Query Letter Format

What you say in your query letter will differ from all others but the basic format should be the same.  There are a few simple rules that must be followed for an agent to take his or her precious time to read it.

Fist of all you should print out your query letter on good quality paper.  You should use a heavy weight that is very bright.  Printing your query out on generic paper shows how much you care about your submission.  You also need to use a good quality printer.  Never use a dot-matrix printer when submitting, it is hard on an agent's eyes and they just won't read it.  The query letter should be a single-spaced business letter with 1inch margins on all sides.  You should not go over one page.  You are a writer, you can figure out how to say what needs said in under a page.  It is also nice if you can produce a personal letterhead.  (Though this is not required, it looks professional.)  I used my publishing program to add a book and quill to each side of my name and address.  Ok here we go.

In the top center of the page place:
Your name
Your address
Your phone number
Your email address if you have one
The date

Three or four spaces down and on the left place:
The agent's name (MAKE SURE YOU SPELL IT RIGHT)
The agent's address (MAKE SURE YOU SPELL IT RIGHT)

Three spaces down start your letter with:
Dear Sir or Madam,

Two spaces down start the body of your letter:  (Don't forget to indent your paragraphs)
Here you will want to include a discription of your novel, your qualifications, and perhaps why you think it will succeed.  (I close my queries with my novel's page count, word count, and  "Thank you for your time.")

Two spaces down and centered place:
Sincerely,

Leave three or four blank spaces for your signature then type your name.

At the very bottom left Include:
Enclosures:
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3

That's it.  Work on the body of your letter to make it interesting and fact filled.  I know you don't have a lot of space….but a good query letter shows what kind of writer you are.  Make them jump to read the pages you have included!

The reason I say two or three spaces down or three or four spaces down is to give you a small amout of leeway on your document.  You don't want a huge ugly blank space at the end of your letter if you have managed to make a short query.  You also don't want everything all crammed together and un-professional looking either.  Use the space you have available to creat a professional looking letter.  If you need to add an extra space here and there to make your letter more appealing, than do it.  As long as the completed letter looks good, and is fact filled, that is all that matters.  The exact spacing isn't what's important here, as long as the basic business letter format is followed.

On to the synopsis?

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