Some Shrewd Contents: The Anatomy of a Query Letter
Let's break down the email I sent to attract an agent
Hey Y’all!
Happy September, lovlies! I hope your summer’s been nice even with all of this incredible heat. I’m hunkered down here in my office in NOLA working through Forge & Fracture Saga Book 3. That Self-Same Metal is still selling well and thank you all for supporting my first novel baby. We’re just about 8 months out from the sequel, Saint-Seducing Gold hitting shelves which is a wild ass thought for me. But today, I’m taking y’all back to 2019 when I was in the query trenches looking for an agent.
What’s in a Query?
For those who don’t know, when you’re looking to publish a novel traditionally—with a known publisher like Penguin Random House, Scholastic, or Abrams—it’s best to have a literary agent to bring your book to editors and negotiate your contract. And to get that agent, you have to pitch them your finished manuscript. You can’t just send them your book unsolicited, you have to entice them to ask for it. You give them a little taste of you and your work to get their interest and that little taste comes in the form of a query letter.
Now I’m calling it a “letter” but these days it’s usually an email and you’re gonna want to keep it brief. Here’s mine for That Self-Same Metal.
Mmm, what ya’ say?
Your query letter doesn’t need to be longer than this so let’s break this bad boy down. Start with a personalized salutation. I like “Dear” because I don’t want to be too casual in an initial business email. I had this in a Google Doc that I could copy and paste into an email. I used the hash marks as placeholders for the agent’s name so I remember to replace it. That fear of sending a query with the wrong name was strong as hell.
The opening paragraph just has my title, genre, extremely brief summary, and word count. Keep it short and sweet here and you can go deeper in the next paragraph. Don’t get too in the weeds describing your plot, just hit the most important points. This isn’t the only glimpse they’ll get of your story so don’t feel like you need to throw in every single detail. You can see how I described TSSM in the first section and then expanded on it.
Next, you’re going to give a short bio and include any relevant details. If your other job has any connection to your book, mention it. Got any other writing experience? Throw it in there. Again, don’t give them your full life story, just some greatest hits. As Shakespeare/Polonius said, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” Seriously, though…keep it short.
I cut it out here, but I had one final line that mentioned an editor who already had my full manuscript. If you have any details like that, just throw it in in a single sentence. Then close out with your usual farewell and you’re good for the email itself.
Just about every agent will have their submission specifications available somewhere on the internet. This may be on their personal site, agency site, Publisher’s Marketplace, or Manuscript Wish List. Look them up, see what kinds of books they represent, what to send along with your query—my agent asks for the first 10 pages, and how to submit your materials. Follow these instructions!
Let’s Change the Subject
Sometimes, they’ll tell you how to structure your subject line, but I’ll share mine.
General: Query: That Self-Same Metal - YA Historical Fantasy
PitMad: #PITMAD Query: That Self-Same Metal - YA Historical Fantasy
As a final note, #PitMad is a Twitter event where you tweet out a brief summary of your novel. Interested agents will like your tweet and that is an invitation to send them your query and materials. When I sent these emails off, I made sure to add that at the front of the subject line. Bonus, here’s my #PitMad pitch. Ignore the typo but this is how I connected with Allie, my current agent
Let me know if you have any questions or want a copy of the PDF breaking down my query letter.
A Note on Starting
We’ve got a new episode of Inkbottle Pod where we talk about beginning stories and starting writing. Give it a listen, like, & rate us.
Love to you all!
Events
This party is hitting the road! Come through and talk books with me. Swing on by and say hey!
October 28: Louisiana Book Festival - Baton Rouge, LA
Schedule TBANovember 10-11: YALLFest - Charleston, SC
Schedule TBA
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This is great stuff for new writers. I'll be adding it to the Reading List I share every couple of weeks here!
Thank you so much for this informative post. I'm on holiday at the moment but will be taking inspiration from your query to add to mine. And I'll be sure to give the podcast a listen when I get back too!