Knock Their Socks Off: Writing Great Query Letters, PART I

Novel Query Letters

Now that you know how to write great cover letters, let’s look at a query letter for a novel. This type of letter is sent to agents or publishers to get them interested in representing/publishing your project and yourself.

Remember, you only have one page to sell yourself and your book. Letters that are too long (aka practically anything over a page) or too thin (ie: My name is ___, my book is ___, want to read it?) make agents cry.

Okay, maybe they don’t cry, but the offending letters do go straight into here:

Here’s an example of a solid, non-trash-can-worthy query letter to an agent:

February 21, 2008

Dear Ms. Witthohn,

What if you saw a well-respected professor murder one of his students? What if the victim was your best friend? Worse yet- what if the professor was your father? Would you report the crime? Or would you cover up the crime to protect your father and your family?

These are the questions Amy Archer must resolve in my novel, Iconoclast. Hidden in the shadowy recesses of her father’s classroom, Amy unwittingly witnesses her father, Jake Archer, murder her former best friend Sadie. After Jake convinces Amy it was an accident and begs for her secrecy, Amy is forced to keep her silence as the campus and community of Holyoake College responds to the seemingly senseless and random murder of one of their star students. Amy’s formerly strong relationship with her father is put to the test as Amy stumbles upon evidence that Sadie and her father were having an affair. The secrets Amy further uncovers run so deep they threaten to destroy not only her family, but the whole university.

I’m a writer living and working in Phoenix. I have published short stories in The Indiana Review as well as One Story. The completed manuscript of 105,000 words is available upon request. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours Truly,

Query Letter Tips for Novels:

1. Start with a hook. Get the agent or editor interested. Hooks vary, but questions are usually effective in making the reader want to read on to find the answer.

2. Write the letter as if you’re trying to sell your book to a reader. Because, in a way, you are. The agent or publisher is interested in one main thing: marketing. Is the book sellable? Who’s the target audience? The second paragraph gets the letter reader even more interested by revealing more intriguing plot points without giving too much away.

3. In the last paragraph, mention your experience as well as the book length. Sign off by thanking them for their time and express hope for future interaction. If your letter is smart, clean, and interesting, hopefully you’ve got them!

Click here to read “Knock Their Socks Off: Writing Great Query Letters PART II” to find out how to write a stellar non-fiction query letter. Whee!