Writerly Things ~ Query Letters

For this episode of "Writerly Things," I'll touch on a subject near and dear to the hearts of those aspiring to publication—query letters (also known as the "pitch letter.") (And by "near and dear," I mean, "which causes much grinding and gnashing of teeth and, possibly, alcoholism and/or abuse of cold medications with sedating properties.")

If you're not familiar with this term, lemme 'splain. (No, there ees too mush—lemme sum up.) In the business of publishing, the query letter is similar to the cover letter you write to accompany your resume when you apply for a job. Only, the query letter isn't selling you, but your book. (OK, by extension, it's selling you as well, but mainly, it's meant to highlight your work.) In a query letter to a literary agent or editor/publisher, the writer endeavors to interest the reader in requesting a look at the work in question, with an eye to securing either representation (in the case of an agent) or publication (in the case of an editor).

Now, I'm no query letter expert. My own experiences with hooking a person's interest have been mixed. For my first book, That Fatal Kiss, I queried publishers and managed to get a nibble from one editorial assistant, bless her heart, who requested the full manuscript (or MS) but passed on the project. For my second novel, Bedeviled, I concentrated on querying agents instead and got three bites but no offers of representation. Le suck. This sad reality notwithstanding, I have had plenty of experience in formatting query letters/query packages and will share them with y'all here. (Please note: this is just how I do stuff, which isn't to say it's the best way, but it's one way, and if you've never done this before, it might prove helpful to you.) Also, I query for fiction, so the info below is for that sorta query.

How I Get Started
I identify the agents who seem to be interested in representing the kinda stuff I like to write, using resources like:

• AgentQuery
• QueryTracker

At a query workshop, one agent suggested looking up the acknowledgement pages in my favorite books to see if the authors thank their agents and perhaps query those cats (assuming they're open to unsolicited queries).

To research the more promising dudes, and make sure I really want to query them, I'll check out:

• Absolute Write Water Cooler - Bewares, Recommendations & Background Check
• Preditors & Editors

Once I've got a list of folks, I visit/bookmark their agencies' Web sites to learn their submissions requirements. If none can be found, I'll go with the guidelines on AgentQuery or QueryTracker, and/or I'll use my best judgment (such as it is).

What I Include in A Query
That'll depend on the agent or publisher's stated requirements. Sending things in excess of what they say they want is a waste of time, energy, and money. And I'm both lazy and cheap, so I like to keep things simple, if I can.

A Query May Comprise:

• The query letter
• That and a synopsis*
• These and anywhere from 1 - 50 pages of your MS
• These and an outline*
• Any combo of the above items

*I'll write more about the synopsis and outline in a future post. God willing. (I'm of Portuguese descent, which equals superstitious, which means nothing is certain till it actually happens.) ('Cause we're fatalistic like that.)

How I Format My Query Letter

1. 1" margins all around (for paper; I don't sweat margins in an e-query)
2. Font: If a paper query, something with a serif, like Times New Roman. If e-query, a sans-serif font, like Arial
3. Block style business letter (though mostly I've been querying via e-mail, but either way, it's all aligned left)
4. One page in length (check each person/place's requirements, though; sometimes 2 pages are acceptable but generally, from what I've read, less is more)

What The Hell Goes Into a Query Letter?
These folks give good advice on the matter:

• Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent
• Ann C. Crispin, Chair, Writer Beware
• Lynn Flewelling, Writer

Once I've got the basic letter written, I get to e-mailing/posting to the individuals, being sure to check I've got the right names in the right letters and tailored each query to each agent appropriately. If mailing a query, I include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply. My experience is that, generally, only a negative reply will require the SASE (unless, I suppose, the person you're querying doesn't do e-mail).

OK, so, that's all I got. Fellow writers, what words of wisdom would you add to this query letter primer?

Winding up for the pitch…

I spent my Thanksgiving-food-coma-recovery-period tweaking my query letter for the mythological romance novel I’ve completed and am ready to shop around. I figure I’ll e-mail it to my targets—uh…I mean—carefully selected literary agents next Wednesday. (I’m guessing the many aspiring writers hunting agents will have inundated their Inboxes over the holiday weekend, maybe they’ll be caught up by next Thursday?) (OK, they probably won't be, but I've gotta get them query letters out some time!)

Why try to land an agent? Well, with so many as-yet-unproved writers hawking their wares, publishing companies generally don’t look at unagented work. According to Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (and many others) proper literary agents make money only when they sell their clients’ work, so they’re not about to waste their (or publishers’) time with books that aren’t le awesome/commercially viable. Knowing this, it behooves me to seek representation. Plus, agents are experts in the wheeling and dealing and legalese involved in contract negotiations—the very idea of attempting to tackle this on my own makes my stomach wobble unpleasantly (and not in the, “Whoa, who’s *that* god-like specimen of masculine comeliness?” sort of way). Rock on, literary agents!

Meanwhile, I’m thinking of trying the thrilling frontier (as Cheryl Shireman describes it) of independent publishing. I’ve got a short story (creepy romance—it's just so me), an idea for another, and a shorter weird tale that I may compile into a mini-anthology and put up for sale on Amazon.com as an e-book. I can test the waters with it and, if my novel gets no nibbles, may go the e-book route with it as well. On the pro side, authors receive a significantly bigger cut of the profits when they e-publish themselves, rather than go with traditional publishing. On the con side, authors may have to put money up to make any (if they do), they receive no advance in royalties, and they’re completely responsible for all promotional endeavors for their work, as well as all the bureaucratic stuff. (Eeeeek!) I should note that mine is a down and dirty summary of the business; Kristine Kathryn Rusch (and her friend, Lee Allred) go into more detail discussing traditional publishing -vs- indie publishing, and Tracy Marchini gives even more to chew over. But, you know, if what you're doing ain't workin' for ya, ya gotta try something else, dontcha?

A friend suggested I put samples of my writing up on the blog, by way of providing teasers/appetizers for any interested parties, so I may do some scribbling towards that end. Please do check back—and wish me luck!