The Anatomy of a Perfect Query Letter
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ก.พ. 2020
- FEBRUARY BONUS VIDEO, because we love our subscribers!
Jessica and James are dispensing more query advice, this time: the formula to the perfect query letter! Take a look at what elements every good query letter absolutely must have!
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Jessica Faust’s love for books is what first brought her to open BookEnds Literary Agency. It is her desire to be an advocate for all authors that pushed her to create her blog, the BookEnds TH-cam channel and to maintain a vibrant presence on Twitter.
Jessica is proud to have grown BookEnds to an agency that represents authors of all genres for children and adults, allowing her to reach more readers and help more authors and illustrators achieve their dreams.
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Since interning at BookEnds as an undergrad in the summer of 2015, James has (basically) never left. He's just continuously level-up-ed inside of BookEnds. Now he is the Literary Assistant and Social Media Manager for the team. He’s been a reader since his mom gave him the first A Series of Unfortunate Events book and ordered the sequels regularly through Scholastic book orders.
James is currently growing his own list and is actively seeking submissions in adult literary and upmarket fiction, mystery, thrillers, and suspense. He is also accepting submissions in all sub-genres of Young Adult fiction, and is actively looking for Picture Books that make him laugh.
Connect with BookEnds!
Twitter: bookendslit
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Website: www.bookendsliterary.com
Connect with Jessica: bookendsjessica
Connect with James: jmcgowanbks
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I hope you two know how deeply appreciated you are... Happy Valentine's Day to you both. 💕
Tremendously helpful. Thank you for making this!
This was a really great one, gang! Thanks for all you do!
This is gold. Thank you.
Thanks for the advice! Love your videos!
Great advice. Thank you so much.
Wonderful channel. I've learned so much from you both. Thank you. Keep up the good work! :)
This was very helpful thank you, you guys are awesome!
Great advice, as always, Jessica and James! I really love how positive and fun your videos are while being informative and helpful at the same time. Keep up the excellent work, and thanks for sharing!
Now to get back to revising my query!
Thank you, Jessica and James, that was very helpful. Your mention that queries were more important than pitches caught my attention, and your explanation of the desired query contents confirmed what I’ve learned.
Thank you so much for this video!
I've watched a few of your videos now and they have been SO helpful! Thank you both!
Marvelous , simple and elegant.
Thank you so much! So incredibly helpful!
Thank you so much for this video! I am getting ready to start my MFA in Writing and I had a stressful day managing kids and trying to write essays for graduate scholarships. I feel uplifted and hopeful after watching this. Thank you. :)
so insightful and needed. thanks so much for sharing. 😉
Thanks for the advice! I love the Wonder Woman cup.
Best one yet. Answered my question about including self-published work.
Thanks for this! I've now got a checklist to measure a query letter against to be sure it is all it should be and isn't what it shouldn't be.
Thanks again guys. Your information is as always, invaluable.
Have a great day. Hope the smoke has cleared for you. ❤
THANK YOU! 🙏
Thanks for the work you guys do with these videos, this has been VERY insightful and had I known the content of this here video when I published my first book I may have gone the traditional route back then. With the importance of this current work I wish only to do it right.
This is helpful. Thanks!
Awesome video, as always! :)
What a wonderful, resourceful video!
Thank you!
Man, I wish I'd had this when I started querying.
I'm so close to finishing! Gah! :)
And now, off to rewrite my query letter.........thanks
That mic is doing a good job, sound is much better than in your earlier videos
Learning lots form these videos. Thanks. If I have published something small in a different genre than I am querying about, does it pay to mention it?
Should the query letter be in the body of the email or as a word or pdf attached document in the email? Thanks for the info! So helpful! :-)
How do effectively write a query letter with alternating POVs? Should you tell each character's (3 in my case) story blurb in their own paragraph or merge them all into one larger body paragraph? Btw I love your videos and I've been bingeing them lately! Thanks!
Thank you for this video! I do have one question. The three parts of a query letter mentioned in this video were1. intro, 2. blurb, and 3. bio. If the blurb is not a synopsis/pitch, should you still also include a synopsis and pitch in your query letter, and if so, where? I had always been under the impression that a synopsis and pitch were supposed to be included in a query. (I write picture books, just in case that makes a difference.)
My layout usually has my contact info in the top left corner, then intro, then book marketing analysis listed with genre, word count, submission type, title, etc, then my pitch, synopsis, and comp titles. Then I give my author bio/ writing credentials and close out with the specific reasons of why I'm querying this agent/agency.
I was surprised you want to hear about our self-published books. I have never mentioned it before.
I've seen some agent videos on YT where they ridicule the idea that a writer won't reveal the ending of their story in their blurb.
Is there a difference in query format for picture books?
the dog said, "knock, knock, who's there, Thank You for Being My Boy at tenderbastard.com."
Oh, credits at the end? Interesting. I've always assumed that should be first thing. When I send a story out, the submission cover letter, I always list a few of the journals I've appeared in first sentence. I guess I figured it, you know, gives me some creedence, and they'll maybe be a bit more automatically receptive. No good? It should go at the end?
Would it be OK to have a comp a book and a movie? It best describes my
story: "This meets this" but one is a movie that was never a book.
Question: I’ve been published in newspapers (completely unrelated to my book) - should I include that in my bio? Thank you!
I'm not an agent, but I would say do it if it's related to what you're submitting. But if it's a blog about home products and your book is about space zombies, not a good idea. They want relevant info that can help sell you
For the intro, if there is no personal connection, would it be appropriate to start off with a "I saw on manuscript wishlist that you are looking for fantasy manuscripts and I thought you might be interested in..." etc. ? (or something to that effect)
Or would it be better to just dive right in to describing the MS?
Thanks so much for this channel. It is extremely helpful.
Also, queries have odd formatting dont they?
From what I recall, character names in the synopsis need to be in all caps? Does that also apply to queries/cover letters?
Yes, you can start your query with that! And no need to cap names in queries.
I queried and didn't list a non-fiction book, partially because I didn't want to chase the agent away since it's a little new age (but It does sell well considering it's only 95 pages) and I didn't want that to be something that would turn off the agent until they got to know me. I queried about a fantasy fiction.
If it's selling well, it might be worth mentioning in the bio.
What if my book does not have comp titles?
Question as I build my query: I received a scholarship for a free week at a writing residency in North Wales (I'm American) to research future projects this August. I had to really apply for this, with references and a CV. Is this worth mentioning in the bio for agent interest or don't bother?
If it is related to the book you are querying, you could use it.
You can add!
I appreciate your answers! Thank you both!
If I self published, but I obviously had no idea what I was doing, back then, and the book is off the market and no longer available, do you still want to know about that in the query? I’m afraid of looking dumb in a query.
I probably wouldn't mention that.😀
I have a GREAT concept, but I don’t want to ruin it with a bad query letter :(.
You need the book before the query. Have you finished the story?
@@ClintLoweTube First draft only, so it’s far from finished, but I’ve queried other projects before and felt like my letter wasn’t right.
Query Manager etiquette question: Jessica and James mentioned how Query Manager has sections/fields where the applicant fills in info such as word count, title, and biography that is a separate field from the query letter itself. But then, they hinted at the idea that for agents who do not use Query Manager to keep their query letter in the traditional format outlined in this video. So when submitting through Query Manager, do you submit the full query letter in the query letter field, even though that info will be duplicated elsewhere in the submission? Thank you!
Good question! You should still paste the entirety of your query letter in the "query" section. Hope that helps!
@@BookEndsLiterary Thank you!
Do you guys answer questions if someone emails you one? Like What do you think about such and such idea, do you think it'll sell? I have trouble knowing those things and find its best to ask a professional.
We'll answer questions with a broader appeal on YT or the blog, but we don't typically answer project specific market questions! Sorry
Darn I have an idea for a book but honestly have no idea if anyone would like it. Its not something you typically see in adult fantasy fiction either. Thank you for the reply though, you guys are awesome!!
Please rate my query letter:
Dear [REJECTING AGENT],
My character wants one thing: to get published. He's been writing to the point where his fingers are aching and his eyesight
isn't doing so hot either.
At least he has his depression to take his mind off of those suicidal thoughts. That is, until an amazing event changes all
of that. But what? And who knew?!
I'm seeking representation for my fourth novel, WE'RE SORRY, BUT..., a funny, gut-wrenching, horrifying, partially-completed
(about 20 pages) light romantic comedy, with lots of gore, about a writer who wants one thing: to get published. He's been
writing to the point where his fingers are aching and his eyesight isn't doing so hot either.
It ain't bogged down by no intense plot and it don't make the reader hafta think or nothing like that. My cousin Bubba helped
me to get it wrote more gooder.
For comparisons, you can be the judge of that. To me, it's sort of a cross between Gone with the Wind and The Terminator.
[REJECTING AGENT], I appreciate you looking it over. You can best contact me between 3:37 P.M. and 3:39 P.M. on Thursdays.
I won't accept any offer until I hear what a few other agents have to say.
Sincerely,
Alphonso P. Whickenwacker
Do you need the writer's address and phone number in the query letter?
Not typically!
Would agents be interested in your positive beta reader feedback?
I just want to know who downvoted this?
Sovietland
Would it be OK to have a comp a book and a movie? It best describes my
story: "This meets this" but one is a movie that was never a book.
Yes