Writing Excuses 6.5: Query Letters

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Writing Excuses 6.5: Query Letters

From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2011/07/03/writing-excuses-6-5-query-letters/

Key points: a good query letter has a really strong description. Target a specific editor. Describe the genre and give your title. The plot synopsis shouldn't tell us every detail, just the most interesting things. It should reveal the hook, the genre, and the audience. The hook is what will keep us turning pages. Avoid telling us that we will keep turning pages, show us something that makes us want to turn pages. No marketing speech. Remember, no one trusts the salesman. The core is a good description that makes you want to read the book. Keep it simple and short. Make sensible comparisons. "A great query letter, then, is one that is going to pique your interest, and tell you just enough to make you want to read."
( Mr. Postman? )

[Dan] All right. Well, I think we have a fairly obvious writing prompt for today to close off with. Write a query letter based on whatever your current project is. Describe it very succinctly, give a good synopsis, try to hook an agent's attention, and see what you can come up with.
[Sara] And practice it a lot.
[Howard] In a mirror.
[Dan] All right. This has been Writing Excuses. You're out of excuses. Now go write.