Write a Killer Query Letter, Part 2

You must include the agent’s name – not “dear agency”, not “to whom it may concern” and definitely not “dear agent.” Also agents despise multiple submissions, especially ones that include (stupidly in my opinion) multiple agencies. Make your e-query tailored to one specific agent, as you would a snail mail letter. Start out with a line that grabs the agent’s attention immediately – it can be a hook about your story, or it can be as simple as “Would you be interested in my YA Urban Fantasy Novel – insert one line pitch here describing what your novel is about.”

Your next 2 paragraphs should be a short description of what your novel is about, like what you would see on a jacket flap or back cover of a book – setting, protagonist, conflict. I went to a bookstore and spent hours checking out the kind of summaries that caught my eye in my genre. Take notes on what you like best. You can also do this in Amazon Books if you don’t have time to go to an actual bookstore. Make it brain-catching – you want them to read more.

Remember this is your interview, the ten seconds that will make a prospective agent want to read YOUR book.

Write a Killer Query Letter, Part 3

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