The Diabolical Query Letter

Howdy,

Well, I’ve dictated my query letter. On a scale of 1 to 10, it’s not horrible, but it is still shit… I suppose that’s true for any query until an agent takes the bait. Here are some resources that helped me whip out the query letter (which might be utter crap) in reasonably short order.

• Jane Friedman’s article entitled The Complete Guide to Query Letters – this is a practical, no-nonsense guide to what to include in your query and what the query needs to accomplish.

• Delilah Dawson offers some good advice on querying strategies on her Twitter feed.

• The blog Published to Death regularly posts about agents actively seeking authors to represent.

• Another excellent resource is the How to Sell Your Novel Toolkit by Elizabeth Lyon. This book contains numerous examples of successful query letters (and synopses).

So far, I’ve queried two agents – both actively looking for fantasy novels to represent (yes, I found them on Published to Death). Wish me luck.