This month's COSCBWI meeting featured a great discussion on
query letters. Query letters are essentially "pitch letters" that you
send to agents and editors to tell them about your book. Today's market
is bursting with aspiring writers, and it can be difficult to capture
the attention of industry professionals. (Some agents even receive
hundreds of queries a day!) With so much competition, it's important to
do everything you can to craft a winning letter and help your story
stand out in a sea of queries.
COSCBWI's Regional Advisor,
Linda Miller, first went over the staples of writing a query. When you
write a query, you want to conform to industry standards and present
yourself in a very professional light. (So don't print your letter on
neon green paper, or dump sparkles inside the envelope!) A basic query
should consist of an introduction, an enticing plot summary (one or two
short paragraphs), a short bio, the word count and genre/intended age
group, and any other pertinent information. It should be no more than
one page in length and should be free of typos and errors. Agents and
editors often request materials to accompany a query letter (i.e. the
first five pages, entire picture book manuscript, etc.), so be sure to
research what each professional wants and specify what you're enclosing
with your letter. Make sure you get their name and gender right, too;
addressing a letter to Ms. Shannon McAgent when Shannon is a male is a
HUGE error. (And will probably make Shannon McAgent quite grumpy!)
Linda also went over several questions you should ask yourself as you write your query, including:
-Why would your target group want to read your book?
-Why would your target group benefit from your book?
-Why is your book right for this specific publisher or agent?
-Would you want to read your book based on your query?
If
you can't answer these questions, you may want to revise your query
letter some more before sending it out. It's also a good idea to have
colleagues read it over to help you iron out any wrinkles. The group
practiced critiquing each other's work and offering constructive
feedback. It was wonderful to hear the letters from our brave
volunteers, and the feedback offered was very encouraging and helpful!
If
you want to learn more about COSCBWI, be sure to visit the website at http://ohiocensouth.scbwi.org. (You can read all about the awesome upcoming workshop
with author Jody Casella, too!) I hope to see you at the July events!
