the thing and not always easy to do.
Joan, great list of tips to writing a 'good' query letter. Getting it just right, is one of the tougher tasks of us writers. Thanks for sharing.
Dear Karen,
Thanks for saying it's a great list of tips to writing a "good" query letter. You are right. Getting a query letter that really sells our manuscripts is one of the tougher tasks of writers.
Celebrate. Do something fun.
Write.
Joan
Dear Magdalena,
Thanks for writing. I'm glad you believe this is a good checklist. You're right. A great selling pitch is the key and not always easy to do.
Celebrate you.
Do something fun today.
Write.
Joan
Great tips Joan. I'd love to see a post on a cover letter vs a query letter.
Good post Joan, thank you. I intend to pass it onto my on-line writers group. So many would-be writers think they can just send in their manuscripts without any query letter.
Joan,
Well done. An easy check list to follow before submitting. Thanks.
Dear Linda,
Thank you for writing. Glad it will help you check things before you submit.
Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards
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