Query Letters

Southern Girl

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I've rewritten my query letter three times. I now have one that I think is interesting, well written and expresses my book very accurately. Problem is, agents aren't biting. I have dozens upon dozens of Rs, and yet only 2 partial views. I never seem to get past the first step. The biggest agent I've managed to attract so far is from the first draft of my query, unbelievably enough, but I started off praising her clients that I enjoy reading. I don't really know if this is an accurate view of my query.

What is the best way to know I've written the correct letter? I've read hinter articles on writing queries, but for the finished product - how do I know it's right? I think it is, but obviously I love my book and think the query addresses everything spectacular about it. I wonder if I'm too partial to my story and my query isn't as crazy wonderful as I see it. I feel like I should be attracting more attention than I have at this point. (I'm sure every writer thinks that)

Any advice?
 

ORION

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There's a great thread here on good queries and some examples. I have seen so many queries in workshops that are boring and don't entice - Usually they take far too long in describing a book's premise- A couple of sentences that are compelling are far better than a paragraph that may be correct in describing the novel but is dry or confusing...just sayin'
 

the addster

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Have you put your query up in the Share Your Work forum? Letting some other folks take a look at it might help you get some perspective and improve your query.
 

Southern Girl

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Argh...where is the thread? I've looked a bit, but haven't come across it yet. I'll keep digging.

No, I haven't had a public forum critique my query. There's something about having my head ripped off because it's not the query someone else would have written, that frightens me. I know that's not the rule, but it's certainly not the exception, either.

I'm off to look for the thread. Thanks for the help.

the addster - I love your signature line quote. Brilliant - my husband tells me that all of the time.
 

AbsolutelyCate

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Check out Miss Snark's First Victim's blog - about 3 months ago she held a query contest. I think you can read all the queries and the responses there to get a feel. Miss Snark had an agent's assistant (name escapes me) judge, and she left comments.
 

rmgil04

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Another good blog that focuses exclusively on query letters is Query Shark.
http://queryshark.blogspot.com/


Suthun Gal (that's how they'd say it down here y'all), I just noticed that your signature line says "Paranormal Romance 123,000 words."

One thing I've seen from a lot of agent blogs (including Query Shark) is that new novels shouldn't be over 100K words. Perhaps it isn't your query letter that's too long.
 
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Kathleen42

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No, I haven't had a public forum critique my query. There's something about having my head ripped off because it's not the query someone else would have written, that frightens me. I know that's not the rule, but it's certainly not the exception, either.

No one will rip your head off. They may give you a little bit of tough love and it may seem harsh, but, at the end of the day, it won't sting anymore than a reject.
 

kaitie

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If you have even a somewhat wordy query letter with a work that long that could very well be part of it. Many agents won't look at longer works at all, it's an automatic rejection. I was given very good advice on mine (which is even longer than yours, though I haven't started querying yet) that when you have a longer piece, you want to keep the query letter as straight and to the point as possible. This is because if they see wordiness in the query letter, it's assumed that the novel is also incredibly wordy and that's the reason for the long word count, and most agents don't want to be bothered with something that would require lots of editing. Definitely worth considering.

I also agree that we won't rip your head off. :) I started with what I thought was a pretty good query letter and after about five revisions there and letting all the advice brew, I finally have written a "final" one. So far the people who have looked at it for me have said it's a huge improvement, and I know I never would have gotten it there without the advice everyone gave.
 

ORION

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Hey...if you really want your head ripped off then get published...I even get tomatoes thrown at me...
 

Danthia

What is the best way to know I've written the correct letter?
Traditionally, if agents ask for pages, the query is working. You got two partial requests out of dozens, so there's something there that's attracting attention. But the ratio doesn't sound great so it could be the query needs a bit more polish. Putting it up in Share Your Work will help with that.

I've read hinter articles on writing queries, but for the finished product - how do I know it's right?
You don't. You just do the best you can and then send it out. The sad part is, your query can be dead on perfect, but if the idea is one that's been done a lot, or it's something the agent doesn't think they can sell, the query won't get requests.

I think it is, but obviously I love my book and think the query addresses everything spectacular about it. I wonder if I'm too partial to my story and my query isn't as crazy wonderful as I see it.
Good chance. We all feel this way. :) Getting feedback from people who don't know you is a good way to test this.

I feel like I should be attracting more attention than I have at this point. (I'm sure every writer thinks that)
Yep, we all feel this way too.

I'd suggest submitting the query to Share Your Work and seeing what others say. You'll get a much better idea of how your query and story are working (or not working).

Oh, I just saw in your sig that the novel is 123K. This could be your problem. 123K is up there for word count, especially in today's economy. A lot of agents won't bother if it's that large. Many won't look at books over 100K no matter what the query says. This doesn't mean you can't sell a big this size (people still do), but it's very likely going to be much harder, especially as a first time writer.
 
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OpheliaRevived

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SYW and Nathan Bransford's blog post on queries are very helpful.
 

suki

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You've already received some good advice and directions to other threads. I'll second:

1. Query letter Hell in Share Your Work. My query went through 5 rounds of revisions there, and it was majorly helpful. I also have found critiquing others' queries has really helped me improve my self-editing skills. But do read the sticky threads, especially the "Before you post" thread, and some of the critique threads, before posting your query so that you know what to expect and are ready for it.

2. Reading agent blogs on queries can really help you see how agents read them - different than casual readers or even beta readers sometimes. Query shark is a great place, with a lot of critiqued queries. But there are also a lot of other agents critiquing queries on their blogs - look around.

3. I will also add that sometimes the problem isn't the query but the first pages of the book. How many of your queries went with some protion of your book pasted into the email or included in the snail mail query? Many request 3-10 pages, and sometimes it's the pages that are the issue. So, if a good percentage of your queries went with pages from your book (more than half of your queries?) then I'd also suggest posting the first 1,500 words of your book in the appropriate Share Your Work sub-forum for critique. Because even a stellar query won't result in requests if the pages aren't hooking the agent.

~suki
 

suki

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I always thought the cover letter needed to be simple. It was the book that really sold itself. But I am still working to the point of querying.

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6710&page=11

A query letter is different than a cover letter discussed in the thread you cited.

When trying to find an agent (as opposed to submitting to publishers directly), you must send prospective agents query letters that include a succinct pitch of the primary story arc of the book (200-300 words, maximum). While many agents also allow you to submit some portion of the manuscript with the query letter (usually 3-10 pages, but sometimes up to a chapter or 20 pages), the submitted manuscript excerpt does not take the place of the story pitch that is made in the query letter itself.

There are some really good sticky threads in the Query Letter Hell forum in the Share Your Work forum that will give you the basics on query letters.

~suki
 
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scope

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You should read everything you can find about the importance of query letters and how to construct them.

In the end, your manuscript will be the primary reason for agents wanting to represent you. However, agents will never get the opportunity to read your manuscript unless your query letter intrigues them to do so. So, using about 250-300 words (one page) that's the basic job of your query. You have to include a lot more in your query (e.g., what's your book about, what makes it unique, who's the audience and why will they want to buy it, what's the genre, word count, and bio info of some sort).

Writing a great query is at least as important as the writing of a terrific manuscript, and to do so is to most writers extremely difficult. Nevertheless, the query is essential and it's your most important tool in attempting to get an agent to represent you, and for the agent to try and sell your work to a publisher.
 

JMBlackman

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2. Reading agent blogs on queries can really help you see how agents read them - different than casual readers or even beta readers sometimes. Query shark is a great place, with a lot of critiqued queries. But there are also a lot of other agents critiquing queries on their blogs - look around.

I want to third this. I rewrote my query based on this blog twice and felt better about it each time. The winning queries are good to go by but the queries that get torn apart and "form rejection"s were very helpful as well.