Sunday, March 29, 2009

Query letters in a nutshell

Editorial Anonymous is one of my must-read blogs. As usual she has some valuable things to say, this time about the bio section of a query letter.

My favorite though, and really what sums up the entire goal of a query letter is at the bottom:

As I have said before, every query, every cover letter, every submission, is really just trying to get across two big things: (1) How great your manuscript is. (2) What a yahoo you are not.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
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4 comments:

  1. Rick Daley3/29/09, 3:26 PM

    This is a great link, thank you. I added it to a resource list on a query critique blog I started, The Public Query Slushpile.

    http://openquery.blogspot.com

    Writers submit their queries, and I put each one up in its own post. I usually get a query posted within 24 hours. Anyone can come and provide feedback, so submissions garner comments quickly.

    It's mainly feedback from other aspiring writers, but we read blogs like yours (including QueryShark) and help disseminate your teachings to our peers. Of course, professional opinions are welcome on any (every) post...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Editorial Anonymous3/29/09, 5:34 PM

    i love you, too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. pegasus3583/30/09, 9:29 AM

    This was great-- thanks for the link!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Erin M. Hartshorn4/1/09, 2:25 PM

    Editorial Anonymous said, "Tell me if you are a teacher (not a homeschooler), a librarian, a bookseller, or if you work in publishing."

    Does "work in publishing" matter for all forms thereof? My day job is publishing industry freelancer: I index, copyedit, and proofread nonfiction. Other than establishing that I understand publishing deadlines, is there any reason I would include this in a query letter?

    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete

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