Look...it's a bird, a plane...

I'm quite fond of the 'Gies a job or I shall send big, hard-men round to beat you to a pulp.' motif.

What are your opinions on what makes a query letter exceptional and stand-out from the rest?

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Having a good story that fundamentally works. If the story isn't in good working order, the query isn't going to work. When our story didn't work (and I didn't know it), we went back and revised the query, trying to find the magic piece that would make it work. During that time, I'd see ones by published authors who got accepted, and the queries seemed so ordinary! No gimmicks, seemingly nothing special. But in all of them, it radiated through the query letter that this author had a story that really worked. Our story was convoluted and confusing, without a focus because of setup problems, and now I can see how much of that was obvious to the agent just in the two paragraphs of a query letter.

What is the most important section in a query letter, and what should a writer focus on that has absolutely no credentials to his name?

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I don't think there's any one important thing. If the agent loses interest and puts down the letter at any point, then the query lost importance to the agent at that point. It could happen in the summary, the credits, or even the word count. The goal is to get him to the end of the letter and asking to see more.

As to credentials, think about why you're the person to write this story. Try writing about that. Or some element of your background that applies to the story--and your audience. You might also consider joining a professional writing organization that you can list in the letter; not all of them require professional publication to join.

Tell them you're the b@st@rd love child of Dan Brown and JK Rowling.

Wow, I never thought of that!

On this website bad query letters are given a makeover by an Evil Editor - and it's funny too! A lot to learn here.

http://www.evileditor.blogspot.com/

Great query letters, IMHO, are short and sweet, to the point, informative, and makes the agent want to reply immediately and ask for the ms. There's really no magic to it. It's a busy letter -- it's not about gimmick or crazy fonts.

Linda Adams said:

Having a good story that fundamentally works. If the story isn't in good working order, the query isn't going to work. When our story didn't work (and I didn't know it), we went back and revised the query, trying to find the magic piece that would make it work. During that time, I'd see ones by published authors who got accepted, and the queries seemed so ordinary! No gimmicks, seemingly nothing special. But in all of them, it radiated through the query letter that this author had a story that really worked. Our story was convoluted and confusing, without a focus because of setup problems, and now I can see how much of that was obvious to the agent just in the two paragraphs of a query letter.



I don't think there's any one important thing. If the agent loses interest and puts down the letter at any point, then the query lost importance to the agent at that point. It could happen in the summary, the credits, or even the word count. The goal is to get him to the end of the letter and asking to see more.

As to credentials, think about why you're the person to write this story. Try writing about that. Or some element of your background that applies to the story--and your audience. You might also consider joining a professional writing organization that you can list in the letter; not all of them require professional publication to join.

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I totally agree, Linda. I don't think editors are so naive that they can be lured with a "hook" or any kind of blather about how the book is going to be a blockbuster or Pulitzer Prize winner. If the book is sound the a editor will be able to see that. I don't think editors want authors to come across as car salespeople.In fact, I read somewhere that editors are turned off by the hard sell approach and only want to be given information about the book so they can judge whether or not it is worth pursuing.

"Hi, I have an offer from a reputable publishing house with major distribution. I need an agent to negotiate the contract, and continue to represent me. Enclosed is a sample of my work."

"Hi, I'm Gore Vidal. I've decided that I hate my agent. Can you take over?"

Both good query letters to get an agent's attention, I think.

On a more serious note, the former method worked for me. Actually, I cold-called the literary agencies I wanted, and nobody hung up the phone on me, and everyone was very nice.

Even publishing houses that don't want unsolicited submissions can be breached by a good writer who researches the marketplace. Solicit the appropriate editor directly via letter to gage their interest. Meet them at a conference, etc.

As a businessman, I would never count on only one method of breaking through the invisible wall of the publishing houses.

Tailor the letter so that it's not just a part of a mass mailing. It reads like it was written just for them. You know their clients and the books of their clients. Your book is a lot like the books of some of their clients. Name which ones. Tell them how you found them. Explain your marketing strategies - - and of course first introduce yourself and your book and do all of this in one page...