If you want to be traditionally published, the query letter is your first step. Your query letter is the first thing a potential agent will read of yours. It’s where they are introduced to your story and to you as a writer.

Your query letter should do three things. It should give a short description of the plot and main character of book itself. It should describe the book’s place in the market. And it should introduce the agent to your experience and credentials as a writer, if you have any, as well as how to contact you.

Let’s break it down.

Step 1: The Book Summary

So how do you condense this amazing novel of 70,000 words (on average) down to 250 vibrant, punchy words that hook an agent? As with all writing, it’s not an exact science, but there are tips you can follow to set yourself up for success.

The summary of your book is kind of like the back cover blurb of a book. It’s short and provides the most essential information to hook the reader. Do not give away your ending in your query letter. (That’s what a synopsis is for.) You want to provide enough of a taste that the agent wants to pick up this book and read more.

The query should introduce your main character. Not just their name and age, but something unique about them. What sets them apart from every other main character crossing the agents desk that day? It should also introduce the main character’s goal and the consequences of failure. What is this book about and why should the reader care about reading it.

A common mistake writers make is to think like a movie trailer and keep things super vague. Be specific in a query. Things like “she must decide where her heart lies” or “he will need to find out what kind of person he is” could apply to thousands of books. “She must decide between remaining home to take care of her family and using her power to save the realm” or “He will need to decide if he is willing to finally look out for someone other than himself and risk his position in the gang to escort the child to safety.” are much more specific and unique. (Don’t judge the writing, these are just examples.)

A common formula is “Main character needs X or else Y.”

Harry Potter, an eleven-year-old orphan who has just learned he has magical powers, must navigate a new world at wizarding school while trying to learn who is trying to steal a powerful artifact from the headmaster. If he fails to protect the artifact, the same Dark Lord that killed his parents will have the means to return to terrorize the wizarding world and kill Harry once and for all.

The final element of your story description is that the voice of your novel should show in the query. If you’re pitching a quirky middle-grade classroom comedy, a dry academic query letter is not going to make the agent want to read the actual novel. Your query should leave the agent laughing out loud and give them a taste of what they’ll find in the novel itself. If you’re pitching a gritty thriller, the language in your query should set the mood. If your main character has Sherlock Holmes intelligence, your query should showcase some of that wit.

All this in 250 words? Yes. Query writing is an art unto itself. But you can learn to do it and do it well. Also, don’t forget the importance of feedback. Just as your novel will have gone through several drafts before you send it out to agents, so should your query letter. Just as you’ve had critique partners give you feedback on your manuscript, you should ask for their feedback on your query letter.

There are also many opportunities to have your query letter critiqued by industry professionals. Many writing conferences offer opportunities for agents to critique queries. Also, get active on Twitter. Especially prior to a Twitter writing contest like Pitch Wars or Author Mentor Match, authors, agents, and past contest participants will offer drawings for free query critiques. You will also occasionally see authors and agents offering query critiques as part of charity auctions promoted on Twitter.

Step 2: The Market Details

This content is much more cut and dry than the plot summary. Your query needs to tell the agent the genre of your book, how many words the completed manuscript is, and two “comp titles” for your book. Comp titles are books similar in genre, tone, and/or plot elements to your book. You can present them as books your novel will appeal to fans of or as a mashup (My novel is X meets Y.) to help the agent understand your book better. Comp titles also show you’ve read enough in your genre to understand what works and what doesn’t.

Under no circumstances compare your book to a huge bestseller. Not only is this arrogant and overdone, but it makes the agent question whether you’ve read widely enough in your genre if you couldn’t find a better fit. It’s the equivalent of seeing a published book compared to one of your favorites. You’ve now held it up to an impossible expectation in my mind that it most likely won’t come close to meeting. If it has a movie or TV series, it’s off limits as a comp title. (The exception is actual TV series, as very occasionally they can be used to help you set the mood of your novel, such as Buffy meets Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young.)

This information let’s the agent know you understand the market and where your book fits into it. It sets you up as a professional they would want to work with.

Step 3: Your Bio

Your query letter should have a short bio section, just a couple of sentences. If you have any previously published work, any writing awards, or have experience writing professionally in other capacities, such as copywriting, this is where you will tell the agent all about it. If you don’t have any of the above, not to worry. Do not try to force it. Just say your profession and that this would be your debut novel and leave it at that. It will not count against you.

Putting it All Together

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