Don’t Hate the Query Letter: Master It
By Annie Neugebauer | May 14, 2016 |
photo by Kreg Steppe
There is nothing in the world that makes my critique group members groan louder than when someone brings in a query letter. It seems everyone hates query letters. Me? I’m the weirdo who gets excited.
Before you leave because I’m obviously insane, let me explain.
I didn’t always love query letters. I used to dread them like any self-respecting writer. But if you’re seeking traditional publication (and actually, self-publishing too, but we’ll get to that), they’re a necessary evil. There are very few ways to land an agent without first mastering the art of the query letter. So that’s what I set out to do, slowly but surely, by torturing my critique group with all of my drafts and versions and projects until one day, one time, something just sort of… clicked.
[Note: Query letters generally consist of several parts: an introductory greeting, a 1-2 paragraph pitch or summary, an informational paragraph that includes word count, genre, market potential and/or comparison titles, a bio paragraph, and a closing. For the purpose of this blog, I’m referring only to that 1-2 paragraph pitch – the “meat” of your query letter – as the query.]
To prove that I don’t have some sort of supernatural innate query skillz, let me share this with you: the query for my first novel got 0 requests. The query for my second got 2 requests for partials. Ouch, right?
With the query for my third novel I brought in a draft and my crit group said it was a hot mess. I started over. I brought it in another time before I had the base that was worth line-editing and polishing up. That query letter got me 7 requests for the full manuscript. Ah-ha. I was onto something. (Unfortunately, the manuscript wasn’t nearly as ready as the query, but that’s a blog for another day.)
So when it came time to query my fourth novel, I was merciless. I took in four or five entirely different versions to my critique group. They wanted to throttle me, but they were honest, and that’s what you need in order to learn what works. When I landed on the right version, that was my click. I got it. I felt it. There’s a rhythm and a style to that type of summary that once you have, you have. (The best way to find this is to write lots of them. The next best way is to read the back jackets of books similar to yours and see how/why the good ones work.) I polished it up and got 15 requests for the full, which resulted in 3 offers of representation. And here’s the really sneaky part: that query letter became the pitch letter my agent and I used to go on sub, too, which also resulted in multiple requests.
Oh, and, self-pubbers? Here’s an unpleasant little tidbit. You need the query too; you just call it “back-cover copy.” I suspect that there isn’t a novelist in existence who gets to avoid the dreaded 2-paragraph book pitch. At its core, it’s your query letter, your pitch letter, and the back of your book. So rather than pitching a fit (puns!), seeing if you can slide by without it, or settling for a less than stellar pitch, why not bite the bullet and master the art of crafting your query?
Maybe your sparkling personality can land you an agent in-person. Maybe your rock star agent writes your pitch letters for you. And maybe you’ll hire an editor to write your back-cover copy. If that were me, I would still value the query, and here’s why: I use it for several other things. I use it before I write books. I use it to analyze flaws in written books. I use it to brainstorm new book ideas. Once you stop thinking of the query letter as something invented to make you miserable, you can start implementing it as an incredibly useful tool. Let’s unpack that. Reason by reason, here’s the value I see in mastering the query.
1) Interest agents in reading your manuscript.
The obvious and classic reason: you want an agent! Well guess what? So do thousands of other writers. The only way to convince a busy agent swamped with submissions to read your manuscript is to make it sound absolutely irresistible. The only way to do that is to make your query letter fantastic, not just “fine.”
2) Sell your manuscript to editors.
Whether you’re giving your agent a draft to work from or submitting directly to editors, the “pitch letter” is pretty much exactly the same as the “query letter.” As above, it must be stellar to make your submission stand out, interest the editor, and beg their time. No matter how good your actual book is, they won’t read it if your pitch letter is lame.
3) Entice readers to buy your book.
There’s a trend here: you must convince. Everyone is busy. Agents, editors, and even readers. If they’re in a bookstore, even a reading fanatic is walking away with a very small percentage of what’s available – even more so from an online vendor. So your back-cover pitch can’t just be fine or accurate or even good. It has to be great!
4) Find the plot for your next manuscript.
Okay, now we’re to the fun ones. If you’ve written at least half a dozen successful queries, it becomes easier. You still need critique and polish, of course, but once you’ve “got it,” it becomes a natural thing. That’s when it becomes a useful thing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a concept for a new book – and just a concept. What if…? Okay, great. What if? Then what? Who? When? How? Why?
Plug it into your query. Write it like it’s ready to sell! Filling out an entire novel can be pretty intimidating, while filling out a brief pitch is an hour’s work or less. Once you’ve mastered the must-haves of a pitch (who, what they want, what’s in the way, what’s at stake, why it’s unique and interesting…), you’ve actually also mastered the must-haves of a book. Rather than thinking in terms of 200 pages worth of conflict and interest, think of 2 paragraph’s worth of hook. If you base your manuscript off a killer pitch, you’re probably going to be in pretty good shape.
5) Diagnose manuscript flaws.
Likewise, if you find yourself stuck in drafting hell, stop and write the query. Struggling? Chances are that’s because your book is missing some of the key things you need to craft a strong pitch. If you can’t narrow down the focus enough to make a cohesive summary, your plot is probably all over the place. Where’s the drive? If there’s not enough standing in your character’s way to make the book sound exciting, the book probably isn’t exciting. If you have no idea how to end your book, it might be because you didn’t set up a clear desire or premise at the onset. See what I mean? If you already have the art of the query down, it can show you what’s missing in the larger work. In reverse, it becomes distillation.
This is also why I write the query first: it saves me legwork up front. I’ve been in the position of finishing a manuscript, sitting down to write the query letter, and realizing that what I want to say happens isn’t exactly what does happen. Now I save myself a lot of diagnostic heartache by writing the query first and using it to guide my manuscript.
6) Come up with new manuscript ideas.
And last but certainly not least, it’s a fantastic exercise to sit down and draft a handful of queries for books you haven’t written – and even books that you might never write! Just follow a lark and see how it could shape into enticement for a book. In fact, this is how I’ve come up with a couple of my novel ideas. It’s also how I’ve chosen which idea to write next. Which pitch sounds more cohesive, more exciting, more sellable? That’s probably going to be the stronger book, too. I would encourage any writer to try this, no matter your stage or level. It’s great for brainstorming, but it’s also great practice in your quest to master the query.
There you have it, my twisted, totally hateable, but unfortunately true case for mastering the query letter rather than burning it alive. It really isn’t as bad as it sounds. Like all intimidating things, the sooner you dig in and do the work, the sooner you’ll become adept at it and find yourself reaping the rewards.
So have you written queries/pitch letters/back-cover copy? Do you love it or loathe it? And if you’ve got it down, how long did it take you to get the hang of it?
[coffee]
Annie Neugebauer is a two-time Bram Stoker Award-nominated author with work appearing and forthcoming in more than a hundred publications, including magazines such as Cemetery Dance, Apex, and Black Static, as well as anthologies such as Year’s Best Hardcore Horror Volumes 3 & 4 and #1 Amazon bestsellers Killing It Softly & Fire. She’s a member of the Horror Writers Association and a columnist for Writer Unboxed and LitReactor. She’s represented by Alec Shane of Writers House. She lives in Texas with two crazy cute cats and a husband who’s exceptionally well-prepared for the zombie apocalypse. You can visit her at www.AnnieNeugebauer.com for news, poems, organizational tools for writers, and more.
Now I will write pitches for my unwritten books first. Brilliant idea! Several are cued up and the blurb will help me remember them.
I’d like to add one more positive aspect to querying.
I’ve been lucky enough to have received some amazing criticism in rejection letters. Every time, I’ve looked at my manuscript in a new light and have revised it. I figure it’s free advice from top professionals. BONUS! Because of that, I take a lot of time with each query. I research the agent, read interviews and tailor each letter before sending it out. Twenty down with one full request, and one hundred and twenty to go… I hope it doesn’t take that long!
Have you written a post about how to write a great query letter? I’m always up for another revision.
Congrats on your books. Love your post!
Hi Susie. Thanks so much! Feedback from pros is always a lovely bonus. :) No, I haven’t yet. I was thinking I might do a how-to post next time, if there’s interest. I know “how to write a query” gets covered a lot on the web, so I’m not entirely sure if WUers want to see it again here or not. If so, I’m happy to cover it. Good luck with your queries!
What a great idea, to diagnose problems with the story — or find its essence — by writing the query now, rather than later. I used to tell my graduate students to do a similar thing with their research papers: if they’re stuck, try working up the power point slides as though they have to present the work, which forces them to figure out how to “argue” the story of the findings, which graphs to show, which bullet points to use in the conclusion, etc.
Now I’m absolutely *kicking* myself that I didn’t think to do the same thing as I’m trying to figure out the right focus and flow for my first novel. Thanks for the light bulb moment!
Oh, that’s too cool! A power point for a research paper as the equivalent to a query for a manuscript: I love it! I’m so glad it clicked for you, Joy. Thanks for the comment.
Awesome advice, Annie! I’ve just GOT to try this!
Dee Willson
Author of A Keeper’s Truth and GOT
Great! Thank you, and good luck!
Oh, by the way, it took me ages to write a solid query. In fact, my friends and fellow writers were sick of seeing the drafts, and family kept suggesting I could write another novel in the time it takes me to draft a one page query.
My only piece of advice: take your time. Work it. Rework it. Make it sing.
Dee Willson
Author of A Keeper’s Truth and GOT
Oh, it took me ages too, as evidenced above, haha. It’s a difficult and kind odd craft to master; I really think practice makes perfect. I’m totally with you: work, re-work, find patience, keep going.
Great post, Annie1!
Can’t wait to dive into my new query!
Diana Manley
Thanks so much! Good luck!
Hi Annie–
After reading your post and bio, I visited your website. It offers a fetching photo of you, and an impressive list of published short stories and poems, along with association memberships and honors awarded to you–but no evidence that you’ve published a novel.
If I’m wrong, my apologies. But it looks as though you fought your way through to a fourth query for a fourth novel. You got fifteen requests to see the whole manuscript, and three offers of representation. What happened?
Perhaps it has to do with this:
“Unfortunately, the manuscript wasn’t nearly as ready as the query, but that’s a blog for another day.”
No, I don’t think it is. It’s a matter that belongs right here. You offer useful advice on queries (what I’d really like to see is the actual winner you speak of), but until a writer has a manuscript that’s fully ready and biddable, sending out queries is a big mistake.
Barry, to address your comments, no I don’t have a book published yet; the manuscript in question is currently on submission. I do think that manuscript is ready, but regardless, that’s not the topic of my post today. This isn’t about my career or even about me. I gave some of my background to highlight how writing many query letters is the best way to practice and grow in that particular craft. Using the personal examples was meant to illustrate the difficult and slow process, including the many failures, and the hard work and persistence behind the eventual successes. The success of a query letter lies in requests. The publication of a book comes from a special blend of magic (right market, right agent, right editor, right time) and the manuscript itself, not the query letter, which is what I’m talking about today. I would love to share my successful query letter(s) and break down how to write one, but there’s only so much room per post – maybe next time.
Good points, Barry.
Such a great post! I love the idea of writing the queries before the manuscript is done. I’m heading back to the one I’m writing now to do just that. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks, Cindy! I hope it works for you as well as it does for me — I’ve really saved myself some heartache that way. :) Best of luck!
“Write the query letter first” is an old idea but a good one. It’s something I think I need to do for my present WIP, for reasons 4-6 in Annie’s piece.
Good luck; I hope it helps!
Pretty cool idea. I’ve had multiple drafts of my WIP and multiple queries. Each seems to inform the other–back and forth. Thanks for validating experience.
I’m glad to hear I did! Thanks, Carol.
Well, yes, you probably are insane. Insane for queries! This is a helpful, real-world post. Most writers need help with writing query letters and you make the task seem almost enjoyable.
Haha, guilty as charged. :) I really do find it enjoyable! I’m so glad it was helpful to you, Tina. Thanks so much.
It would be great to see how you put your query letter together. I know there is lots of information about how to craft the perfect pitch but if you’re getting that many requests, then you must be doing something that maybe hasn’t been talked about yet. I, and I’m sure many others, would love to know what those secrets are. Thanks for posting, and good luck.
I’m definitely considering writing that for my next post, Pauline. I don’t know if I have any “secrets.” Most of what I know I learned through sheer volume of practice, but I’m happy to share what I do know!
What a great post! Thank you, Annie. I’m going to take this to the little clutch of writing misfits I belong to and propose #6 as an exercise. That’ll give them something to bitch about for weeks!
A year ago I didn’t know what a query letter or elevator pitch was. A distant crit partner explained and challenged me to write the quick pitch. It felt like writing ad copy and it was fun. Then I realized that my MS was not going to be delivering what my pitch promised by a hairy mile.
Back to the drawing board in a big way. #nowyoutellme
Thanks so much, Deb! This comment cracked me up. :) That realization of yours is one I’ve had too, which is why I write the query first now. When it’s a whole novel long, it’s so easy to lose track of the initial promise to the reader, but when it’s one paragraph away, the desired course becomes clear. Sorry you, too, had to learn that the hard way. Good luck with it!
As always you are on point :-) This would be an awesome thing to do for pantsers. Often times we end up going down a road that gets us lost. Plus this gives us a rough guide to follow as we write without having a set in stone outline. Thanks!!
Thanks so much, Febe! I do think it’s a great option for pantsers; it’s a guide without feeling overly restrictive like a full-length plot outline might. I hope it works for you! :)
As someone who is completely new to the art of a query letter, this is so useful! Having just moved to NYC from the U.K. Im unable to work until my work permit comes through and I’ve hung up my youth theatre director hat and I’m finally going to write the query letter for the novel I finished writing 2 years ago… I’ve always been too scared to put it out there, but each little nugget of advice I’ve found on the net has made me feel one step closer to actually submitting. So, thanks!!!
http://www.englishgirlinnewyork.org
I’m really happy to hear that, Elishia! Best of luck!
I wish I saw the magic of queries, but I don’t.
A middle grade novel I had to shelve for various reasons gave me a horrid time when it came to the query letter, and my many attempts at using the “Query litmus test” stratagem highlighted above didn’t exactly make me want to “Write, Revise, Repeat” and I think my burning out and taking a self-enforced hiatus was part of that.
I’ve heard this advice before and I’ve struggled with it because it always seems the things I’m not not good at overshadowed what I am good at, or at least prefer doing,
While I do get why they matter, it doesn’t mean they’re straightforward for me, maybe I just haven’t written enough of them. That said, I wrote dozens, if not hundreds of queries for my shelved novel alone, and still had mixed feedback. I did my best and that’s all I can do. But it is disheartening that so much is riding on something I struggle so much with.
I’ve TRIED to make it fun. It just feels like pulling teeth. But I think that’s to some degree burnout on my part talking.
I also have to play devil’s advocate on something-
There are some things you’re just not going to know until you write the actual book, no matter how rough it is, and I only say that because I’d NEVER have written (or “Finished”) the shelved novel that I still believe in otherwise, but various factors forced me to shelve it.
I had sold it to a small press a couple years ago, but while I loved having more creative control than I’d have got at larger presses, I had to fund much of it myself, and to be clear, it was a trad. publisher, highly credible, and I LOVED working with my editor.
But lack of upfront financing on my end, plus a major lack of business skills got in the way, but that’s WAY beyond the scope of this topic, I’m just putting my thoughts in perspective.
I still don’t like writing about my book. I just respect why it does matter if you want a career as an author, which I certainly do.
At the moment, though, it’s a goal in flux for now to be put it as positively (and drama-free) as I can while being honest.
Taurean, I absolutely feel your pain. It *is* incredibly frustrating to struggle so much with something we can’t really avoid. And you know, queries will likely never be “fun” for many, many writers. Sometimes we have to master things that we hate; that’s part of the job. That said, burnout is no joke. If you need a break, I hope you took/are taking it. Writing dozens (hundreds?!) of versions of queries for a single project would exhaust ANYONE. Mega points for tenacity, though. Wow.
When you decide it’s time to get back into it, I have one suggestion for you (which, of course, you are welcome to take or leave); why not try writing queries for other things? It sounds as though you’ve put a massive amount of pressure on this single project. Maybe writing queries for other projects (ones you’ve written in the past, might write in the future, might never write at all — even books other people have written!) could take the pressure off and allow you to practice just the art itself with no strings attached. Might be worth a shot.
Regardless, I totally agree with you that not all writers are plotters. There’s nothing wrong with that, and of course the process of drafting includes a lot of discovery along the way. I would never negate that or try to take it from anyone. I simply wanted to share that, once mastered, writing the query first *can* save some heartache at the end — not that it’s a requirement. If you love the free-fall of drafting as so many pansters do, then I say follow that passion. :)
I really wish you the best. I hope you’re able to take a break and come back to your goals refreshed and energized.
Thanks for replying, Annie, I am taking that break at a writer friend’s suggestion.
January 2016 was a living nightmare. I’d never felt so sad about my writing or my aptitude for publishing in general. I’m feeling a lot better now, but some days the pain just comes back in a fierce wave that’s tough to shake. But overall it’s better than it was.
Once I buy back my contract for my shelved middle grade novel, I’ll get some peace of mind (Since I don’t want inconvenience my great editor who made the book better, more than necessary). I took my commitment to her seriously, but as I’m sure you know, life happens. I took what I truly believed at my core was a risk I could make pay off with my hard work and skills I had at the time, but it didn’t work out and I have to start again, when my hiatus is over.
For now I write for me and take the pressure of “Being pro” off myself. That said, with so much of my life moving at a slower crawl than publishing in general, it hit me HARD.
I don’t have much outside my writing and reading to enrich my life offline. But I’m trying fiercely hard not going to bring myself down about it.
I did write query letters for other books, and read countless blurbs of books in and out of my genre, but still struggled to “Get it.”
But like you (and my friend said) I needed a break, and buying back my contract is a painful, but necessary step to putting pressure off myself.
I know as writers we all tell each other to be gritty, work through pain, but I reached my limit.
Anyway, thanks again for replying, Annie, I appreciate it, and I’m always glad to meet writers who get my frustrations, and get I’m not saying I’m in denial of doing things we don’t like to achieve goals for ourselves.
I acutely feel this in May when all the talk of graduation opens old wounds of my not graduating high school and having that be a black cloud in my ability to live on my own and leave the proverbial nest.
Even though it’s great authors have options to begin and advance their careers they didn’t decades before, lack of finances does of the way of making the most of those options, much of what I learned is self-taught and from kind authors who reached out to me.
But I can’t exactly make my indie author career a charity, while also knowing so much of publishing is about having a strong team behind any book.
Again, that’s outside the scope of this topic, but trying to “Master” query letters indirectly opened that wound, and I’m slowly learning that I had to take a break from it all, even if it meant a longer learning curve when the hiatus is over.
Writers these days are inundated with “you’re not a writer if you don’t write” type minimum quotas, talks about how to be more productive, how to draft faster, setting goals, etc. That stuff can all be great, but only if you’re in the right place for it. Not that anyone asked me, but I am absolutely in the camp of “take a break when you need it.” Take your time. Do things your way, at your pace. This isn’t a race, you know? Checking things off your list at the expense of being happy is no way to live.
I’m sorry that my post about query letters touched a sore spot for you — you don’t seem to be the only one. It’s a really hard thing! But as with all writing advice on the internet (and all advice for anyone anywhere, really), take what works for you at the time and leave the rest. If you’re not ready to embrace the query, that’s totally okay. If you’re struggling to get there, that’s okay too.
And for what it’s worth, you’re certainly not the only writer in a hard position. I can’t tell you how often this sort of thing happens. Publishers go under, renege, disappoint. Authors fail to meet deadlines. Life gets in the way. We hear more about the successes because people like to share good news and focus on the positive, but don’t let that fool you into thinking we aren’t all struggling. Online you’re seeing only the best of everyone’s world. It’s dangerous to compare someone’s highlights reel to your uncut film.
I think it’s wonderful that you’re taking a break. I took a break last year and it was the best thing I could’ve done for myself as a person AND as a writer. I hope you’re able to refresh, heal, and find some footing.
Thanks for that, Annie. I know we pick and choose what we share, and that I’m not the only one, I just was venting a little.
I do have to get better with filtering facts and news and tailor to my situation. I think in trying to avoid knee-jerk dissing of things, I took too much in at once.
I’m sorry if I came off like I was mad. I wasn’t at all. I appreciate your previous reply.
I might be more in the mourning stage than I like admitting, but I know I’m doing the right thing in taking a break from publishing.
At least I have the comfort of knowing I’m handling things with my publisher with integrity.
I in no way can fault my wonderful editor, and know her feedback and input will help the book when I’m one day ready to publish it, either on my own, or find another trad. publisher.
Anyway, take care.