The Do’s:
- Do address your query specifically to an agent.
Nowadays, more and more agencies prefer email queries. Great for you, right? After all, email queries are free, fast and easy-peezy to send. Just the click of a button. Well, here’s the downside: Ri-DIC-ulous amounts of email queries are being received by agents every day. Like, over 100 queries a DAY. And that’s average for the more popular agents.
So if your query is addressed to “Whom it May Concern” — even if the agency’s submission guidelines state “send all email queries to info@primadonnaagency.com” — guess what is going to happen to your precious 1 little email out 100? Yeppers… The big ol’ DELETE.
For this reason, always, always, always address your email query to somebody… even if it’s the intern’s name (and sometimes it is the intern or assistant screening those 100-email queries-per-day). Always address it to a specific agent.
As far as salutations, there are lots of greetings from which to choose. Here are your options in order of best to worst:
Attn. Ms. Shermanstein:
Dear Adrian Shermanstein:
Dear Ms. Shermanstein:
Dear Ms. Shermanstein,
Dear Adrian,
Yo Adrian,
- Do state the title of your book.
You wouldn’t believe how many wanna-be writers sweat for weeks and weeks over their query’s hook and mini-syn, only to totally forget to include the title of their book in their query.
The title of your book should be included in at the beginning of your query — preferably in your hook — but at the very least, in the very first few sentences.
For some whacko reason, (and we have no idea why), newbie writers who don’t completely forget to mention their book’s title in their query, instead, do this really weird thing: they bury it at the end of their query. Like deep in the closing paragraph. Like it’s some big reveal.
Don’t be weird. Phhhhlease. State your book’s title somewhere in the beginning of your query. You’ve been warned.
BTW, if you’re sending an email query, include your title in the subject line: QUERY: AN AWKWARD FORM OF PROSTITUTION. And yeah, the catchier your title, the better chances your query will be opened and glanced over before those other 99-email queries.
- Do mention the word count and genre of your book.
Novels should be 80,000 to 100,00 words. Young adult novels can be significantly less: 40,000-60,000 words. Suavely insert word count and genre at the end of your first “hook” paragraph.
If your novel is a 200,000 word Weight Watchers candidate… our advice? Cut it down before you start querying.
Agents hit DELETE on a proposed first-time novel over 110,000-120,000, so you have two choices. You can either omit your word count (which is going to circle back to bite you in the bum when they request a partial, so we don’t advise this…) or you can cut it down. Unless your first novel is an family saga historical or a science fiction battle epic, agents have little tolerance for chubby debut novels because major publishers simply don’t buy them. Too expensive to print and distribute. Too risky of an investment.
- Do mention exactly why you’re approaching Ms. Agent.
Well, this one is more of a “Try-Your-Best-To…” Try your best to compare your book with other books that Ms. Agent has represented in the past. Or, at the very least, let her know that you’ve done some research, looked at her website, read her blog, checked out her submission guidelines and reviewed what she says she’s looking for, blah, blah, blah.
And we’ll admit, this “try-to” is one of those things that newbie writers do for the first 20-30 queries, and then it quickly gets dropped in favor of the numbers game. But if you met the agent at a conference or respond to a specific call for submissions that Ms. Agent posted on Twitter or her blog, then definitely mention it.
- Do adopt the “proper” tone for your query letter.
Yes, a query should be a professional business letter, but honestly, writing a query in the same manner as a regular cover letter is a recipe for snoozeville.
A great query should not only tell an agent what your book is about, but it should also match your book’s tone.
Got a cozy mystery novel with a witty, self-depricating female sleuth? Then, why are you making your query sound like a stuffy academic dissertation? Got a suspenseful thriller with a hard-boiled edge? Then, why does your query letter sound like a bone-dry, business letter?
Matching your query’s tone to the tone of your book is one of those tips that sounds like a “risk,” because everyone will tell you to keep it professional. But really, we’re not taking about writing your query from the POV of one of your characters. We’re talking about showing your voice through your query’s tone, and proving to an agent that you really understand your book’s genre, and ultimately, its marketability.
- Do keep your query to one-page only.
This is “old school” advice, especially since the majority of younger agents who are actively building their client list only accept email queries. A one-page query letter is a luxury. In the age of emailed queries and GenY nano-second attention spans, you’ve got to hook an agent in half that time. Your limit is 250 words. 300 max. If you really believe you can’t distill down your book into a 250 email query, you’ve either written one of those literary masterpieces in which there’s zippo plot, or you need some help learning the art of the query.
- Do format your snail mail query using standard business letter alignment and spacing.
That means: Single spaced. 12 point font. Everything aligned along the left margin. No paragraph indentations, but a space between each paragraph. One-page only!
However, if you’re sending an email query, be sure to send a version to yourself—and a few other email addresses—in order to search and destroy all those weird formatting blips. When you start copying and pasting from MS Word into email browsers, you’ll be horrified to see how fonts and indentations become all FOOKED up. One of the best solutions is to copy and paste your query into a text editor, like Notepad, strip it bare of any formatting, and then re-edit your query directly in your email’s browser.
- Do list your phone number, mailing address, and email address, but only IF you’re sending a snail mail query.
If you’re sending an email query, then don’t waste the precious space. Start with Dear Ms. Agent: and then vomit right into your query letter.
- Do include a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) with all snail mail submissions.
However, if you’re looking to streamline the whole snail mail thing, and you don’t feel the need to pay for the privilege of receiving rejection letters via your SASE, simply state at the end of your query that no SASE is enclosed, and instead, Ms. Agent can simply email you regarding a request for a partial or full; otherwise, no additional response is required from the agent (like a “form” rejection letter).
- Do have a pair of “fresh eyes” proofread for typos and grammar mistakes.
How many typos have you found thus far? Yeah, exactly. Bet it’s driving you nutszooooo…. Since most five year-olds can type and spell better than the AQCrew, be sure to get someone, anyone, even a five year-old, to proofread your query…
The Do NOT’s:
- Do NOT start off your query by saying, “I am querying you because I found your name in ‘such and such’ writing guide or internet agent database” (like AQ!). Not only does this take up valuable query letter space, but it’s also the sign of an amateur.
- Do NOT refer to your novel as a fictional novel. That’s redundant. Just call it a novel.
- Do NOT sing the praises of your book or compare it with other best selling books.
- Do NOT send gifts or other bribes with your query.
- Do NOT print your query on perfumed or colored paper. Use plain business stationery.
- Do NOT shrink your font down to 9 point so it all fits on one page. 12 point is standard. 11 point if you’re really desperate.
- Do NOT Fedex or mail your query in a lavish, signature-required fashion in order to make your query stand out. It will stand out, but in a very “annoying, over-zealous, bad first impression” kind of way. Not to mention, it’s a friggin’ waste of money.
- Do NOT apologize in your query for being a newbie writer with zero publishing credits and experience. Your goal is to write a tight, alluring, eye-catching query and sound like a professional. If you’re worried about your lack of writing credentials, just keep quiet and let the writing speak for itself.
- Do NOT include sample chapters of your novel with your query UNLESS an agent’s submission guidelines specifically SAY to include sample pages with your snail mail query. If you really feel compelled to show an agent your writing style along with your query letter, include only the first 5 pages of your novel. Never send more than the first 5 pages with your query unless the guidelines say, “A-Okay!”
- Do NOT forget to list your email address or contact phone number on your query.
- Do NOT forget to enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE)
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This is an article from agentquery.com. It’s a really helpful site; every writer who wants to get published should check it out. (SOURCE)
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