So, you wrote a book. First of all, take a second to celebrate! You did something that most people on talk about doing, but YOU? You actually freaking did it! CONGRATULATIONS!
If you’re here, you’re probably at that stage of the book process where it’s finished. You’ve done countless drafts, multiple rounds of edits/revisions to the point where you feel your brain turning to mush and the thought of reading ANOTHER word of your manuscript makes you want to throw your computer out the window. Good. You’re ready for the next step!
Let me pause for a second. Writing and publishing can go a few different ways so this isn’t necessarily the next step for every writer, but if you plan on trying to be traditionally published, this is where you’re going.
The next step includes preparing your query letter and synopsis of your story to start querying literary agents.
Okay, time to break this down.
What is a literary agent, what do they do, and why the heck do I need one?
All great questions.
A literary agent is someone that essentially becomes your book-business partner. They are your literary manager for your writing career/future. An agent’s purpose is to read your manuscript, evaluate it, provide you with detailed edits/feedback (if needed, and trust me, it will be needed in some way shape or form), and once your book is FULLY ready in the eyes of both you and your agent, you will then go out on submission to traditional publishers like the big five and so on.
A literary agent is the champion of your work, they are your biggest supporter! They look out for both you and your books best interest. They are able to negotiate contracts with editors who are interested in acquiring your book, they have connections to editors and are able to keep you informed in terms of what’s trending/hot on the market. They know what will sell and how to get a book there, it’s a process but it’s so worth it.
Now, how do you get a literary agent? Through the dreaded querying stage, or what most of us writers love to call it, the query trenches.
When it comes to finding the perfect agent (which by the way, there is no such thing, I’m sorry), a writer has to do A LOT of research. There are many great websites to find agents such as:
- using #mswl on X/Twitter
A lot of information can be found on all these sites mentioned. You can even read writers comments about certain agents within QueryTracker as well as have access to a bunch of useful tools if you use their paid membership (last I knew it $25 USD per year) or they have a free option as well!
Any information can be found nowadays by doing a quick google or twitter search!
Once you find your list of agents that you would want to work with (and I mean a list, nowadays, agents are being VERY selective as the markets are a bit flooded so expect some or a lot of rejection regardless of how amazing your story is), it’s time to get you submission materials together. The dreaded query letter and synopsis.
Fundamentals of a Query Letter
The basics:
A tried a true method of making a query letter are hook, book, and cook.
Starting with the hook, this part usually includes most of the metadata. Your greeting, the name of your book (in all caps), the age category (Picture Book, Chapter Book, Middle Grade, Young Adult, New Adult, or Adult), the genre of the story (fantasy, mystery, and so on), and any comparative titles (this can involve books, shows, or films)
The book is your query blurb. This is typically what you would find on the jacket copy of a book. It is NOT a synopsis, so don’t give the entirety of the book and do NOT give any spoilers. You want to give the basics of the story. The MC’s (main character’s) name, what’s going on (the tea), and what is at stake if things don’t work out well (the drama/the stakes). Leave the agent/publishers/reader wanting MORE.
The cook is all about you, well sort of. You don’t have to include your life story, but if you have any writing credentials i.e. ever been published before, if you’ve been agented, if you are a part of any writing organizations and so on. If not, that’s not a big deal at all! A lot of writers don’t have any prior credentials and they’re not expected. Instead, if you have any sort of degree, in anything, you can mention it or you can even mention what sort of job field you are currently in and give a cute little line about what you like to do in your spare time.
Now this is just the basic fundamentals of what goes in a query letter, however not all are going to be identical. You can add more to it.
For example, you can personalize your opening paragraph/opening greeting to the agent if you, let’s say, saw a tweet of their manuscript wish list.
You would say something like:
Dear [AGENT],
I noticed on X/Twitter that you recently posted your manuscript wishlist and you were looking for something with ______, so I thought I would send my query along.
If you’ve received editor interest in your story due to a pitch event, you can say somewhere near the end of your opening paragraph:
During [TWITTER EVENT] this story received editor interest from ________ with ______.
Also, if you’re like me and were previously agented once before while re-entering the trenches, you could say:
Dear [AGENT],
After an amicable split with my previous literary agent(s) at ________, I am now seeking representation for _______.
Quick tips for query letters:
- Keep your queries at 350 words max, unless you have other info to add, i.e. editor interest, previously agented, and so on. For instances like that, try to keep it at 450 words.
- Try not to use gender specific pronouns like Ms./Mrs./Mr. unless their pronouns are explicitly stated. Instead, try and just stick to writing the agent’s first and last name.
- Use comparative titles from book written within the last 3 years, same with any shows or movies unless they have a cult-like following, i.e. Gilmore Girls, Buffy, 90210, Friends, The Office, etc.
- DO NOT INSULT OTHER AUTHORS OR SAY ANYTHING LIKE, NOTHING LIKE THIS HAS BEEN DONE BEFORE OR THE GENRE I’M QUERYING IN LACKS GOOD BOOKS. I promise, it probably has been done before and it’s insulting to the agent who more than likely has clients that write/have been publishing in this genre.
- Let your book shine through your QL (query letter), if it’s funny, let your query be funny! Match the energy!
- DO NOT write the query as if you are the main character, please.
- Don’t send links to your already published book even if you are querying one that you’ve already published. Query it like everyone else – query letter and paste the requested materials.
- Another don’t, do not send links or ANY attachments unless SPECIFICALLY asked! Rule of thumb, if it says send your query letter, synopsis, and first five pages in an email, nine times out of ten they mean to paste it. Remember, there are scammers/hackers everywhere, so attachments will more than likely not get looked at because of this.
- FOLLOW THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
- Don’t get hung up on all of the little things your query, make sure you go over it and keep it simple but interesting!
Next, let’s briefly go over the synopsis, I will do another lengthy post on synopses separately!
I’ll be honest with you, synopses SUCK with a capital UCK! They’re the worst things in the world but a necessary evil. So…what is it? Well, it’s basically everything that happens in your story condensed into one, single spaced page.
Some agents may have different guidelines, i.e. 3-5 double spaced and so on but that is rare. It’s usually just 1, single space, size 12, Times New Roman document.
The synopsis is soup to nuts what happens in your story including ALL spoilers.
It should consist of:
Your MC’s name and age, so for example AMANDA BADILLO (28).
From there you dive into your story i.e. where the story takes place, what’s happening, what happens leading up to the climax, climax, and resolution. Of course you need to add way more context than that but this is just a generalization.
A few tips:
Try to limit the amount of characters you talk about in the synopsis. Sometimes we accidentally throw characters in that don’t need to be there or give too much detail/over wording because we feel we need to focus on the side characters too. Remember it’s about the MC and anything relevant to the story.
Try not to go over a page. If you can’t get it under a page, try having a beta reader, critique partner, or editor give it a once over. They’re not as close to your darlings as you are.
The synopsis is where spoilers are supposed to be so give the juicy details!
Sometimes writing the synopsis prior to writing your book is SO helpful since you’re not as close to all of the characters yet and it’s easier to decipher what you want and plan to happen. You can always made adjustments later. The same goes for query letters!
So, now that we’ve covered the tips and the basics of everything. I am going to leave you with a few links to authors who have secured representation AND their query letters that helped them get there down below.
If you are still stuck or feel like you may need or want to hire an editor, please check out my editorial services, I am more than happy to help!
BEST OF LUCK OUT THERE!
Gabi Burton – Gabi’s site also features other AMAZINGLY talented writers and their query letters as well
Eric Smith – Eric Smith is an incredible literary agent who has provided many amazing query letter samples of his clients on their site.
BookEnds YouTube – BookEnds Literary Agency provides very detailed videos on what querying is, the details, and so on! They have a blog on their website with details as well.
Please, if you know of any others, let me know and I will add to this list!
Editing Tales 
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