Thought for the week: If you wish to succeed in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius. ~ Joseph Addison
Query letters
You’ve slaved over your book. Now it’s done and you have to pitch it to agents or editors via the query letter. Because you know so much is riding on the query, it can be agonizing to write. “How to” articles and books don’t all agree on how to write one and real life experience proves there is no one right way.
One author wrote two versions of her query and could not decide which one to use, so she used both. As she sent them, she alternated between versions. After a number of months, she received two offers of representation, one from each version of her query letter. So don’t be too hard on yourself. There’s more than one way to grab an agent or an editor.
Smart writers start working on their query before they finish their books. It can help you focus while you write your book, and your query will be ready to go as soon as your book is done.
If you need help with your queries, here are some resources:
You can send your fiction or nonfiction book query letter to Marla Miller at The Writer magazine website and she critiques it online for free. Click Marla Miller to read or view her most recent critique.
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