Great Query Letters:

Vanessa, why don't you post your query in the Share Your Work threads here? I'm sure someone could help you out.

When you write a query, pretend you're writing the blurb for the back of your book or front inside flap of the cover.

VanessaKEccles said:

Hello, I have been sending out query letters for my first novel, Georgia. So far, I haven't had much success. I feel strongly that this has something to do with my query letter. I can't blame anyone for a rejection based on the very vague description that I can give in a one page query.

My question is... How do you entice an agent enough to want to see your work through a query? I've rewrote mine several times, and I find myself at a loss. I'm new to the literary world, but I feel like there has to be some good advice to be found here in AW.

"Good fiction usually defies the type of summarization or highlighting used in query letters because so many of the integral elements, for example, style, mood, and characterization, would be lost. "(found on http://www.writersdigest.com/article/Advice_on_Writing_Query_Letters/ ).

This is so true! I feel so frustrated by the fact that I'm unable to do my characters and story any justice by a one page highlight. There is so much going on in my 85,000 word novel, but I'm determined to find a way to get an agent.

If any of you can offer any advice, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Vanessa K. Eccles

www.VanessaKEccles.blogspot.com

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I'll second posting your query in Query letter Hell in the Share Your Work Forum (password vista), BUT FIRST:

1. Read ALL OF THE STICKY THREADS at the top of the Query Letter Hell forum - there is a wealth of query info there.

2. THEN, read a bunch of other people's query letter threads, to get a sampling of common mistakes, see a range of the kinds of critique you might see, and start to make some impressions of your own on what works and what doesn't.

3. Do some research of your own on what agents are looking for - agent blogs are great place to do this, as a lot of agents post queries and critique them. In fact, QueryShark (Agent Janet Reid) has a whole QueryShark blog dedicated to just critiquing queries. Other agents also post queries for critique - google around.

Then, take a second look at your query, revise and polish, and when you think your query is perfect - ie, you would send it out if there was no Query Letter Hell, then post it in Query Letter Hell for critique.

And remember, a query is not meant to encapsulate your entire book - it is merely meant to entice the agent to scroll down or flip to the pages you have included with it (many, if not most, agents ask for at least a few pages of the manuscript with the query).

And if you have been sending pages with your query, then post those pages in the appropriate forum in Share Your Work for critique as well, to make sure that the pages aren't the real problem, since even an outstanding query can't overcome lack-luster pages.

good luck.

~suki

What Suki said! Great advice.

And make sure you read up on each agent/publisher. You might have to write a different query letter for each one, depending upon what they want.

A fallacy I see in this bit you quoted

"Good fiction usually defies the type of summarization or highlighting used in query letters because so many of the integral elements, for example, style, mood, and characterization, would be lost. "(found on http://www.writersdigest.com/article...Query_Letters/ ).

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is that a good query doesn't have to summarize or highlight the entire novel. The point of a query is to entice the agent to read the pages by teasing them with information. By giving them hints as to what to expect without giving away the entire story.

In my opinion, a good query defines these questions--

My hero is:
His/her enemy/trecherous friend/love interest is:
S/he faces this problem in the first 50 pages/3 chapters:
The consequences of not solving this problem are:

Hero. Problem. Consequences.

Everyone has great advice. If it helps, I analyzed my own query on the blog and said why I wrote what I wrote (there's also a link there that goes to my agent who said why she liked my query, so it's a good comparison). I also did a query workshop week that went step by step. Could be helpful if you don't know where to start.

Other great links to check out are query shark, which has agent Janet Reid commenting on queries people submit. Kristin Nelson has a great pitch series that's helpful to thinking about how to describe your book.

Best way to learn is by doing, so just write one, toss it up in Share Your Work and see what people think. Queries usually take a lot of work, so don't worry if it takes a while to perfect.