Query letter

A query letter is the one-page pitch a writer sends to a literary agent or acquiring editor to ask whether they want to read the manuscript.

A query letter is a sales letter for a book that nobody has read yet. Its only job is to make an agent ask for pages.

The usual parts of a query letter

The conventional shape is four short parts.

1. Why this agent. A line naming something real: a book they represent that sits near yours, or a wish they have stated publicly that your book matches. Skip it rather than invent one.
2. The pitch. A few short paragraphs, written like the copy on the back of a book rather than a summary: who the protagonist is, what they want, what stands in the way, what it will cost them, and the impossible choice they face. It stops before the ending. The opening line of the pitch is its hook, and the choice at the end is its stakes.
3. The details. Title, word count, category and genre, and two or three comp titles that show where the book sits in the market.
4. The bio. Two lines, and only what is relevant: publications, expertise the book draws on, or nothing at all. A first novel with no credits is normal.

Then thank them and sign off.

An example pitch paragraph

Seventeen-year-old Maren Oake has spent her life keeping the lighthouse on Kethra Rock lit, because her father told her the ships depend on it. When she finds the logbook proving he has been luring them onto the rocks for salvage, she has one winter to decide: turn him in to the harbour court and lose the only family she has, or keep the light burning and become what he is.

Why it works: in two sentences we have a protagonist, a want, a discovery that changes everything and a choice with a cost on both sides. It does not say how the book ends, and it does not describe the themes. It makes the reader want to know what she does.

Common query letter mistakes

• Summarising the whole plot. A query pitches the first act and the central problem. The rest is what the agent reads the book to find out.
• Describing what the book is about thematically. "A story about grief and forgiveness" tells an agent nothing about whether it is a story.
• Opening with a rhetorical question. "What would you do if...?" makes the agent do the work the pitch should do.
• A word count far outside the category. It quietly says the manuscript itself is not ready.
• Querying too soon. Query only a finished, revised novel. Non-fiction is often sold on a proposal before it is written; fiction almost never is.

For screenplays the same logic applies in less space: the logline does the pitch's job, and the letter around it stays short.

Frequently asked questions

What are the parts of a query letter?

Usually four: a line on why you are querying this agent, the pitch itself, a short paragraph with the title, word count, category and comp titles, and a brief relevant bio. Some agents prefer the pitch first and the personal line later.

How long should a query letter be?

One page. Most of that page is the pitch, and everything else is kept short. Always check the agent's own submission guidelines, which override any general advice.

Should a query letter reveal the ending?

No. The query stops at the choice or the danger the protagonist faces, like the back of a book. If an agent asks for a synopsis, that is where the ending goes.

Do screenwriters send query letters?

Yes, to managers, agents and producers, and they are usually shorter than a novelist's. The core is a strong logline plus a sentence or two of context, with the offer to send the script.