Query Letter Template

Dear Agent/Editor

[Intro paragraph]I am looking for an agent/publisher for my completed novel, PUBLISH ME, a YA contemporary of 75,000 words. I have read your blog and appreciate your advice to aspiring authors. I also love THE LAST REJECTION, which you recently represented/published.

[Hook paragraph]High school senior McKayla is challenged by her English teacher to write a book better than The Scarlet Letter, which McKayala loudly complained about during the two weeks the class spent talking about the classic. McKayla does just that. She is sucked into the process, begins skipping classes, losing friends, and even saying no to dates. When she finally finishes her magnum opus, she polishes it, then sends it out, ready for fame and fortune to follow. But things are not that simple in the brutal world of publishing, especially not for a seventeen year-old girl. McKayla soon finds out that crushing rejection letters are all part of the process, and she is left to wonder if she should give up and try to pick up her ordinary life or fight on.

[Closing paragraph]I have published two short stories in literary magazines, but no novels as of yet. This would be my debut. Thank you for your consideration, and I am eager to hear your opinion.

Sincerely,

Mette Ivie Harrison

First, I want to say what I have been saying a lot lately, which is that a query letter is a business letter. To me, that means, it needs to be short. It should stick to a function—which is to get people to read your pages. The best query letter in the world is not going to result in a request for a full manuscript unless the pages are good. There’s no contest for a great query letter without great pages. So keep your focus where it needs to be.

It may feel mechanical to say that you are looking for an agent or a publisher, but do it anyway. Put your book in a category and please, please DON’T tell me your book is uncategorizable. Where does it go in the bookstore? That’s it’s category. It has to go somewhere for people to buy it.

Your hook paragraph should tell about your main character. Who is s/he? Age, a few personal details to show what makes her/him unique. Then a description of the problem that propels the novel into motion. A few stabs at the problem, and then you can be vague about the rest. Try to avoid cliches and vague descriptions as much as possible. The first rule of writing is to be specific. Don’t take a lot of time on this, but be specific anyway. No need to get into minor characters or secondary plot threads. You don’t even have to tell the ending. A query letter isn’t a synopsis.

The closing paragraph should also be short. You don’t need to be overly friendly or overly personal. Sure, you can mention something about your own life if it is really pertinent to the book you are writing. Example, if you are writing a book about a diabetic, you could mention you are diabetic. Otherwise, don’t bring it up. Don’t talk about how many kids you have. Don’t talk about how many books you’ve written before this one. Don’t mention what your college degree is in, or that you wrote on your college paper.

Less is more.

That means that you don’t have to have previous publication credits. Really, it looks better for you to leave that part out than it does for you to try to cobble together a bunch of things that are tiny and unimportant and sound like you straining. Nothing wrong with being a debut author. In fact, that can be a selling point. If you’d like, just say that you haven’t previously published or that this will be your first novel.

End with a thank you for taking time. Then double check for spelling and grammatical errors. I’m not saying you can’t have any, but you’re better off with none and even one can make you look unprofessional.