When I'm ready to send my book out to publishers, I write 2 different letters; one for literary agents and one for publishers/editors. However, I keep the synopsis for my book the same in both letters. I only change the opening lines. I try to sound professional while also going straight to the point.
Below are samples of the queries I wrote.
Writing a query letter is difficult and it takes time, so don't get discouraged. It takes me forever to write a query letter, and even when I'm done, I don't feel like it's good enough. These are just some samples, you can tweek it however you'd like. Make it your own!
Query for Agents:
_______________________________________________________________
Dear (AGENT'S NAME),
I am seeking representation for (TITLE OF BOOK), a YA
contemporary romance (INSERT YOUR OWN GENRE HERE) of approximately (WORD COUNT)-words.
BOOK SYNOPSIS GOES HERE
I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for your
time and consideration
Sincerely,
Ashley Earley
Email: (INSERT EMAIL ADDRESS)
Reliable phone number: (INSERT PHONE NUMBER)
_______________________________________________________________
Query for Publishers:
_______________________________________________________________
Dear Editor (IF YOU ARE SENDING THIS TO A SPECIFIC EDITOR, ADDRESS THEM BY NAME),
(PUBLISHING HOUSE NAME) has a proud history of publishing quality
romantic fiction (INSERT THE GENRE YOU ARE INTERESTED IN HERE) and I am submitting my YA contemporary romance novel (AGAIN, INSERT YOUR OWN GENRE HERE), (TITLE OF BOOK) for your consideration.
BOOK SYNOPSIS GOES HERE
I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for
your time and consideration
Sincerely,
Ashley Earley
Email: (INSERT EMAIL ADDRESS)
Reliable phone number: (INSERT PHONE NUMBER)
Website: www.ashleyearley.com (INSERT WEBSITE IF YOU HAVE ONE)
_______________________________________________________________
Query I used for Alone in Paris:
_______________________________________________________________
Dear (AGENT),
I am seeking representation for Alone in Paris, a YA
contemporary romance of approximately 60,408-words.
Breathe, Taylor.
Taylor
Clay's family isn't exactly perfect. They may look the part with the
nice, big house and her dad's fancy job, but that's what's tearing them
apart. That, and her dad's sudden recurring drinking problem.
Though
her family is close to falling apart, she never wished for something
like this to happen. She never wished for her father to drive off a
bridge. Especially not while they were on vacation; especially not when
her and her mom were in the car with him at the time.
Breathe.
She's
devastated after the fact. And it isn't helping that the papers are
gossiping about how the pristine lawyer could have driven off the bridge
on purpose. And just when she thinks nothing could possibly make things
worse, she realizes she's left alone with no relatives to care for her.
So
she's alone. Her parents are dead. And she's stuck in the country her
family was visiting for their vacation. She's alone in Paris.
Just breathe.
Then
Nathan walks into the picture. Funny, snarky, persistent, and
sometimes, just flat out rude, he annoys Taylor to no end. He won't
leave her alone, but Taylor doesn't know whether or not she should push
him away.
I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for your
time and consideration
Sincerely,
Ashley Earley
Email:
Reliable phone number:
_______________________________________________________________
Be sure to pay attention to the guidelines that literary agents and publishers require when you query them. They will give you a specific amount of pages or chapters that they want from your book, they might ask for a bio, and may ask for a few other things. Carefully read over what each agent asks for. Every agent and publisher is different, and therefore, want different things.
Good luck!! <3
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