Before you post your query here for critique, or send it off to an agent, read these basic guidelines.
GETTING YOUR QUERY CRITIQUED: Decorum on the forum:- If you post here for critique, expect to be critiqued. Expect suggestions about areas to improve your query. You should not take every suggestion, but if several people suggest the same thing, please consider that they may have a point.
-Remember: Every time you have to explain something in your query to a critiquer, that is something you won’t be able to do with an agent reading your query. If you are explaining your choices, explaining your content or trying to debate someone’s critique, your time would be better spent figuring out how to work with your query letter instead. If an agent reads your query letter and doesn’t "get it," you can't email them back to debate.
-You do not have to take all the suggestions you get. Ultimately, you are the one who knows your manuscript. The best thing you can do is listen to everything (REALLY listen) and from that use what works and ignore what doesn't.
QUERY BASICS:First, the
MUST-HAVES:-Title. And yes, that means find a title if you don’t have one. The playwriting book SAVE THE CAT has a section on titles if you need major help.
-Word-count. Round to the nearest thousand or five thousand.
-Genre. Think of it like where they’re going to shelve it in the bookstore. So, your genre cannot be Romantic Horrific Sci-Fi-Western. The bookstore isn’t going to build a new shelf for you, so figure out where the best fit is. Tip: If you're on the fence about it, you can always query it as romance to romance agents and UF to UF agents.
-The agent's name. That means no, “Dear Agent” or “To Whom It May Concern.” Find the agent's name, spell it correctly. If you don’t know the gender in order to use "Ms." or "Mr.", just use the full agent's name.
-Your contact information, including your phone number and email address (put this information under your name in your sign-off).
-Tip: In an email query you start with the date, then the "Dear Ms. Agent's Name, then your query. In a snail mail query, you use business letter format which is different and is worth looking up.
Now for the body of the query. There are
two basic approaches to writing a query.The Five Component Approach. If you communicate these five points clearly, you’re ahead of the game. Some can be combined, some are inherent in the problem, but it's a good checklist to make sure your query covers these important bases:
1. Character--Who your MC is personality-wise. The best way to express this is to show how they respond to events in your query.
2. Problem--What problem or choice or goal your MC faces. Find the main problem and focus there. Don't get bogged down with subplots and set-up.
3. Conflict--What obstacles are preventing the MC from reaching his goal or fixing his problem? The more impossible-seeming you make it for your MC to reach that goal, the more curious the reader is to find out how he does it.
4. Stakes--What happens if your MC doesn't reach his goal? If he can just go back to his normal life and be perfectly happy, then what happens doesn't matter. Show why he can't turn back. Note: Stakes CAN be inherent. If a serial killer is stalking the MC, the stakes are pretty much built in. Also, if the MC is facing a choice, such as, "She must decide between saving the world or saving her sister," stakes are built in there too because when you ask, "What happens if she doesn't save the world?" it's right there that she's going to lose her sister, and vice versa.
5. Cliffhanger⎯End your query on a tantalizing note.
The Teaser Query:The short, premise-based query that is so intriguing, it works without laying out much information at all. These are rarer and often harder to get right. These will ALWAYS have character and voice. They may forgo some of the others, but they make up for it by somehow answering the "Why do I care" question in a big way.
Neither of these are inherently better than the other. There are great ones and awful ones of both varieties. Find what fits YOUR story.
In either one, VOICE is extremely important. Don't get too clinical in your query. Use the word choice and phrasing your narrator would use, so that reading the query letter has a similar feel to reading the manuscript. If you catch yourself saying, "16-year-old Tina must face the unspeakable and insurmountable task of hunting her best friend," ask yourself: Would Tina say that? Or would she say, "Okay, I'm sitting here thinking my biggest problem is the SAT and my best friend has turned into a smooth-talking, popular-boy-eating, fang-sporting vampire!" Which you would translate into query terms as, "Tina thinks her biggest problem is the upcoming SAT, until her best friend is turned into a smooth-talking, popular-boy-eating, fang-sporting vampire. And Tina is apparently the only vampire hunter in the zip code."
QUERY DOS AND DON'TS:Do:
-Show instead of tell. Focus on what the story is instead of telling us.
-Keep it short. Nathan Bransford says the sweet spot for queries is 250-350 words. At a recent conference, another agent lowered this to 150-250.
-Study other queries (links below) and cover blurbs on books to get a feel for how much information to give in your query and where to put your cliffhanger.
Don't:
-Don’t use hypothetical questions in your query. Things like, "What if you woke up one day in a different body?" or ending with, "Will Cam save the school in time or is it the end of Cromwell High?" In fact, if you can get away with no questions, that's probably for the best. Agents tend to comment on these sorts of questions with heavy sarcasm.
-Don't reveal the full plot of your book. The synopsis will cover this. The query usually brings you to the point where your story's journey begins and tantalizes the reader with what comes next. Once again, you can get the feel for this by reading blurbs on books and by perusing the links below.
-Don't try to tell the agent how great your book is. That means no, "This is a sensational, powerful tale." Don't talk about it becoming a bestseller, and no bringing up how much people love it, even if they're your target audience or your critique group.
Disclaimer: You will always be able to find exceptions out there. Ones that raved about their own story, that were 600 words long, etc. This doesn't mean those are good techniques that will increase your chances. If you feel strongly about it, ultimately this is your query and you can give it a chance out there. If things aren't working out, just refer back to these things as possible reasons.
TIME TO QUERY:Read each agent's guidelines for querying and what they are looking to represent. Just as you don't want to waste everyone's time (including yours) by sending a sci-fi query to an agent who only reps romance. And you don't want your query bounced back to you because you didn't add the requested synopsis.
There are many ways to research an agent (and you can use this information to personalize a query if you choose). Check their profiles on the main QT site or on
www.agentquery.com. Check their agency websites. Google their names and look for interviews. See if they blog.
Tip: If you choose to personalize your queries, it's always best to find a way to connect their interests with your ms. For instance, "I chose to query you because in an interview with X, you mentioned your passion for sassy female protagonists," not only tells them you did your homework, but tells them something about your ms. On the other hand, saying something like, "I'm sending you this query because I saw your profile on QueryTracker," does not count as personalizing a query. If anything, it tells the agent that you put very little effort into the query, and are probably querying every single agent listed on QT.
THE BIG RESOURCES:http://queryshark.blogspot.com/http://blog.nathanbransford.com/ (Look for "The Essentials" on the left. Includes formatting queries, basic formula, examples, and how to address other things in your query package. And don't skip the FAQs)
http://pubrants.blogspot.com/ (Look on right hand side for "Agent Kristin’s Queries: The Inside Scoop")
For people who have an AW account (and have posted enough to unlock locked sections) there is a very in depth post on query letter writing that expands on the five-step one I used:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59255http://www.courtneymilan.com/ramblings/2009/01/06/query-letter-outtakes/http://ktliterary.com/daphne/Special thanks to DHE for compiling the bulk of this list, and to Violet for suggesting it.
