I appreciate the practical business angle you bring to this, Kate. Agents are incredibly busy and a straightforward, formulaic query that hits all the key points is a blessing. The less cognitive load, the better. Thanks for an excellent, useful piece.
I can't tell from just the title and the first page of a draft manuscript if someone is pro level or not. Or if I did only consider that, I would miss a lot of good stuff. I'm already going to miss a lot of great stuff with the system we have now, but an informative query letter + a writing sample gives me the best chance to find new talent, and thus, everyone wins.
I'm just starting the query process so this is very helpful! Thank you! The only thing I was surprised by is the comps - I've always heard that they're *essential* in a query and I've been banging my head against a wall trying to come up with good ones.
Thank you for putting this resource out there.
Thank you for this fantastic information!
I just have to press send…stalled 3 days now. Saw this and it’s definitely ready and going off now. Thank you for the push.
I appreciate the practical business angle you bring to this, Kate. Agents are incredibly busy and a straightforward, formulaic query that hits all the key points is a blessing. The less cognitive load, the better. Thanks for an excellent, useful piece.
This is so, so helpful, Kate! Thank you!
HAHAHAHHAHA!
Thank you for this! I'm just starting to think about querying, and this has been so helpful!
What if your book has pics or illustrations? Should you include a sample?
Not necessarily in the query letter but you can in the proposal or sample pages.
OMG the comps kept me up at night. This is perfect advice on all fronts. Good luck with your upcoming book!
PTSD
Do you have to say the ending, or is that just preferred? And what's the word count on a good query letter? Just to make sure not to go too long.
I guess you don't HAVE to say the ending, but withholding the ending is not a useful way to get an agent interested in reading more.
There's no specific word count for queries. I betcha most are well under 1000 words.
Thanks. I didn't know that. I thought that was what a summary was for.
Sorry if I'm annoying with asking another question, but do you have examples of good queries?
https://www.agentsandbooks.com/p/i-picked-this-out-of-the-slush-pile?r=bffx&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Of course you already made a post about it. Thank you so much! Saved for later. :)
The title and first page. That's all I'd need. Isn't that how readers are buying anyway?
Maybe some, but not me.
Thanks. But I was thinking if a querying writer isn't at a pro level, who cares about anything else?
I can't tell from just the title and the first page of a draft manuscript if someone is pro level or not. Or if I did only consider that, I would miss a lot of good stuff. I'm already going to miss a lot of great stuff with the system we have now, but an informative query letter + a writing sample gives me the best chance to find new talent, and thus, everyone wins.
well you could weed out a few pretty quick : ) Thanks Kate
I'm just starting the query process so this is very helpful! Thank you! The only thing I was surprised by is the comps - I've always heard that they're *essential* in a query and I've been banging my head against a wall trying to come up with good ones.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Other agents will have different opinions. Comps can be helpful! But I can also evaluate a book without them.
This is SO timely for me - thank you!!
I am starting to query now… perfect timing. Thank you for this post!
Why word count off the bat (as opposed to later)? I don't see how that sells a project.
That said, I could see it as a brown m&m to reject a project, such as 55k-word epic fantasy or a 900k-word memoir.
You got it exactly. Some word counts are no-gos. Some tell you a little about what to expect. It's all info that helps in the end.