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Query Letters

by Claudette Hegel

Parts of a Query Letter:

• Letterhead with your name and contact information

• Date

• Inside address (editor’s name, company, address)

• Salutation (Dear Mr./Ms./Editor Lastname:)

• Hook

• Description of the project

• Your qualifications for writing on the topic

• Your previous publications (if any)

• Thanks to the editor for considering your project

• Closing and Signature

• Notice of enclosures

When Sending a Query Letter, Do:

• Be professional

• Make sure you’re sending the letter to an appropriate company

• Be concise (one page is the ideal)

• Use good quality paper

• Make sure the print is dark and crisp

• Use a standard font such as Courier or Times Roman

• Use 10- or 12-point typeface (12-point is preferred)

• Use one-inch margins all around

• Use block or modified block format (single space, double space between paragraphs, no paragraph indentations)

• Include your name, address, email address, telephone number (cell and landline), fax number, and your website address (if related to writing or the subject of your project) either in the letterhead or after your signature

• Include the name of the editor (if possible) — and make sure the name is spelled correctly

• Grab the editor’s interest from the first line

• Describe the project succinctly (overview of the topic, length, etc.)

• Mention any available illustrations; don’t say you don’t have any

• Offer to send a proposal with sample chapters or the complete project

• Include your qualifications for writing the piece (i.e. you’re a pilot writing about the experience of flying an airplane)

• Mention any other relevant information (i.e. you met the editor at a conference [be specific about which conference], someone the editor knows referred you, or your manuscript is about Burkina Faso and you’ll be spending six months living in Ougadougou)

• Include your previous publications and pertinent awards, if any

• Thank the editor for considering your project

• Proofread carefully

• Include a SASE and say you’ve done so in the text or via "Enclosure"

When Sending a Query Letter, Don’t:

• Use methods other than words for getting the editor’s attention (i.e. neon-colored paper, stickers, unusual font, including unrelated photographs such as your children reading your manuscript, writing "Important" or "Personal" on the envelope, etc.)

• Use a dot matrix printer

• Try to fit too much text in a one-page letter (i.e. quarter-inch margins or 8-point type)

• Use superfluous words in the salutation such as "Dear Esteemed Editor Ms. Lastname:"; just "Dear Ms. Lastname:" is sufficient

• Call the editor by his or her first name unless you’ve worked together previously

• Use the wrong or misspelled name in the salutation

• Use blatant flattery about the editor or company (saying you’ve been a subscriber to that particular magazine for however many years is acceptable)

• Say your project is the next "Harry Potter" or other unrealistic claim

• Use fancy language to try to impress the editor such as "I will endeavor to communicate the conceptualization of my treatise entitled ‘My Little Ducky’ to you, my esteemed colleague."

• Say your children, grandchildren, students, mother, or anyone else loved the manuscript

• Mention payment

• Request a catalog or guidelines with the query letter — that’s a separate letter before sending a query

• Mention illustrations if you can’t provide them

• Say the manuscript has been rejected by other editors

• Ask the editor for a critique

• Ask the editor for names of other editors to whom you can query about the project

• Ask the editor for a meeting

• Offer to do rewrites, which shows you don’t think you’ve done your best or aren’t familiar with the company’s publications

• Say you’ve been published by a vanity publisher

• Include unnecessary information such as where you went to college or how many kids you have (unless that information is pertinent to the project)

• Say something like "If I haven’t heard from you in a week, I’ll give you a call."

• Include a multiple choice reply sheet in which the editor should check why he or she rejected the query

• Include handwritten corrections on the letter

• Send the submission certified, registered, or any other mail that requires a signature

Additional Guidelines for Cover Letters:

• If the editor requested the manuscript from a query letter, remind the editor of his or her letter. Example: "Thank you for your August 7 letter expressing interest in my manuscript ‘Daddy’s Girl.’"

• Let the editor know if this is an exclusive submission.

• Some people say it’s polite to let the editor know if you’re submitting to other publishers at the same time, while others say editors may pay less attention to the submission if it’s simultaneous.