Query Letter
This service, which includes a proposal focused on the plot and a brief marketing strategy, is a microcosm of your story and its context. So much must be conveyed in so few words to clarify your story and present your vision. It might be uncomfortable and scary for writers to think how quickly agents and editors decide how much time they’ll devote to your writing based on a query and synopsis. Often, at traditional agencies, unpaid interns—including myself, once upon a time—sort through “the slush” of unsolicited manuscripts. At conventional agencies, the time spent assessing new work is minuscule, and the probability of receiving requests for more pages or a full manuscript is equivalent to finding a needle in a haystack. But it is possible, and when the query letter is concise, organized, unique, and resonant, even a green intern will leap into action, ring the alarm, and hopefully convince an agent to offer a book deal.
This service, which includes a proposal focused on the plot and a brief marketing strategy, is a microcosm of your story and its context. So much must be conveyed in so few words to clarify your story and present your vision. It might be uncomfortable and scary for writers to think how quickly agents and editors decide how much time they’ll devote to your writing based on a query and synopsis. Often, at traditional agencies, unpaid interns—including myself, once upon a time—sort through “the slush” of unsolicited manuscripts. At conventional agencies, the time spent assessing new work is minuscule, and the probability of receiving requests for more pages or a full manuscript is equivalent to finding a needle in a haystack. But it is possible, and when the query letter is concise, organized, unique, and resonant, even a green intern will leap into action, ring the alarm, and hopefully convince an agent to offer a book deal.
This service, which includes a proposal focused on the plot and a brief marketing strategy, is a microcosm of your story and its context. So much must be conveyed in so few words to clarify your story and present your vision. It might be uncomfortable and scary for writers to think how quickly agents and editors decide how much time they’ll devote to your writing based on a query and synopsis. Often, at traditional agencies, unpaid interns—including myself, once upon a time—sort through “the slush” of unsolicited manuscripts. At conventional agencies, the time spent assessing new work is minuscule, and the probability of receiving requests for more pages or a full manuscript is equivalent to finding a needle in a haystack. But it is possible, and when the query letter is concise, organized, unique, and resonant, even a green intern will leap into action, ring the alarm, and hopefully convince an agent to offer a book deal.