Skim
I'm new to submitting query letters to agents, so would anyone mind giving me feedback? Any help is appreciated. The addresses and specific agency are deleted.
Dear ###:
I would like to submit a manuscript for my commercial young adult novel, Cyborg Mike, to your agency. Your listing on ### states that you are looking for science fiction with a revolutionary spin.
In the novel, thirteen-year-old Mike fantasizes about becoming a cyborg, a creature with part of his body replaced by machine parts to give him extraordinary abilities. After three years in foster care, he is tired of others deciding his fate. A secret program known as the Institute pulls him from foster care and offers to transform him into a cyborg. Eager to make his own decisions, he agrees. When he returns to his hometown afterward, other people’s reactions to his bionics create conflict. The bionics intended to empower him also handicap him physically and socially. After the fact, he struggles with revelations that the Institute used and may still use mind control techniques to encourage his compliance.
Cyborg Mike is not bloody or gruesome. It wrestles with issues of making decisions at a young age, free will, and the consequences of running away from problems.
I am a certified substance abuse counselor and have extensive experience working with adolescents in the counseling, substance abuse, and mental health fields. I have also worked as a hospital social worker, counseling patients with amputations, prosthetics, paralysis, and other life-altering physical changes. I am a Certified Alcohol/Drug Counselor in the State of Illinois and hold a B.A. in social work. While I avidly read and write, this is the first book I have submitted. Query letters are being sent to multiple agencies.
Thank you for considering my work. You can reach me at ###.
Sincerely,
###
Dear ###:
I would like to submit a manuscript for my commercial young adult novel, Cyborg Mike, to your agency. Your listing on ### states that you are looking for science fiction with a revolutionary spin.
In the novel, thirteen-year-old Mike fantasizes about becoming a cyborg, a creature with part of his body replaced by machine parts to give him extraordinary abilities. After three years in foster care, he is tired of others deciding his fate. A secret program known as the Institute pulls him from foster care and offers to transform him into a cyborg. Eager to make his own decisions, he agrees. When he returns to his hometown afterward, other people’s reactions to his bionics create conflict. The bionics intended to empower him also handicap him physically and socially. After the fact, he struggles with revelations that the Institute used and may still use mind control techniques to encourage his compliance.
Cyborg Mike is not bloody or gruesome. It wrestles with issues of making decisions at a young age, free will, and the consequences of running away from problems.
I am a certified substance abuse counselor and have extensive experience working with adolescents in the counseling, substance abuse, and mental health fields. I have also worked as a hospital social worker, counseling patients with amputations, prosthetics, paralysis, and other life-altering physical changes. I am a Certified Alcohol/Drug Counselor in the State of Illinois and hold a B.A. in social work. While I avidly read and write, this is the first book I have submitted. Query letters are being sent to multiple agencies.
Thank you for considering my work. You can reach me at ###.
Sincerely,
###