Query Page for Writers
"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are
doomed if you don't try." ~ Beverly Sills
You did it! Your manuscript is finished! You've read over it -- and over it -- fixed any mistakes, and now it's time
to show an editor or agent how great of a story you have completed. Most publishers and agents no longer let you
send them your whole manuscript, or even the first three chapters. A growing number only want to see a query
letter, or maybe a query and a short synopsis.

So, how do you write a query letter? It's not that hard. Just remember to point out the main idea of your
story as clearly as you can, with as few words as possible. Thinks of those great teasers you read on the back of
romance books. Next, toot your own horn -- loudly. Been published before? Won a writing award? Have a degree in
English? Is your hero a cop, and so are you, or your husband? Mention anything that might make you and your
work stand out.

To get you started I've placed one of my own query letters below, and added a few how-to links and some links
to a few books that might help also.

Also be sure to check out my Publishers & Agents page.   There are plenty of links there to publishers, agents,
and lots of articles about both, even a few blogs by some.
Some Books on Writing Query Letters
Articles to Help with Your Query Letter
                 The Power of a Query Letter


I used to hate publishing houses -- this can fit for an agent too -- that only allowed writers to send in a query letter.  I
mean, come on, how can they tell how I write, just from a query letter?  At least give me a chance to show I can
write, that I can tell a good story!  BUT...  you knew there was a 'but' coming, didn't you?

Picture a skilled editor with a full query letter in hand.  She has probably seen thousands of them.  Think of how much
she can learn about you and your book -- and your writing -- from that one page query letter.  It sure must make her
job a lot easier.  For starters, did you send a nice clean letter?  Is it in proper format?  Are your thoughts clear, your
writing tight?  Is it addressed to Dear Editor, or to her personally by title and name?  Did you add every thing into
that query that you should?  Is it five pages long when the house's guidelines state one page only?  Is it letter perfect,
with no spelling or grammar mistakes?  If the writer who sent her the query letter didn't even bother to do this much
right, what are the chances that a manuscript from that person will be any better?  Most editors don't have time to
take chances.

If you write your query the way you should, in the first few sentences that editor will learn the name of your story, the
length, the genre, the line you are targeting, and be assured that the manuscript is completed.  So, if it's not
completed, and scanning your query shows you have never sold novel-length fiction, she can probably toss your
query to the rejection pile. There are 200 other query letters sitting there from writers with completed manuscripts
and perfect query letters.  Too, if her house only buys contemporaries that have a word count between 60,000 and
80,000, and you list yours as 100,000 words, and it's set in 1850 on top of that, then first off, you didn't bother to
study the market, and secondly it wouldn't fit her house anyhow, so she can toss this query as well.  Just with that first
paragraph, the editor has been able to move a lot of those query letters off of her desk, and she never needed to
even read the synopsis of the story.

Next in the query letter is your pitch about your story.  You have to make this short and sweet, and still grab her
interest.  Think of this as being the blurb on the back of a novel.  How many times have you read a book's back
cover and set the book back on the shelve, or placed it into your buggy, making that decision just from those couple
of paragraphs?  If the editor doesn't like your writing style, or if she has just bought a story with the same plot line,
then she can toss this query too.  Reading further won't do her any good, or you.

Last in your letter are a few lines to brag about yourself.  Come on, you have something positive you can add.  Have
you published any thing, been writing for ten years, are you a member of RWA, part of a critique group, placed in a
writing contest?  Anything good at all you can add, to give you a little glow is perfect for here, like if your story has a
heroine who is a nurse, and guess what, you are a nurse.  Some things that will probably get your query tossed on
this part is if you add something like...  I know you will think this is the very best book you have ever read!  Or...  
My mom and sister both loved this story so much, they said it just has to be published and should sell millions of
copies! Or how about...  How much will I be paid for this, and when will the check get here?

So you see, that query letter, only a single page long, that most of us just hate to write, can tell an editor (or agent)
everything she needs to know about you and your manuscript -- at least every thing she needs to know to decide if
she should bother with reading chapter one.
Sample Query Letter
                                                               Your Name
                                                                 Address
                                                              Home Phone
                                                                  Email:

Date

Editor's Name
Assistant Editor
Silhouette Books
300 E. 42nd Street
6th Floor
New York, NY 10017

Dear Ms. Name,  Never just use Dear Editor

To start off, give the name and length and type of manuscript you are sending.
A COWBOY'S WILL is a completed 57,000 word contemporary romance set in Louisiana.  This story is targeted
for the Silhouette Desire line.

Next add the meat of your query... Remember that teaser on the back of the book. You don't have much more
room than that. A good query should be no more than one page long.
Grady Reid was a good man, and somewhat of a match maker.  He was also the closest thing to family Cody
Lawrence had.  When Grady died, he left half of his cattle ranch to Cody.  Grady left the other half to his only
grandchild, Blair Taylor from New York.  They would each get their half, but only if they spent a month together on
the ranch.  Problem was, a month could seem like a lifetime when two people were so different, and disliked each
other as much as Blair and Cody did.

This is where you brag. Add anything that shows you are a serious writer who has studied her craft.
I have been writing for almost ten years.  Romance is my first love, though for now it is freelance writing that helps to
pay the bills.  Over the years I’ve completed a few other romance novels, some historical.  I've been a member
of Romance Writers of America, Southern Louisiana Romance Writers, a number of on-line writer's groups, and of
a wonderful critique group where I was fortunate to work with a published author. I'm proud to add that this
manuscript was a finalist this year in the Molly writing contest.

Don't forget the SASE, and don't forget the thank you!
If you are interested, I will gladly send you either the first three chapters of this story, or the complete manuscript.  I
have enclosed a synopsis and a SASE for your reply.  If you prefer, you can send an e-mail.  Thanks very much for
your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Your name
Copyright © 2002 by Charlotte Dillon.
           All rights reserved.
Writing A Query Letter