How to Write a Query Letter

So, you or your homeschool writer have completed and polished a manuscript, and are ready to have the story or article published. The first thing thing to do is study market guides. You can find agents and editors to query in such books as Sally Stuart’s Christian Writers’ Market Guide, Writer’s Market published by Writers Digest, and the 2013 Guide to Literary Agents edited by Chuck Sambuchino. All can be found on Amazon. For convenience, editors and agencies are presented by genre.

Each publisher or agency lists the types of fiction and/or nonfiction it handles. Follow their contact instructions. Some only accept referrals or contacts they have made at conferences. Others request a synopsis and sample chapters. Many will only accept a query letter.

So what is a query letter? It is a one-page sales pitch whose purpose is to entice the agent/editor to ask for the full manuscript. This is one's opportunity to make a good first impression. Whether by e-mail or paper mail, use Standard English and follow a business letter format.

Set up pages with one-inch margins. The lines should be single space and paragraphs should be block style. Use Times New Roman and 12 font size. Center align your letter head. List your name in slightly larger font and your contact information—address, phone number, e-mail, web address—in slightly smaller font.

Align the inner address against the left margin. Always spell the agent/editor’s name correctly and use his proper title.

The first paragraph in the query’s body is a hook that is supposed to catch the agent/editor’s attention. It needs to contain the story’s title, genre, and word count. It can mention the name of a referral, part of the story line, or some fact within the story. To show that the query isn’t a form letter, mention something gleaned while researching the company.

The second paragraph resembles a book blurb such as seen on the back of book jackets. Summarize the first quarter of the book and name the protagonist, describe a bit of the setting, reveal his inner conflict, and explain the story problem. End the paragraph with a question.

The next paragraph is the writer's bio. Tell the agent/editor why this story is different from others of its kind and why the author is the one person who can tell it. Present credits, if any. Describe work or life experience that’s pertinent to the story and how the writer can promote the book. In the last paragraph, politely thank the agent/editor then ask whether they'd like to see a synopsis or proposal and sample chapters. When sending a paper letter, be sure to include a self-addressed stamped envelop.

Then the writer waits for the listed response time. If nothing appears, send a polite e-mail with the submission’s name and date and ask whether they received the query or whether a decision had been made. Once I waited twice the allotted time before contacting an editor who had requested my manuscript. She told me her computer had died, and she lost all her data. She asked that I resubmit. I would have lost out on a publication had I not e-mailed her. So, unless requested otherwise, make contact.

The following is my idea of how L. Frank Baum might query the Acme Agency if he was looking for a home for The Wizard of Oz today:

 L. Frank Baum

1 Writers Lane

Kansas City, Kansas

L.F.Baum555@searchengine,com

www.L.FrankBaum,com

 

C.C. Smith

Acquisitions Editor
Acme Agency
121212 Park Place #4
New York, New York

February 28, 2013

Dear Mr. Smith,  (Note: Double check the title and spelling)

Your client John Rabowski recommended that I query you about my 60,000-word fantasy novel The Wizard of Oz. It is the story of Dorothy Gale, an unhappy Kansas farm girl who learns there is no place like home.

Dorothy dreams of evading her problems by escaping to a land over the rainbow that is a much happier place. To her surprise, a cyclone picks up her house and carries her to a sparkling land filled with music and flowers and happy munchkins. Though she is welcome, she misses her family and wants to go home. The only one who can help her is the great and mighty Wizard of Oz. But he lives faraway at the end of a yellow-brick road that’s fraught with dangers from winged-monkeys, witches, fighting trees, and a deadly poppy field. Can a young girl survive such obstacles and return home?

Having grown-up in Kansas and having studied American Folklore, I believe I am uniquely qualified to tell this American fairy tale. My short stories have appeared in such publications as The Story Teller Magazine and Knights and Dragons. I am on Face Book, have 3,500 Twitter followers, and receive 5,000 hits per month on my blog.

Thank you for your consideration. May I send a synopsis and sample chapters?

Yours truly,

L. Frank Baum

 

So when should a writer query? For a novice, after he/she has completed and polished his/her manuscript. It is a good idea to have others read it before submitting. Moms will love it no matter what, so find objective readers who can give sound advice.—Quinn

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER "THE END?"

You, or your student, have completed a novel and want it published. Since most publishers don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts, what will you do? You need to find a literary agent. Query several agents and send proposals to those that are interested. (See archived blogs) If one believes the story will appeal to the market and will fit into what his agency represents, he will accept it and act as the go-between between you and the publisher.

On first contact, the agent presents the manuscript to an acquiring editor at a publishing house. If it fits well with the publisher’s product line, he will submit a proposal though the firm’s acquisitions committee. They will view the work as an investment in which they might profit. To get past them, the book must have certain attributes. It must be well-written and entertaining or informative. It must have potential for enough distribution to make its publication profitable. It must be able to compete with similar titles. And it must have a promotable platform.

If the work meets the criteria and the committee members decide to publish, they send it to the contracts and legal department. The author’s agent negotiates with the acquiring editor. In addition to the amount of advance money the author will receive, he will negotiate what type of rights are involved. The document must state whether rights can revert to the author after a period of time, whether he retains rights over foreign publications and films, and what deadlines he must meet during editing. Once the author signs, the work no longer belongs to him.

After the contract is signed, the manuscript goes back to the editor. In his first pass through it, he decides whether more or less text in required, whether chapters should be shuffled for flow, and whether information is clear and accurate. He then sends the manuscript back to the author for revisions. In the next pass, the editor makes line edits and asks for corrections and clarifications. If he is pleased with the revisions, the author finally receives a “payment on acceptance” check. This is an advance against future royalties.

The acquiring editor then sends the edited manuscript to the copy editor who looks at grammar, spelling, clarity, and makes sure the style and grammar matches the market. Next stop is design and layout. They do typesetting, page layout, and prepare files for e-books. They also decide on the quality of the paper and create a dust jacket. Photos and illustrations are added. Everyone reviews page proofs.

Meanwhile the sales and marketing people will provide information about the book to the book distributors and overseas publishers to try to determine what potential sales are. If interest is high, they may recommend that a co-publisher be employed for a large run, thereby cutting unit costs. If interest is low, they may recommend that the print or marketing be reduced or the book’s publication be dropped. Feedback from marketing also affects formatting, sales strategy, artwork, design, and production of ads and marketing material like catalogs.

Before printing, printers produce a pre-press proof for the publishers that show how the book will look. This is the last chance for corrections. When the publishers sign off on it, it goes back to the printer. Following the printing, the pages are folded, fixed to the board, and covered with the cover.

Marketing continues. It has three components, advertising where publishers pay to place a book in the media or print, promotion which is anything that draws attention to the book, and publicity where print and media pieces on the author or book are used to increase sales. Publicity also sets up book signings and tours.

Months before their release, the sales department matches genre and formats to the right market in the right quantity. They also present titles to buyers and make presentations to buyers form chain stores and independent stores. Advance copies are sent to the publisher, author, editor, and agent for publicity mailings.

After the printing, the books are packaged and sent to the publisher’s warehouse to await distribution. The resale schedule depends on the competition and the number of sales necessary to generate a profit. Next stop is the distribution centers where the books are unpackaged, inventoried, and shelved. The whole procedure from acquisition to the bookstore shelf may take two years.—Quinn