I’m querying three agencies to start – might up that to five if I spot two more agents who are looking for character-driven sci-fi. I was told at a conference not to approach more than five agents at any one time. That way, you can keep track of where you are and who’s got your manuscript.
Here’s how to write a good query letter:
- Keep your letter three to five paragraphs long – it should be short enough for the agent to read in just a few minutes. Try to stay around 300 words (or less)
- Write your name and contact information at the top right side of the page.
- Write the agent’s name and address next, left-justified.
- Address the agent by name – and be sure you’re spelling it correctly.
- “Hook” the agent with any connections you may have – have you met them at a conference? Are you fans of an author they represent? If you don’t have any connections, just start with a general greeting – see my example below.
- Share the title, genre, and word count of your book.
- For your second paragraph, summarize your book. This should be your short blurb, the one you’d see on the back cover of your novel.
- For your third paragraph, add your writing biography. Keep this to one or two sentences.
NY Book Editors has a good article: How to Write a Darn Good Query Letter. I refer to that often.
Here’s my example query letter:
I’m currently seeking representation for my adult science fiction novel, EARTHBEAT. Given your interest in science fiction, I thought it might be a good fit for your list.
The velyr have been genetically designed as a hive mind, to live on a desert planet that encircles a red star. They have the perfect society – until a group is infected with individuality. The society has no solution for those who’ve contracted this illness, so they exile the group to the nearest inhabitable world, scattering them throughout the planet. Unfortunately, that planet is already inhabited by humans. Tano, a new arrival in the Earth colony, is helping scan the colony perimeter when he discovers a velyr stranger, injured and alone. He must decide if the stranger is another exile, a new arrival from the home planet, or the bait in an elaborate human trap.
Under JES Hays, I have written three historical fiction novels, which are represented by Jet Literary Agency. I have also published a short story anthology under that same name and have five books currently online with JMS Books under the name JD Ryan. I have started a Facebook page for EJMurrayBooks – my JES Hays Facebook page currently has 189,500 followers. EARTHBEAT is complete at 83,600 words and is the first in a planned series. I like to think it’s a cross between Anne McCaffrey and Marion Zimmer Bradley. The manuscript is available, in part or full, upon request. I will be querying three to five agencies with this novel. Thank you for your time and consideration.
