Question About Nonfiction Book Query Letter

[lzaykoski]

I finished a query letter and want to send it off on August 1. In Writer's Market, several people are listed in the acquisitions department. There is a senior editor, a plain old "editor", and a project editor. My guess is, the senior editor is the person to address my query to, but I am not sure. Can anyone give me a definitive answer? I went to the publisher's Web site but it does not show contact info.

[Prevostprincess]

Are you sure the publisher accepts unsolicited queries? Most (especially at the big houses) do not. Maybe that's the reason for no contact info. Is there a reason you're not sending your query to agents?

(I'm not answering your question directly because I haven't a clue, since I've never sent a query to a publisher, just agents.)

[Sunnyside]

Boy, submitting directly to the publisher is probably tougher than recruiting an agent. I'd recommend stepping back, and trying to land an agent first, who can then beat down the granite doors of a publishing house -- and then will know which editor to submit it to on your behalf.

There are countless good places to start when looking for a non-fiction agent. In my particular case, I just went to the AAR website, typed in "biography" as a search parameter, and came up with 30 reputable agents that I could send my stuff to.

Just my two cents, of course (four cents, Canadian).