All about query letters

If you want to get published and you aren't already famous, you need to master a query letter. From a publisher's or an agent's point of view, the query letter is a test drive. If you can grab them and make them want to read more, they'll ask you for more. If not, you aren't going to move forward with them. Most of you probably already know this. What you may not know is how exactly to craft the perfect letter.

I'm no expert. If I were, I'd be preparing for a book signing, rather than writing this blog. But there are experts out there, blogs where you can go to school on other peoples' query letters and agents' input:

Query Shark. Agent Janet Reid reviews query letters sent to her. If you're looking for a gentle critique, this isn't the place. But the input will be good. For instance: You've got to be kidding. 160,000 words is twice as long as a novel should be and you've couched this query letter is such a way that there's no reason for me to think I'd even want to read this.

Janet Reid is an active blogger, also presiding over a personal blog, and the former Miss Snark blog.

Nathan Brandsford's Blog. There's a lot about query letters on this blog, including a topic called "Can you query if you are an unpublished author and your novel isn't finished?" (Answer: No.) Brandsford is an agent with Curtis Brown.

Bookends, LLC. Bookends have a number of agents and a blog that deals with query letters from time to time.

Anatomy of a Bad Query Letter. The Guide to Literary Agents' blog post in response to Nathan Brandsford's Anatomy of a Good Query Letter, covering what to do if you don't want to get published. It's, like, learning in reverse.

Molly Harper's Query Letter. A first-time published author shares the query letter that worked for her.

10 Query Letter Tips. The Guide to Literary Agents provides ten tips to help you. They should know, right?

Your query letter is a marketing document. You're trying to convince someone to spend some of their time looking at your material, rather than someone else's. You must both capture their attention by wowwing them, while following the conventional format. If you can't do that, you won't get a positive response, even if your novel is perfect for them.

Publishing News -- 1/10/2009

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Program Note: Dani Greer of Blogbooktours will appear next weekend on FWA Radio. Stay tunes for schedule information.

CPSIA: Major issue for Childrens' Publishing
Before a week ago, I'd never heard of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). This week, its presence has become big news. Although doomsaying usually occurs before new regulations take effect, this time the hand-wringing could be valid. The CPSIA includes provisions aimed at protecting children from lead paint in toys, a laudatory goal. But the CPSIA required testing for each unit produced of any item that might be aimed at children, even if all the components were certified as lead-free. The penalties are stiff, a $100,000 for each individual item put on shelves, and five years in prison. Also, the law is retroactive. At the very least, this act will drive the price of childrens' books up and reduce reading by those who need to do it most.

Here are some relevant links:

Save the Children's Books: The CPSIA is a Road to Hell, Paved with Good Intentions --Publishers and authors are being wrongly targetted by this law which requires each print run to be tested.

Industry Scrambling to Comply with Child Safety Act -- The CPSIA is intended to protect children from lead in toys. But its application to books could be misguided and publishers promise it will be devastating.

Book burning on Feb. 10 Because of CPSIA? -- The new rules require testing on each unit, even when all the component products are certified as lead-free. The penalty? Up to $100,000 per item and five years in prison.

Marketing Your Work
How to Get Involved in Online Book Promotion -- Finding blogs that apply to your work is a magnificent first step.

Ghost Queries: Friend or Foe -- Nathan Bransford, an agent at Curtis Brown, isn't heavily against them, but says the query should capture the author's voice.

#88 (Another query letter critique) -- Critique from blog that takes and critiques query letters.

Publishing and the Economy
B&N Reports Decline in Holiday Sales -- Megabookstore reports 5.2% drop from last year. More troubling, website sales dropped 11%.

Pantheon Book Publisher Released -- Janice Goldklang, publisher at Pantheon was laid off in Random House restructuring after 25 years at the company.

AJC Drops Books from Arts Section Title -- The paper promises no significant content changes, but readers aren't so sure.

Self-Publishing
Author Solutions Acquires Xlibris -- Union of self-publishers accounted for 19,000 titles in 2008.

Digital Publishing
Digital Download Skyrocket at Libraries -- Online book source reports 76% increase in traffic over last year.

Publishing News, 12/20/2008

Publishing and the Economy
The Sky is Falling...Not! -- Maybe it's not worse this time around. Maybe we're just finding out faster.

Predictions for 2009 -- The writer sees declines in general fiction sales and increases for digital media.

Digital Publishing
Calculating a fair price for e-books -- Given the lack of logistics required for e-books to get from the publisher to you, what's a fair price?

Downloading e-books from a Computer to a Kindle -- It's actually easy, if you should feel the need to shell out the bucks for the Kindle in the first place.

Our Craft
Finding Ideas in Classified Ads -- Some good Poynters for finding color--or even a plotline for your stories.

Queries: An Inside Scoop -- An agent deconstructs a successful query letter.

Freelance Writers Mentoring Program -- Teleseminars designed to bring new writers into the freelance writing business.

Surviving the Recession
ProBlogger Jobs Board -- Where Bloggers Looking for Jobs and Companies Looking for Bloggers Meet.

Social Media and Marketing Your Work
Social Media for Authors and Publishers -- The first rule: bring wine to the picnic, not a bullhorn.

Twenty Things You Can Do to Make Your Website Google Friendly -- If you're marketing your book online, you need to get people to read your marketing to read your book.

Twitter IDs for the 100 Most Influential Online Marketers -- If you want to get smart about online marketing, these are good people to follow.