Read Get a Literary Agent: The Complete Guide to Securing Representation for Your Work Online
Authors: Chuck Sambuchino
“I am open to self-published books, but I find the time it takes to evaluate them is often better spent on books that haven’t been published. Oftentimes a self-published author will just send a link for me to look at, which I never click, or they send the book in a Word doc or PDF for me to evaluate. In addition, authors aren’t immediately transparent on sales or download info. I find self-published authors make me work too hard for the information I need. For self-published authors to get my attention, I need transparency around sales and download figures and want a straightforward and professional query without buy links or embedded images. Don’t make me work to get the information.”
—Elizabeth Kracht (Kimberley Cameron & Associates)
“My thoughts for self-pub are similar to any type of query as far as the pitch itself. It should be clear, concise, compelling (we’ll call it the three
C
s!), and well written. As far as the self-pub background, I need to know the realities of the publication history, even if that means it’s only sold three hundred copies in four months. Frankly, if the sales are low, I’d prefer to see a pitch for a
new
book—and not one that’s part of a series from the first one.”
—Stacey Glick (Dystel & Goderich)
“The good news: The stigma of vanity publishing and self-published books not being good enough has been proven false by the ‘Kindle Millionaires’ and other self-published authors who are making a comfortable living going it alone. The bad news: The expectations of a self-published author are higher than they’ve ever been, both in sales numbers and in social media marketing muscle. When I receive a query from someone who has self-published a book, I want to know how many books you’ve sold yourself, how extensive is your social media presence (I will Google you!), and what your future plans are. If you’ve published the first book in a series, don’t pitch me the second, because zero publishers will be interested in publishing your sequel if they don’t have the first book. And don’t tell me that you’re looking for an agent because you haven’t sold very many self-published books and you want a publisher to help you accomplish that. They are going to run into the same obstacles you are. When you’re looking for an agent, you might mention that you self-published prior to now, but pitch me on an unpublished book that I can sell to a traditional publisher.”
—Laurie McLean (Fuse Literary)
A query letter is a one-page letter that serves as your first contact with agents. In it you will spell out what your novel or nonfiction book is about and who you are. On the strength of this letter and its effectiveness, agents will decide if they want to learn more about your book and read its first few chapters.
The value of a good query cannot be ignored. Sure, there are some agents out there who blow by the letter and want to see your sample pages, but the majority of agents still place a lot of value on this first contact and pitch. Some authors have even described the process of whittling a complete book down to several sentences as more difficult than writing the book itself.
You may be asking, “But why send them a short letter about my work? Why not just send them the novel or memoir so they can judge the content by its true merit? Why add this extra, strange step?” The simple answer is that a literary agent is incredibly busy and overworked. If she accepted entire manuscripts upon initial contact, the manuscripts would quickly pile up to the ceiling and block the doorway. The query letter is part of a filtering system. It keeps the slush pile from getting out of control and, more important, helps agents decide whether a manuscript is worth reviewing or not.
Thus the query letter reigns—and that’s the key.
But fear not. In this chapter—and the next chapter, which provides successful examples—we will break down the query letter from head to toe. While there are many ways to write a query, I can tell you that, after critiquing almost one thousand of these letters over the years, there is definitely a tried-and-true formula that stands above the rest. It’s a four-part approach that includes a simple introduction, an effective pitch, a writer bio, and contact information. Throughout this chapter, we’ll explore each section, how to write it, and why it’s a vital part of your query. We’ll look first at fiction before moving on to additional insights for nonfiction authors.
“Queries are business letters. Agenting is business. Publishing is business. I try to be nice and friendly and funny and all, but the bottom line is that I expect those with whom I work to be professional and take what they’re doing seriously.”
—Linda Epstein (Jennifer De Chiara Literary)
“The best query letters convey the tone of the book.”
—Mollie Glick (Foundry Literary + Media)
“I dislike it when a query letter focuses too much on the author’s bio and doesn’t tell me what the book is about. Make sure you include essential story details.”
—Shira Hoffman (McIntosh & Otis, Inc.)
“First, take heart—agents really will read a great query. For queries, here’s a secret: Any agent will read a well-researched, personal query. Show the agent that you know a little about the list that she pours so much time and care into. You can do this by stating something such as, ‘I’m writing to you because I loved Book X and I know that you represent Writer Z.’ Then write a smart, focused query.”
—Lindsay Edgecombe (Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency)
“I’m sure it has been said before, but the best queries are the ones that are pitched to agents who share your sensibilities. Don’t pitch an agent who specializes in science fiction a book about financial markets and vice versa. Also, avoid the term
fiction novel
.”
—Melissa Flashman (Trident Media Group)
“I love a query that reads like the back of a book cover. Also, I do encourage all writers to treat their query as a job interview. Be professional. Be concise.”
—Nicole Resciniti (The Seymour Agency)
“Spell-check your letter. Follow all the agent’s directions for submitting a query.”
—Dawn Dowdle (Blue Ridge Literary Agency)
“Being able to really articulate what you want to say in a short query is difficult yet extremely important. We need to see something that jumps out at us as different, passionate, and expressive. On a daily basis, our team reads and considers several submissions, so it is those ideas that promise change and innovation that catch our eye.”
—Jan Miller (Dupree/Miller & Associates)
“The silliest mistake I see in a submission (and I see it surprisingly often) is an unprofessional query letter. I’ve received queries for ‘Dear Editor,’ ‘Dear Agent,’ ‘Dear Publisher,’ as well as e-mail queries that are addressed to ten different agents together. I wonder if people really think someone will want to work with you if you can’t be bothered to get their name right. A little homework and a professional letter that provides all the information we request in our submissions guidelines on our website is the best way to showcase your work and send the message that you will be pleasant to work with.”
—Jacqueline Flynn (Joelle Delbourgo Associates)
“Query letters do need a voice. Some voice. Your voice. You can tell when a writer is a natural and can convey simple ideas and plot summary without being boring or giving away too much.”
—Elana Roth (Red Tree Literary)
“Avoid a sentence such as ‘This is my third (or fourth, or fifth, or sixth) unpublished novel, so I am clearly very dedicated and hardworking …’”
—Alex Glass (Trident Media Group)
“Watch those typos, folks! We do notice.”
—Peter McGuigan (Foundry Literary + Media)
“Ever since I started taking electronic submissions, I’ve found that many people don’t put the care into query letters that they would have in a hardcopy submission. It’s as if they see an electronic query letter more as another random e-mail than a professional introduction to their work. So I’m seeing the disturbing, ‘Hey, I’ve got this manuscript I think is right up your alley. Can I send it?’ sort of letters. Writers should think of the query as they would a cover letter that goes along with a résumé. You wouldn’t dash that off carelessly (or CC it to everyone in the field, another common mistake), so don’t do it with query letters.”
—Lucienne Diver (The Knight Agency)
A safe and simple way to start your letter is with a quick introductory paragraph. This is one of the easiest query elements to compose, and your goal is to begin and end it as quickly as possible. The intro is the same for both fiction and nonfiction submissions.
The intent of this opening paragraph is twofold. First, you want to quickly introduce the crucial details of the work—specifically the genre, title, word count, and fact that it is completed. Examples follow.
BEWARE THE TRUTH is a completed 89,000-word techno-thriller.
Or:
I am seeking representation for MRS. MADELINE MUFFINS, a completed picture book of approximately 700 words, which has been professionally illustrated.
Secondly, this intro paragraph gives you an easy chance to establish a connection with an agent. After all, if there are thirteen hundred practicing literary agents in the country, a quick sentence can illuminate why are you reaching out to this particular one. Agents like to feel a deep connection to a project and often enjoy it when a writer chooses them for a good reason. The good news for writers is that creating this “connection sentence” is not difficult. There are three very easy ways to do it.
I saw you speak at the 2014 Writer’s Digest Conference and loved your advice on how to create compelling fiction.
Because you represented previous hard science fiction books such as
The Neptune Paradox
and
Ultra-Sphere
, I think you might also enjoy my sci-fi novel,
Light Speed
.
I saw in your interview on the
Guide to Literary Agents
blog that you’re actively seeking contemporary middle-grade fiction for boys …
Or:
Because you put a call out on Twitter for more stories with animal protagonists, I thought you might like to take a look at my novel …
Or:
I saw on your agency website that you lived overseas in China for a year. I hope that my story—set in both America and China—will be of interest to you …
If an agent repped a successful book in your genre, she would likely be a good fit for your book, too. There are two easy ways this can typically be done.
Even though the intro paragraph is simple and quick, you may wonder: Is it completely necessary? Is it possible to just jump right to the book and begin with a pitch? You can—and some writers certainly do just that—but I’ve found that there can be a problem with that approach that will sink your query:
confusion
. Don’t perplex an agent with what you say, or they’ll reject you.
To understand this better, imagine yourself as an agent who opens up a new e-query. The first line reads, “Billy has a problem, and life will never be the same after today.” Here’s the issue with such an opening line: Who
is
Billy? Is Billy a nine-year-old whose pet goldfish was just washed down the drain? Or is Billy a Special Forces officer who was just taken hostage outside of Pakistan? You can see how this causes immediate confusion about the tone and plot of the book. But if you had an introductory line saying that the work was middle-grade fiction or saying it was an international military thriller, the confusion disappears. Explaining the details up front helps the agent quickly wrap her head around what is to come.