Query Letter

The Query Letter

By Kat Hawthorne

I have decided to post this query to be used as an example by other aspiring writers who are struggling with their submission letter. Under normal circumstances, a beginning author would submit his or her work to an agent, who in turn will accept or reject the manuscript. This letter accompanied my most recent work, but, because I have been published in the past, I skipped the step involving the agent and sent it directly to the publishing house, where ultimately, it was successful. If this is to be an option for you, it is highly reccomended that you do your research, and find an editor at the publishing house with experiance in your chosen genre before you submit. It is imparitive there are no spelling or grammatical errors in your query letter, as even the smallest slip-up will result in rejection.

I have edited out some of my personal details, for obvious reasons. However, in your completed query, you should be sure to add your name, address, phone number and email address at the top of the form as a kind of letterhead. Most publishing houses also request a self addressed, stamped envalope to accompany your submission. It is important you follow the set guidelines as laid out by the house - some are even particular on the font size, and margin width.

Most queries should be short and to the point. Do not go on about how awesome your Mom thinks your writing is; let your skill do the work. Showcase your talent, but do not go overboard. It is perfectly acceptable, and even encouraged for you to name any other work you've already had published, and some houses will ask for a brief outline of your experiance, which you should sum-up as best you can.

I have included at the end of my query, the twenty word sentance I used which briefly describes my story. It is reccomended that all writers come up with a single sum-up sentance that is ready and quick to deliver should you be asked by a potential agent or publisher what your story is about. As you can imagine, if an agent askes you in passing what you are writing, and you have nothing to tell him or her, it can be a fatal flaw. But if you have something to say that is short and attention-grabbing, well, it could lead to your future as a published author. Mine is twenty-two words, which was the best I could do considering my 778 page manuscript.


Here is the query letter;


Dear Ms. Bischop,

It is not easy to be a teenage boy who falls in love with the living incarnate of Death on Earth. It is plainly difficult for the average human male to accept the fact that his girlfriend can control the bodies of the recently deceased. And what is harder than all that, is when your girlfriend does not know she has these abilities until it is you who is killed.

I have been writing since the beginning of my time on earth, upon learning to hold a pencil of course. I have a diploma majoring in english from Fanshawe College in General Arts, as well as several creative writing credits at the University level. I am the author of two published novels, (sorry gang, but I edited this part out - a girl must have her secrets, but here is where I wrote the titles and dates of my other published work). MUSE is my first full-length work of fiction literature, but clearly not my last.

I look forward to hearing from you, and sending on my completed manuscript should you allow it.

Sincerely,


Katsa Hawthorne


And here is my sum-up sentance:

A regular guy falls for an enigmatic girl who he later finds out can change shapes and control the dead.

Please note; the sum up sentance does not, and should not contain character names which will mean nothing to the agent, unless it is someone famous and the character's identity is imparitive to your plot, ie, John Lennon or someone like that whom everyone knows. Using loaded words is fine, (I used "enigmatic') because they say a lot in a very limited space, but beware of opening your theasaurus and composing your sentance in a language only literary scholars will be able to decipher. In many ways, the sum-up sentance is far more difficult to pen then the query, because you can only pick out the most important details of your work.

You will also notice, that my sentance does not say what genre my work is, but the genre is hinted towards. For example, "A regular guy" suggests the story is written from the male perspective, which it is, "falls for an enigmatic girl" suggests a romance, "who he later finds out can change shapes" suggests a paranormal element, "and control the dead" suggests the apperance of a necromancer, hinting toward a dark element to my story. The sentance does not say anything directly about the conflict, but it is assumed there will be one, because I have said it is a normal guy falling for a paranormal girl.

I hope this is helpful information! Good luck

Kat