Query letters. What are they? And why do you need one?

A query letter is a bit like the cover letter you send along with your resume or CV when you’re applying for a job. You are using it to 1) pitch the book, 2) get the reader of the letter intrigued and eager to dive into your manuscript, and 3) prove that you are a professional, prepared, and advantageous person to work with.

Query Letters are used mainly in two situations:

• Submitting to literary agents, and asking them to represent your manuscript and take you on as a client (The Advantages To Having An Agent, and Publishing Sans Agent)
• Submitting your manuscript to small presses open to direct queries, and asking them to take on your manuscript for publication.

The content of the letter will vary a little depending on who you are contacting, but in the most general terms, every letter is composed of the same five sections: Introduction, Proof You Did Your Homework, Metadata, Book Pitch, Why You’re Awesome, Sign-Off

The Structure of the Letter

Introduction

Open the letter politely, professionally, and explain who you are briefly. Include information about yourself that will be relevant to their impression of the novel. For example, as my novel Nine-Tenths is queer and set in Ontario, I mention that am likewise queer and Canadian, so it’s obvious that I’m telling this tale from a place of experience and my own voice.

• Salutation, and agent’s name (triple-check the spelling!)
  • Include their assistant’s name if they list it on their website/contact info.
• Very brief introduction of yourself.
• Good afternoon, Important Agent McFancypants. My name is J.M. Frey, and I am a queer speculative fiction author from Toronto, Ontario.

Proof You Did Your Homework

No agent likes to be mass-emailed or treated like they’re just a box to check off. This is the opening invitation to what you hope is going to be a genial, profitable, and life-long business relationship with this person–so treat them like a person. And make it clear that you are choosing to reach out to them for a reason, that you want to work with them specifically, and not just because they’re the next name on the list.

• Something unique about the agent that made you choose to query them. (“Like you, I am also a massive Fushigi Yuugi fan–Noriko for life! I’m sure the romantic hero of this novel will remind you of my favorite character.” or “I see that you’ve also lived in France, and I’m sure you’ll agree that my visit to the Loire Valley exploring castles has been captured in this novel in a way that makes you nostalgic for your time there, too.” )
• If it fits the book, you can also mention why this book is good for the current cultural climate.
• I believe my work will be especially appealing to you as I am also a massive historical romance nerd who also enjoys historical dress recreation as a hobby, and despite being a contemporary romance this book features all of our favorite regency tropes: balls, rakes, and scandals! With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, it is also timely, as it deals with the death of monarchs and the dissolution of an empire that no longer serves the people it commands. 

Meta Data

This is a paragraph that gives the reader the bare-bones info about the book:

• Word count
  • Be aware of the common wordcount lengths of the age range, market, and genre you’re writing in.
  • Also note that exceptions are very, very rarely made. You need to have a very good reason for your book to be longer or shorter than every other book out there like it. The length is a business practicality imposed by the publishers.
• Genre
  • Pick a genre (e.g. fantasy) and sub-genre (e.g. romantasy, epic quest, portal fantasy, etc.) to describe your book as accurately as possible.
  • It’s okay to mash up a few genres but do so mindfully.
• Comparable Titles
  • You’re looking for something like “TITLE meets TITLE” or “TITLE crossed over with TITLE”, something that’s easy to envision and fascinating and hooky.
    • For example, I always explain Sam Starbuck’s romance series as “What if Diners Drive-Ins and Dives was set in a world where the show visits a small Hallmark Movie Romance Kingdom and the loud, mouthy host is the one who falls in love the the handsome European prince–but in this story Guy Fierei is played by a Skarsguard brother.” I think I’ve word-of-mouth sold at least a dozen copies of the first book that way.
  • Choose the titles deliberately – pick something you’ve actually read, that was released in the last ten years or sooner
  • Explain why you chose them.
  • Don’t just toss the big names in there because they’re big (Not every book is the next “Lord of the Rings” or “The Shining”).
  • Two is best, and I would say three is the upper limit unless it really, really needs more. But I cannot think of a single reason why three wouldn’t be enough.
  • You can include TV shows, video games, songs, etc. but again, do so deliberately and mindfully.
  • Ask your beta-reading team for suggestions here, as sometimes they come up with really great combinations.
• “Nine-Tenths” is a 147k cozy romantasy that combines the sassy-sweet queer romance of “Red, White and Royal Blue” with the light contemporary fantasy setting of “The Nightmare Before Kissmas”, and the cheeky narrator and shape-shifting characters of “My Lady Jane”.

Book Pitch

This is the bit where you drop in your perfect, polished, and hard-won back cover copy for your book. If you haven’t already written it, pause here and go read this article, and do that now: How to Write a Book Pitch / Back Cover Copy.

• Three paragraphs or less.
• You can follow it up with one more short paragraph about whether the book is a stand-alone or intended to be part of a series, and any other information you think the agent/publisher reading your letter might appreciate knowing (was it sensitivity read, are you an expert in the subject field, etc.)
• You don’t need to include that it’s been edited because the assumption is that of course it is. (If your manuscript has not been edited by at least one pair of outside eyes–beta readers, a proof reader, a friend who is really good at spotting typos–stop right now and do that before you query!)
• You can also put that same info in the Metadata paragraph instead, if you think it flows better there.
• “Nine-Tenths” is a stand-alone novel, with narrative space for a prequel and/or a sequel. In the interest of full disclosure, my sexuality matches the main character’s, and this novel has been Sensitivity Read by two gay male readers, a bisexual male reader, and an Indigenous reader.

Why You’re Amazing

This paragraph is where you get to toot your own horn! Talk about yourself as a person, and explain why you’d be great to work with.

• Mention any awards you may have won for writing (got an award for a poem you submitted to the fall fair, got a class award, won a journalism commendation, etc.), or notable classes or seminars you’ve attended (Clarion Workshop, the Banff Writer’s retreat, have an MFA from somewhere, etc.)
  • Don’t worry if you’ve never done anything or won an award! The quality of your writing will still speak for itself!
• Include something personable about you (Where you live, what your fave coffee order is, etc.)
• If you are writing in a field you studied or work in, mention it (e.g. if you’re a doctor and you’re writing medical thrillers, etc.)
• If you don’t have previous novels published, then mention any writing that you have finished, and any publications you may have had, even if they’re not fiction.
  • Basically, anything that proves that you can finish what you start, and that you have experience working to a deadline and producing clear, easy to read, professional-grade writing.
    • Short Stories
    • Thesis projects
    • Science or Humanities journal articles
    • OpEds, columns, or articles you’ve written for magazines or newspapers
    • Your family’s newsletter, or your sports or craft organization’s weekly mail outs
    • Movie or book reviews
    • Fanfiction with large comment and read counts.
    • etc.
• I studied playwriting under Colin Taylor and Daniel David Moses during my undergraduate degree in Dramatic Literature, and attended the ‘Author! Author!’ conference at the University of Guelph at the ripe age of eleven! My 2011 debut “Triptych” was a Lambda Award-nominated and named to the Publisher’s Weekly Best Books of the Year list, and my most recent novel “Time and Tide” was just named to the New York Times’ Best Romance Books of 2024 list, and was recently optioned for an audiobook by Dreamscape Productions. I have both traditionally and self-published a further nine novels, as well as a worldbuilding textbook which is currently being taught on at least one university syllabus that I am aware of. I live in Toronto, and like my main character, I am both bisexual and allergic to chocolate. But not wine.

Sign-Off

Say thank you, mention that you’ve attached or pasted the sample requested, say good-bye, and provide your contact info.

• As requested, I’ve pasted the first three chapters of the book and a one-page synopsis into the body of this email below my signature. Thank you for your interest, and I hope to hear from you soon.
  Best Regards,
  –J.M. Frey
  www.jmfrey.net
  [EMAIL ADDRESS]
  [PHONE NUMBER]

[PASTED CHAPTERS/SYNOPSIS/ETC. <–Whatever they asked for on their website]

Querying with QueryTracker

A lot of agents today organize their slushpile inboxes by using QueryTracker to manage submissions. This is a website that auto-generates a form for you, the querying author to fill out in order to submit your manuscript for consideration. I’ve found it quite easy to use the forms, because each agent basically asks for the same information in the same order. If you buy the premium version, the form auto-fills with saved information for your project, but I found using a well-bookmarked Word Doc to copy-and-paste from just as effective.

Once you’ve finished your query letter, you can reuse the information in it for QueryTracker. The more you use the website, the more you’ll develop and expand a robust answer doc. And it’s great because there’s usually more space in a QueryTracker form to answer, too. For example: while I recommend no more than three comparable in your metadata paragraph in the letter itself, the form usually has room for up to 500 characters–that gives you a lot more chance to name extra titles, or explain why you chose the titles you did in further detail.

Other Questions I’ve Been Asked

This is a list of other questions I’ve been asked to answer in my query either on QueryTracker, or an agent has asked querying authors to answer in the letters via the individual agent’s Manuscript Wishlist or website. You may want to start your own Answer Doc by responding to these. Please keep in mind that the character limit for the forms are usually between 250-500. Even in a query letter, you’ll want to keep your answers short, punchy, and to the point. If the agent is interested, you’ll have lots of time to delve into greater detail once the contract is signed and you are discussing the manuscript.

• Why are you the right person to write this story?
• Pitch the book in a single sentence
• Who is your target audience (age, fans of authors or shows, readers of a certain imprint, etc.)
• Do you have a Pinterest mood board or Spotify inspiration playlist you can share?
• Name one song that best represents the vibe of your book.
• If you had an agent before, why did you leave them?
• What do you love most about the book?
• If you could pick any publisher to pick up this book, who is the best one in your opinion?
• What was your inspiration for writing this book?
• What is this book “about”? (themes, lessons, etc.)
• What is the hook?
• Please list the trigger warnings.
• Is the book a stand alone? Is it part of a series? If so, summarize your plans. If not, could it be part of a series – why or why not?

And that’s it!

Congrats, you now have a finished letter! Don’t forget to polish and proofread it as rigorously as you would your novel (you only have one chance to make a good first impression), try to keep it to one page long, and remember to be kind and polite if you receive a rejection (don’t burn bridges before you’ve finished building them).

Happy querying!

Other useful articles for this stage of your journey to publication:

A quick and dirty flowchart of what happens in what order when it comes to publishing–either traditionally or independently.

• Read more WORDS FOR WRITERS articles.
• Ask me a question about the craft or business of writing.

Originally Published on Storybilder August 24, 2021

This is the second part of our discussion on narrative vocabulary and tone. Part One focuses on vocabulary choice and ways to shed light on your characters’ inner thoughts and world view through the language they use.

What is “Tone”? 

Compared to vocabulary choice, tone is harder to pin down. It’s more or less the way that you, the writer, feel about the story you’re telling, and how, on the page, you convey that feeling to the reader. For example, Terry Pratchett feels irreverent and deeply hopeful in his novel Good Omens. If Jane Austen had written a similar story about an angel and a demon accidentally losing the antichrist on the eve of Armageddon, her tone would likely have been dry and witty. Ernest Hemingway’s version might have been angry and defeatist.

You can set the tone of a story by deciding what mood or flavor you’re looking convey. Is the book meant to be light and frivolous, like a delicious marshmallow? Is it meant to be smooth and dark, like rich hot chocolate? Is it supposed to be astringent and biting, like a tart lemon martini?

Once you’ve figured out the feeling and mood, try to reflect that in your pacing, sentence length, and yes, vocabulary choice. How long you linger on scenery or descriptions, how quickly you move from plot point to plot point, how much of the small domestic moments you share, how choppy your prose is, and which words you choose, all these elements come together to create the book’s tone. 

Alignment and Juxtaposition 

Depending on what sort of tone you’re looking to convey, you can have the character voice and narrative voice work in harmony to paint the picture for the reader, or you can provide deliberate juxtaposition, to make it clear that the narrator’s opinion on the action diverges from the protagonists’.

For example: 

Poetic tone: The heather waved grey and sweet in the florid gloaming. “Oh, my dearest heart, how I love you,” the poet sighed to me, their eyes on the beautiful landscape that marked our last day together. 

Cynical tone: A rock stuck into my thigh. “You know,” he sniffed, eyes glued to the sunrise so he didn’t have to look at me. “Seeing as, eh, you know, it being the last time I’m ever gonna see you, I think I, you know…L-word you.” 

What happens if we mix and match them?

Blended: The heather waved grey and sweet, while a rock stuck awkwardly into my thigh. “You know,” the poet sighed to me, their eyes on the beautiful sunrise that marked our last day together.  “Seeing as, eh, you know,, it being the last time I’m ever gonna see you, I think I, you know…L-word you.” 

Play around with voice, tone, and vocabulary choice, to find the narrative voice works best for your book.

Activity:

Pick a favorite children’s story such as The Three Little Pigs, Cinderella or any other folk tale you know well. How would you tell the story so it sounds sweet and light? Can you tell it again so it sounds terrifying? How do your language, your pacing, and your tone change? What happens if you tell the story as if it were the truth? What does changes if you try to tell the same story as if you thought it were funny or sad?