How to write a literary query letter?

How to write a literary query letter, now this one I almost missed as a topic, and it is so important. Every book proposal has to be accompanied by a query letter, yes even horror books, meaning all books. I say this because I can’t see myself writing one of those horror stories where eerie slow scariness creeps up on the reader when a writer writes of cemeteries and why there are always gates around them … you know why? Because people are just dying to get in… even the sick vampires who want to live there… one can tell how sick they are by how much they are coffin.

I mean I have my laptop on overheat already, it gets worse in the summer, it tends to vent more! Especially if I am writing a story that I don’t gel well with, call it my laptop’s sixth sense. Did we just go on a tangent? Let’s head back to how to write a literary query letter for all books.

What is a query letter?

A query letter is a 200-to-350-word document that is punchy and short for an agent or publisher to get hooked initially, meaning have all the reasons why they should or should not continue any further with an author/writer’s book for representation to a traditional publisher.

Before one writes a query letter, the fiction book would need to be complete and for non-fiction books, one should have a polished idea or promising story. These days it’s better to have at least some sample chapters when it comes to non-fiction, or the proposal needs to be very convincing and well-developed.

What should one write in a query letter?

1) Personalise the letter

How to write a literary query letter when it comes to personalisation one would need to research the literary agents that correspond to the genres or reasons why they would represent this book in particular. Literary agents, upon researching would clarify what books are on their list, this is how a writer/author would know what they’re submitting to the agent is relevant, i.e., personalised. Once researched and writing the query letter making a personalised point towards that particular agent via the research already carried out can go a long way. Remember agents receive piles of query letters.

I wonder if agents drink slush puppy while they go through their slush pile! Ha!

2) The plot and summary are by far the most important

The punchy summary and plot of the novel are the ultimate goals of the query letter for the agent to make a decision on whether they will represent the author/writer or not. Remember do not be too attached to your book because most authors/writers are biased on their work.

There should be a fair balance but instead of saying, “This book is great at pointing out the difficulties teenagers are facing,” puts so much generalisation onto the book which does not give the book that has taken longer to write than the query letter or the proposal any justice.

This part of the process in my opinion is the most important even more important than the writing of the novel in itself, after all, there must be a very good reason why the author/writer has written the novel.

These two paragraphs are the most important two paragraphs in a query letter which will determine the future of where one’s book will end up and its success. Demonstrate in a nutshell the story not making the book generic like every other book or most books, placing all the nuts and bolts in these two paragraphs that summarises the book strategically making it interesting, different yet catchy to the literary agent. Make it like a movie trailer only written giving the protagonist a name and what the plot is in this journey. Make it very hard for the agent to decline you.

The main point here is to not come out as generic as possible, the literary agent should see why this novel or book is different to other books in its unique plot.

3) Add at least 1 comparable book

In the query letter, it’s important to put at least one comparative book title that had success over the last 5 to 10 years but avoid overly used popular titles that many writers tend to use in their query letters.

4) Author biography

Whether one is a debut writer or has written several novels or books it’s important to say a little about yourself and why you are the expert at writing about this book. Mention any platforms you may have and the following you have.

5) Do not fail to mention other works that are in the pipeline relating to your book, meaning a series

Let the agent or publisher know the titles of the books that are being worked on for the series of the current book that you are seeking representation for. This can help immensely for the literary agent or publisher to see how the market can grow and even be sustained with regards to its continuous success.

6) Mention the word count of your book

With regards to the fiction book and fully polished work, it’s worth mentioning the word count of the entire book. Jane Friedman says 120 000 words can be off-putting and a minimum of 50 000 words for a novel is just about right.

7) Have a balance on the formatting of the query letter

How to write a literary query letter here on this point is the last place to try any sort of visual aesthetic, creativity, or being bold. This is truly not the moment to do this. The literary agent is looking out for mainly the pitch, plot and summary in the end and if the author/writer has anything else that’s compelling to the book’s success.

8) Proofread the query letter

This last point to close off with on how to write a literary query letter would take just a little more extra time, going this extra mile helps to clean out any mistakes and anything missed out in the query letter such as typos or misinterpretation of something. It’s that final check on the name, genre, word count of the book, audience and comparable titles of books to see if anything else is missing and that the most important details are included.

These 8 points should be fairly helpful on how to write a literary query letter that blows the literary agent or publisher’s hat off… well at least that’s what I’m hoping!

Oh! Wait, there is one more point and that’s the closing of the query letter. Thank the agent, and keep the close short and sweet, not too sweet, not too long and do not suck up to the agent.