Query Letters: A Teen Author's Insight

If you are like me and are taking the route of traditional publishing, after you write your novel and go through a few rounds of editing, your next step is going to be writing and sending query letters, also known as the current bain of my existence. If I even have to think about my own query letter anymore I might lose my mind. So here I am, writing about it instead and procrastinating writing the one that I actually need to write.

In my personal experience, query letters are like writing that book summary for English class when you skimmed the book just enough to get a good grade. Just because I wrote the book does not mean that I know how to explain what it’s about. For me, query letters fall into the same category as writing the synopsis for the back of the book, which is something that oftentimes makes me want to bash my head into the nearest wall.

A query letter is a one-page document that you write to literary agents. This document is only going to be three hundred to five hundred words, and in those words, you have to explain a few things. Firstly is who you are, why you’re someone they actually want to take the time to listen to and hear out; and secondly, convince them that your story is actually worth reading.

This comes into play with one of the more unwritten rules of querying, although many choose to ignore it, it’s a point I feel is important anyway. Like on the back of your novel, you want to try and avoid spoilers while still hooking your reader, or in this case, the agents you are reaching out to. The point of a query letter is not to be signed on the spot, that is not going to happen, just saying. However, the point is, to make them want to know more. If they read your letter, or more realistically, their assistant reads your letter, and they decide that It’s something that looks like it might have promise, they’ll reach out to you and request a chapter or two to read.

While writing query letters, in my opinion at least, sucks. It’s basically the only way to sign an agent unless you’re super special. Sometimes, if you are an Indie writer you can get lucky. If your book gets super popular, maybe through social media or other methods, agents might reach out to you with an offer to be signed. This is a very rare occurrence, so if you’re trying to make your plan to move forward this is not the route I would recommend you put your money on.

Query letters tend not to vary too much from author to author. Simply because we have quite a bit of information we need to get across, and not a lot of space to do it. Oftentimes query letters are standardized into three paragraphs used to simplify the writing process for the author.

According to an article by Jane Friedman, there are four important parts of a query letter. The first, and most important part, is the basics about your novel. This includes things like its genre and word count, as well as the title, and if it has one the subtitle. Next is the hook, we’re all familiar with the term if you’ve ever written an essay but nonetheless, it’s the part of the letter that you use to explain your story and try to get the agent to request more information. 

The third thing you want to be sure to include is a small biography about yourself, they want to know who it is they might be working with in the future. Now while it’s good to share a little, do not go overboard. This shouldn’t be more than around a hundred words, but as with everything that varies from writer to writer. The final thing to include is rather obvious, but it’s a final statement thanking the agent for their time and finishing off the letter.

As I said earlier the query letter should not be very long, Friedman also said this. “In its entirety, the query shouldn’t run more than 1 page, single-spaced, if printed, or somewhere around 200 to 450 words. I recommend brevity, especially if you lack confidence. Brevity gets you in less trouble. The more you try to explain, the more you’ll squeeze the life out of your story. So: Get in, get out.” (Friedman)

This is a very good point, especially if you’re like me and this is your first time going through the query process. Everything about this step can be intimidating and nerve-wracking if you allow it to be. If you take a breath, take a step back and just write, like we all know you can do if you’re at this point, everything will turn out fine.

One note about this, a query letter, while it’s recommended to introduce yourself at least a little, is not the place for your entire life story. Praise from your loved ones has no sway over a complete stranger, and a sob story, while good for social media, is not going to win you any points with an agent. Keep it brief, and most importantly keep your query letter professional. Remember, at this point in time, they do not know you, and they are not your friend. This early in the process they only care about your story, getting to know you will come later once you are specifically working together to get your novel out to publishers.

I don’t say this to scare you off, but it is simply the way that the industry works, and ours is not the only one. You don't expect a car salesman or a grocery store attendant to want to know your whole life story. The many agents you are going to be contracting are no different, especially considering the number of them you will reach out to and the fact that for every letter you send, there are dozens of other people also sending letters to these same agents.

I had the opportunity to interview local Northern Colorado author G.H. Fryer about the topic and she had this to say.

Pickett: So as an author, what is your opinion just straight on about query letters? 

Fryer: They are the devil, but I understand their purpose. Literary agents probably get several hundred letters from writers a day and they need a way to filter through all that to find what can make them money because writing is all about money just like every other industry. And so you torture writers to make themselves sellable and tell their story in 300 words or less. And yeah, they're horrible and they suck. 

Pickett: Do you think query letters are the most effective way to get in contact with agents? 

Fryer: No, they are not the most effective way. They are just the easiest way when you don't have an alternative. The alternative is going to book conventions and writing conventions putting your face in front of literary agents and having your elevator pitch down pat. That is the best way because then they have a face to the story that they will remember when you send a query letter later. So that's the best way, but very few authors have enough money to go to all these conventions and so we rely on the query letter. 

Pickett: As somebody who has published indie and is currently considering going through the traditional publishing sense, which do you think is the easier route? 

Fryer: Neither. They are equally difficult. Being an independent author, you are the master of too many crafts and quite often you lose time on your actual writing craft because you have to be a publicist, a book cover designer, or an editor, or have to be business savvy enough to find people to do that. This and have the money in your pocket to pay all these people going the traditional route of finding a literary agent the bonus of that is that you get a team of people to help you with this so you can focus more on your craft and your storytelling but the process comes out about two to three years later independent authors can get this done in one year even more like some there are many independent authors that can do two to three books a year which is great if you got the time I don't.

Pickett: And a platform.

Fryer: Yeah and the platform and you are savvy with you know Instagram and TikTok this is where a lot of those people can find their audiences.

It’s pretty clear through talking with other writers in the community and just people I know through the Poudre Press that query letters are not something that most authors enjoy writing. It’s stressful trying to condense months to potentially years' worth of work down into three hundred words. It’s not easy, but as G.H. Fryer said, unless you have the money and resources to put yourself out there, it is the best option we have.

About the Author

Milla Picket is a senior at Poudre High School, and this is her first year writing for the Poudre Press. In her free time, she is involved in the school's choir and theatre department. She is also a writer currently working on her first fantasy novel for publication.

Work Cited

Friedman, Jane. “How to Write a Query Letter That Gets Manuscript Requests.” Jane Friedman, 17 January 2020, https://janefriedman.com/query-letters/. Accessed 14 December 2024.