How not to write a darn good query letter dont go beyond one page. Review this post from writers digest on how to write a successful query letter for any genre. Short and sweet and to the point describes the perfect onepage query letter. This is eminently possible, but a little difficult, and every so often a writer has a brilliant idea. But i wanted to give you a simple, straightforward set of instructions. Now, a nonfiction query isnt entirely different from a fiction one, but there are some nuances. Before i share the ideal structure for book queries with you, i need to make sure you understand something.
I know people want this information because i have a free ebook at smashwords called the inspired query. This article is part of a series called get a literary agent. I know there are entire howto book chapters and webinars and conference sessions dedicated to writing the perfect query or the query that will let you skip the slush pile, and if your plot in fiction or central argument in nonfiction is exceptionally complicated, yes, by all means, walk me through it in a concise cover letter. Writing a pitchperfect query letter romance writers on. How to write a query letter nonfiction the authors team. On the road to traditional publication, your query letter plays a central role in getting literary agents and publishers to notice your book. Writing a pitchperfect query letter once youve completed your manuscript, gone out to a celebratory dinner, told all your writing friends, and bought a new handbag oops, sorry, that was me its time to get down to the serious business of finding a home for your work. Step 2 is to develop a picture in your mind of how your book concept might be put into either your pitch verbal or query written appeal. Sample query letter the best way to locate these is to examine books in your genre. Writers, learn how to write a query letter, see a query letter example, and.
A query is essentially something you put together which describes your manuscript, your platform, your credentials, your writing history, etc. Much like the first paragraph in a magazine or newspaper article or even the first page in a book, you need to. Sample query letter nonfiction authors association. The definitive guide query letters are a recurring theme here since every writer needs one, and there are hundreds of posts online full of query advice. Unlike the narrator in most womens travel books, im not looking for. Resist the temptation to say anything else in your query letter. How to write a nonfiction query letter for childrens. Take a look at this list of query letter examples that worked. So today im sharing the query i sent to literary agents with the hopes that it will help you create your own pitch letter. Successful query letters and winning examples writing.
The letter itself had indentations instead of spaces for paragraphs. Nothing is better for polishing your query letter than seeing actual letters that made an agent say send it. Query letter sample below reveals how you can double your chances of getting the attention of book agents and publishers. Query letter and synopsis youve finished your manuscript and youve made the decision to look for a literary agent. I can teach you how to improve your querys lead paragraph, and how to. See part i of the roundup, and learn about tricky topics such as resubmitting to an agent, simultaneous submissions, and more.
How to publish a book major publishers small presses literary magazines webzinesejournals. But its the result of a lot of research into how to write a good query, and. Agentquery find the agent who will find you a publisher. If youre writing nonfiction, you need a book proposal plus two or three sample chapters. Actually, its rude to go over one page in a query letter, not to mention unprofessional. The following is an excerpt from write a book without lifting a finger by mahesh grossman, available at. In a query letter you have about five paragraphs with which to pitch your project. Samples of query letters that work writers residence blog. How to write query letter for a nonfiction book to land a literary agent. Ive also included a sample of a strong nonfiction magazine query letter. A query letter has to follow the business formatting guidelines, be addressed accordingly, and should therefore be in black text of a professional font family, sized 12, and preferably printed on a lettersized bond paper. There is some homework you must do before you write your query. Many writers want to know how to write a nonfiction query letter for childrens books.
C h griffin aka me young adult urban fantasy after the amazon breakthrough novel award contest, i began to query agents and. How to write a query letter for nonfiction tck publishing. Whether you choose to do this or choose to, well, burn them, just know that, like query letters and the books themselves, not all rejections are equal. When youre finished, post your practice query letter in the comments section. If you dont have any success, dont be afraid to selfpublish. The query letter that literary agents love to read godly. In the first case, creating your toc offers you a chance to get inspired and. If you write fiction or narrative nonfiction, a query letter is your first and often, your only chance to get an agent interested in reading and, with hope, signing your work. But if youre writing nonfiction, this is query letter 101. Agentquery connect join our social networking community and post your query letter for a free critique. I am using the query letter below to introduce my novel stonegate. This is a business letter, addressed to a busy business person.
The query letter follows an accepted standard format no there is no actual rule that says it has to be done this way, and an agent wont throw your letter out if it is not in this format, but it is the accepted format. Even if you make your own letterhead, use quality paper for the query you send, and not the cheap copy paper you use for drafts. Successful query letters and winning examples the goal of query letter is to elicit an invitation from an agent or editor to send in sample chapters or the whole manuscript. How to write a nonfiction query letter eschler editing. You can write a killer query letter in three stepsby composing a hook, a pitch, and a bio.
A query letter is a one page letter with three concise paragraphs. This post is a blogged draft excerpt from the author training manual writers digest books, march 2014. Queries should include the following three elements. Query letters are your introduction and a tease of your book. Your nonfiction proposal should include the following items. In this paragraph of your query letter, write a pitch for your book. Ive seen thousands of query letters and know what professionals look for. Securing an agentlanding a book deal is very difficult. They want to know three things when they scan a query letter, and they want to know them in a hurry. One of the easiest ways to learn what makes a good, standard query letter is simply to see an example of one that does its job well. To help inspire you, weve collected 116 examples of successful query letters from famous authors spanning various genres, from crime fiction, to fantasy, to young adult. The first letter has arrows to help students properly form the letters, and the rest are simply dashed font for them to trace. Hopefully you get some inspiration from these examples of query letters that actually landed agents. How to write a darn good query letter ny book editors.
As step 1 in writing a query letter, you need to dispose of these frustrations. First of all, i have to make the distinction between a nonfiction picture book and nonfiction for older readers. Begin writing an engaging query letter for your wip and post it in the comments below for feedback. Read the masthead it will tell you which editor to address and may offer guidelines. Click on the actual articles to see an example of how to format your manuscript. Ill write my query in the firstperson voice of the firstperson. Food and lifestyle magazine query letter breakdown 9 steps to a perfect query step 1. Sample query letter the query letter sample below will help you create a successful query letter of your own, so you can get a top literary agent, publisher, and book deal. Query letter sample literary agents and literary agencies. Nonfiction is often sold on the basis of a proposal. Writing a query letter for a nonfiction book can be challenging because, unlike when youre querying fiction, theres no triedandtrue formula for writing a nonfiction query letter. In fact, this post on query letter advice is so big that its broken down into two parts. Query letters need to be perfect, free of spelling and grammatical errors. It is indeed true that a very famous and powerful literary agent once claimed i had written the best query letter she had ever read.
Example of a good nonfiction query letter nathan bransford editing. The following tips are from a great query letter clinic in writers market deluxe edition 2017. Not everyone will have just met the agent they are querying, but its still good to add a personal touch. Use these sample query letters to guide you with the format. Classic wisdom for unpublished authors seeking traditional publication has been this. If youre writing a memoir, who knows everybody has a. The query letter is not the place to demonstrate your verbosity and linguistic cunning. Sample query letter actual letter that landed a book deal hi name of person, i would love to speak with you about my new book kick start your success and its ability to become a market phenomenon.
Agent query letters that actually worked for nonfiction. Inflight magazine query letter sample freelancewriting. Once you find an agent you would like to represent your book, the pitch. Book proposals are essentially a set of architectural plans melded with a movie pitch and a marketing strategy, plus one or two sample chapters. Sometimes a query can give some direction to your novel. That said, if you break down the perfect nonfiction query letter into its component parts, youll be able to understand what worksand what doesnt workso you can write a great query letter quickly and easily. A couple of writer buddies of mine have just heard those two magic words, so. The advice we hear all the time is to write your query with the voice of the novel which makes sense but to keep it in third person even if the novel is in first person. A query letter for a nonfiction book isnt all that different from a fiction query. In order to ensure that your query letter is not among the majority that are rejected, youll want to. Author michael schreiber and literary agent mitchell waters were kind enough to agree to share michaels query letter, which landed him representation with mitchell. A query letter is a letter geared toward literary agents or editors asking if they would like to see your manuscript. I hope these samples take some of the fear and doubt away so you can get that letter finished and put your best foot forward. Find out who is publishing the majority of books in your.
If youre writing a novel fiction, you need a complete manuscript. The purpose of either is to elicit a request for your proposal. If youve written a book, are currently writing a book, or are even remotely interested in writing a book, then one of the things youll soon need to consider is how to tackle a query letter. Heres an example of a good nonfiction query letter.
In fact, as many as 99 percent of all query letters are rejected. Agent query letters that actually worked for nonfiction galleycat. How to write the perfect query letter query letter. Nonfiction query basics part 1 picture books sub it club. As an author in training, you want to approach your table of contents toc as both a creative and business process. I created this book to compel people to take the right action for their successnow. Below are 3 examples from real proposals to real agents. Near the bottom of each query youll find a link to the authors website and a link to buy the book the query is for. Now this was early in her career so she may have experienced even more compelling letters since then, but at one point i was the best and she publicly proclaimed it. Are you struggling to write a nonfiction query letter to literary agents. A query letter that will help to sell both you and your manuscript to prospective agents, editors, and publishers, introducing you and providing a short, intriguing summary of your. But, the most important thing to remember is that the only way to really learn how to write a query letter to a magazine editor is to practice, practice, and practice some. I would trade all the query letter guides, manuals, and help books for a set of query letters that actually worked. Ill edit your query to emphasize the most attractive aspects of your work, and also alert you to any red flags that may prevent an editor or agent from requesting your manuscript.
The agent doesnt want to know how much your mother likes your book, or how many cats you have. Ask the literary agent to look at your book proposal. Something about the book enough to make the agent want more something. But its the result of a lot of research into how to write a good query, and several people who know what theyre talking about helped me mold it into its. Most literary agents will not even consider a query letter with more than one page or front and back. Keep your paragraphs short and your sentences shorter. Writers always seem to come up with great questions on how to write a query letter. Your nonfiction proposal should include the following items and should be attached as a single file to an email with submission.