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How To Write a Query Letter to a Literary Agent

How To Write A Query Letter To A Literary Agent

The query letter to a literary agent should not be mistaken for a personal letter. Treating it as such is often a terrible mistake that results in rejection. Pitching a story to an agent requires clarity in presenting your case. To accomplish this, you must convince the agent that you’re about to break into the writing business and sustain the boom.

To draft the best possible query letter, follow these steps:

#1. Do your homework. When writing a query letter, you must make it absolutely clear to the literary agent that you’ve done your research on the industry and chosen this particular agent for a specific reason. Be deliberate in discussing why you’ve chosen this literary agent. This demonstrates your commitment to the process, which bodes well for a future partnership.

#2. Brag about yourself. If you have literary achievements that can capture the attention of a literary agent, then by all means, talk about those accomplishments. Just make sure to include only positive things. Accolades are great, but deciding to self-publish 20 books might speak to an attitude of impatience that could turn the literary agent away from the business relationship.

#3. Set up your manuscript. This is where you get the opportunity to discuss the thesis of your work. Who is your main character? What are your main facts? Structure your manuscript so that it makes the literary agent want to know more about what you’ve written. Sum up your story in one highly descriptive sentence, and you’ll often hook the literary agent right here.

#4. Continue the setup process. Sometimes a literary agent wants to see more from a query letter. That’s why you must continue describing your manuscript after crafting one powerfully descriptive summary sentence. Pretend that you’re writing the summary of your story for the back of your novel to entice a customer to purchase it, and make that your follow-up paragraph in your query letter. Show the literary agent who your characters are instead of just talking about them.

#5. Include a plot element. This is a make-it-or-break-it moment. Pull out one plot element that really defines your lead character. What has made them become the character they are in your manuscript? A good paragraph here will sell the literary agent on your writing skills or result in a rejection letter. Put in strong actions and consequences and tie an emotional response to each.

#6. Avoid the ego. Many writers talk about themselves more than they should in an attempt to “sell” the relationship with a literary agent. In a query letter, your manuscript, research, and creativity will form the foundation of a business relationship. You don’t need to try to sell the literary agent what you believe readers will get from your story. Let the literary agent discover that on their own. You wrote the manuscript. Of course, you think people will read it.

#7. Summarize your manuscript statistics. This is where you should put in the facts about your manuscript for the literary agent to consider. Who do you think your target audience will be? What is the word count of your manuscript? Are there comparable books on the market right now that could help the literary agent get an idea of what your writing style happens to be? You’re not John Grisham meets Stephen King. Pull out a specific manuscript that is similar in tone and mention that.

#8. Sign off. Did you graduate from a writing program? Have you been previously published by a recognizable publisher? This is your chance to offer your credentials. Keep this section short and sweet; you’ll get your point across.

As a final touch, it’s advisable to include a short portion of your manuscript with your query letter to attract attention to your work. That way, the literary agent can determine if they want to see more or are just not interested in representing your work. At this point, you’ve done what you can as a writer. The rest is up to the literary agent. If it seems like you’d be a good fit, then you might be on your way to publishing your manuscript. If not, you can always try again.

 

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