email queries

karo.ambrose · Dec 2, 2006

Hey y'all, quick question:

I'm going to send out an email query and I was wondering if I needed to put the info on top, like one would with a snail mail query. For example, do I need to put this stuff or not:

Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo
123 Fake Street
Santa's House on the North Pole
Phone: (555) 123-4567
Email: [email protected]

Agent's name
Agency
789 Another clever address
Yadda, yadda, yadda

I mean; would it make the email query look more formal, or should I just start with:

Dear Agent,

NOVEL is a completed...

Thanks!

David McAfee · Dec 2, 2006

I wondered the same thing. I just went ahead and did it that way (like a printed biz letter). I figured it couldn't hurt. But then, what do I know?

Love the Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo and 123 Fake St. references.

karo.ambrose · Dec 2, 2006

Homer: Moe I need your advice... See I've got this friend named Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo.
Moe: That's the worst name I've ever heard.
Guy: *runs out of the bar, crying*
Barney: Aye! Joey Joe Joe!

aghast · Dec 2, 2006

with email usually its preferred to have your contact information at the end, following your signature/name

ORION · Dec 2, 2006

I did it as karo did so the agent saw the name/contact info at the beginning and my name was signed at the end.
It must have worked.
She signed me.

Linda Adams · Dec 3, 2006

You should treat it the same as a business letter. That's one of the complaints I see from agents--that people treat the equeries as too casual (like they would treat emailing a friend). You probably don't need to have the agent's address in there, but definitely have your contact information in there.

triceretops · Dec 3, 2006

I put the following in the upper left:

Full name
House address
Email address
Phone number
Genre
Pages
Word count

I leave my agent's name for last in the credit/bio.

I've never had a complaint

Tri

Julie Worth · Dec 3, 2006

triceretops said:
I put the following in the upper left:

Full name
House address
Email address
Phone number
Genre
Pages
Word count

I leave my agent's name for last in the credit/bio.

I've never had a complaint

Tri

I used to put their address at the top, but I think the preferred practice is to go straight to the Dear Agent. Having to scroll down through stuff they already know can be annoying. On the other hand, it indicates you've at least taken the time to find paste their address into the email, so it might make the email seem less like spam. And what Tri suggests seems like a good idea. (If it's your email and phone number up there. And the title they would already know as it would be in the subject line, and would appear again in the body of the query.)

karo.ambrose · Dec 3, 2006

Thanks everyone for their insight. I went ahead and sent it out, starting with: "Dear Agent," and then writing in my contact info after my name at the bottom. I didn't include the agency's info, b/c it seems to me that this information doesn't need to be portrayed in an e-query.

It would be funny if I get a response back, and the agent says "We were intrigued by your idea; however, you didn't put our address on top, so we'll have to pass." Agents aren't THAT bad, are they?

aghast · Dec 3, 2006

you are fine, look at most business email, the contact info is always at the end - get to the point first, then supply the contact info - you have to know the different media - an email is not the same as a letterhead and certainly theres not reason to include your recipients address and phone info

priceless1 · Dec 3, 2006

karo.ambrose said:
I'm going to send out an email query and I was wondering if I needed to put the info on top, like one would with a snail mail query.

Personally, I don't care where you put it in your query letter - just put it in. There are times when I want to pick up the phone and talk to the author. Besides, it's simply the professional thing to do. Another reason I want their contact info is that my submissions team and sales people often discuss promo and marketing opportunities.

Jamesaritchie · Dec 3, 2006

aghast said:
you are fine, look at most business email, the contact info is always at the end - get to the point first, then supply the contact info - you have to know the different media - an email is not the same as a letterhead and certainly theres not reason to include your recipients address and phone info

Standard business letter format is to have contact information at the top, not at the end. An e-mail should be the same as a letterhead. As Linda said, one of the biggest complaints I hear from agents and editors is that far too many writers don't treat e-mails as a business letter, complete with letterhead.

As an editor, I hate it when a writer treats e-mail casually, and if the contact info is at the end, I may never see it.

FloVoyager · Dec 3, 2006

Contact info up top in an e-mail? That's interesting. In business e-mails--I've worked for several large companies--I've always seen it at the end. But ok, I'm flexible.

I do try to address it to a particular agent, though, rather than "Dear Agent." That sounds a little too much like the "Dear Writer" I get back from time to time.

karo.ambrose · Dec 3, 2006

Wow, there's seems to be a lot of differing of opinion on this. Hmmm... maybe I'll send half of my e-queries with the header, and the other half with the info below my name and see which does better... if it makes any difference at all. :Shrug:

email queries

karo.ambrose

._.

David McAfee

God of Squirrels

karo.ambrose

._.

aghast

ORION

Sailed away years ago

Linda Adams

Soldier, Storyteller

triceretops

Julie Worth

What? I have a title?

karo.ambrose

._.

aghast

priceless1

Jamesaritchie

FloVoyager

Will write for chocolate

karo.ambrose

._.