How to Submit a Query Letter
Contributor

Submitting a query to an agent is the first step to propelling your book toward international success. Once you’ve perfected your one-page query letter masterpiece, it’s time to submit it to the right people and we at She Writes are thrilled to give the insider tips for making this part of your literary dreams as smooth and stress-free as possible. Here are the six steps to take when submitting your query letter.  

 

Customize Each Letter for the Appropriate Agent

Creating a “blanket query” is surprisingly a common mistake many aspiring writers still make. Failing to customize the query letter to each agent is the most fundamental aspects of perfecting your query and should be done so with care. Be sure to do your research and address the right person and allude to why they are the perfect agent for you and your literary masterpiece.  

 

Adhere to Submission Guidelines

No matter how brilliant your novel is, don’t send the manuscript or any number of pages unless the submission guidelines explicitly ask for it. Don’t send by mail if they only accept email inquiries. Absorb the submission guidelines for each literary agency and treat each query letter like a one-of-a-kind project – not a one size fits all. Respecting those details could be the difference between a book deal or your query being promptly thrown into the trash.

 

Be Specific with Book Details

Always include your book title, genre, the number of pages and be as concisely but thoroughly descriptive of your novel as possible. Your query letter should paint the entire full literary picture of your novel so the agent isn’t left with question marks. Question marks lead to uncertainty and a quick pass on even the best novels.    

 

Check for Tone Before Sending

Yes – the query letter is possibly the most important letter you’ll send in your professional career, but don’t make it painfully boring and uptight. Match the tone of your query letter to the tone of your novel. Convey your voice as an author because even the query letter is demonstration of your ability to engross the reader, and this reader happens to be a career-changing one.

 

Confirm Contact Information Before Sending

Confirm all your contact details including phone number and when sending via snail mail, be sure you include your mailing address, email and a stamped return envelope.  

 

Send, Wait, Follow Up and Wait 

When you’ve confirmed all the elements are correct above – it’s time to send! Before doing so, know the waiting game is undoubtedly the most painful part of the process and the rejections hurt, but it’s all a natural process to the publishing world. Not even J.K. Rowling was spared from dozens of rejections and no replies, so be true to your passion and art and take on the waiting game with pride. If the agents don’t reply within the expected time indicated in submission guidelines, sent a gentle and short follow up to remind them and continue to play the game.

 

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