I'm not sure if this is the right place for this, so I understand if y'all need to move it.
I haven't written a query letter since the days when you printed it out and sent it via snail mail and I have some questions that are probably a little silly.
The agents/agencies I'm planning to query all request a standard query letter (single page), along with first pages - anywhere from five pages to the first three chapters. Three chapters makes it pretty clear, but the first five pages is stumping me. Does that mean the first five single-spaced, or double-spaced?
In the body of the email, do you double-space the manuscript text, or leave it single-spaced like a normal email? Center the chapter headers or just left-aligned? Any other formatting things to consider or is Outlook's standard formatting acceptable?
I own a small magazine and I plan to use that email address. Is it acceptable to leave my signature in place, or should I just use my private gmail address to send it? The magazine doesn't really help my platform since it's non-fiction and my manuscript is fiction - other than to show that I write professionally. If this is okay, should the pages go below my signature or above it?
One of the agents is a college football fan and our mutual favorite team suffered a devastating loss in the championships a few weeks ago. The whole state is in mourning. It seems wrong not to at least mention it - she states clearly that she follows the team so there's no way she missed that game. Or would that seem too much like I'm playing the hometown card?
Am I overthinking this? I'm planning to use Jane Friedman's query letter service (https://www.janefriedman.com/query-letter-synopsis-critiques/) and I'm sure she'll answer a lot of these questions, but I also don't want to look like a complete rube to her.
Thanks!
I haven't written a query letter since the days when you printed it out and sent it via snail mail and I have some questions that are probably a little silly.
The agents/agencies I'm planning to query all request a standard query letter (single page), along with first pages - anywhere from five pages to the first three chapters. Three chapters makes it pretty clear, but the first five pages is stumping me. Does that mean the first five single-spaced, or double-spaced?
In the body of the email, do you double-space the manuscript text, or leave it single-spaced like a normal email? Center the chapter headers or just left-aligned? Any other formatting things to consider or is Outlook's standard formatting acceptable?
I own a small magazine and I plan to use that email address. Is it acceptable to leave my signature in place, or should I just use my private gmail address to send it? The magazine doesn't really help my platform since it's non-fiction and my manuscript is fiction - other than to show that I write professionally. If this is okay, should the pages go below my signature or above it?
One of the agents is a college football fan and our mutual favorite team suffered a devastating loss in the championships a few weeks ago. The whole state is in mourning. It seems wrong not to at least mention it - she states clearly that she follows the team so there's no way she missed that game. Or would that seem too much like I'm playing the hometown card?
Am I overthinking this? I'm planning to use Jane Friedman's query letter service (https://www.janefriedman.com/query-letter-synopsis-critiques/) and I'm sure she'll answer a lot of these questions, but I also don't want to look like a complete rube to her.
Thanks!