Guest Post:
Query Letters… Yikes! (Writing a Query Letter)
Okay, this was painful, and I don’t mean your average, run of the mill, paper-cut painful. We’re talking severed limb here. Writing a query letter… a more difficult task than writing the book itself—at least in my opinion. I researched and sought fellow author advice on writing the dreaded thing, and found a ton of information. Unfortunately, I also discovered in pretty short order that everyone’s an expert, and for every “helpful tip”, I found two to contradict it.
So, how did I write this stellar query letter you may ask?—with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. And about ten revisions. But I learned a lot along the way, and this is what I believe to be true: Keep it short, concise, and professional. Address your query, and format it like a business letter, even if it’s an email. Introduce your book, and include genre and word count in the first paragraph. In the second paragraph, provide the hook, aka. elevator pitch. Then, condense your amazing novel into three maybe four, but no more, paragraphs. In the next paragraph, sell yourself. Mention any previous publication, awards, memberships, etc. In the last paragraph, thank them for their time and consideration of your MS. It always helps to include why you think they would be a good fit to represent or publish your book.
I’ve read several query samples online and found this example to be particularly helpful: SampleQueryLetter.pdf
I found this sample to be the very helpful. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!
Melynda Price
Synopsis:
Olivia Norton was born with a gift—a gift heaven has sworn to protect, and hell is bound to destroy. Her perfect world is turned upside-down when two handsome strangers, Max and Liam, step into her life. Olivia soon discovers that her ‘Mr. Perfect’ is actually a perfect nightmare.
The rules of engagement have changed and Liam, Olivia’s guardian angel, is forced to cross dimensional borders or risk losing the woman he’s sworn to protect. Suddenly, thrust into a world unlike anything he’s ever known, Liam isn’t prepared to come face to face with the young woman whose life he holds in his hands.
But nothing is as it seems, and secrets abound that will ultimately force him to choose between two impossibilities. Max will stop at nothing to finish what he’s started, and Olivia is soon plunged into a battle between good and evil. Her very life hangs in the balance as two forces fight to win her heart.
Excerpt:
“More like what?” His eyebrow arched curiously.
“More like Max, I guess.”
“Well, I can promise you that I am nothing like Max. More like the exact opposite, to tell you the truth.”
“Why do you hate him so much? At first, I thought it was because he was my boyfriend, and that you were just jealous or something. But it’s more than that, isn’t it?”
“There’s a darkness in him, Olivia. Can’t you feel it?”
“I’m not sure how I feel when I’m with Max anymore. I used to feel…carefree—wild and reckless, you know? But lately, I’m starting to just feel…afraid. Like I’m walking on a tightrope and I’m about ready to fall.”
“I’ll catch you,” he whispered, slowly trailing his fingers down the side of her neck.
Her pulse beat erratically beneath his touch; she opened her mouth to say something, but stopped. Instead, she moistened her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue. His heated gaze fell to her lips and she felt Liam’s resolve snap. A wave of desire blasted into her and a soft groan of defeat rumbled in his chest as he lowered his head, capturing her lips in a tender embrace. His kiss tore through her like fire. What started out as tentative and sweet, quickly escalated to urgent and demanding as a rush of adrenaline flooded her veins. She melted into his arms, her lips fitting perfectly against his, like she was made just for him.
He tasted exactly like he smelled—faintly of cloves, delicious. She parted her lips, aching for more and instinctively he responded to her request as if she’d spoken it. Drawing the kiss deeper, his tongue brushed against hers. The more he kissed her, the hungrier she became, fueling an insatiable fire deep in her core.
Olivia wound her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She’d never felt more starved and yet completely satisfied as she did at that very moment. He tightened his arms around her waist and pulled her against him, as if he couldn’t get close enough. Her feet left the ground as he molded her to his lean, powerful body.
Time momentarily ceased. She had no idea how long they stood there in each other’s arms as the floor of the boat rocked beneath his feet. The captain’s voice crackled over the speaker, announcing the end of their tour. A reluctant groan escaped Liam’s lips as he broke their kiss and slowly released her. Olivia stumbled when her feet touched ground and his hand shot out to steady her…
Author Bio:
She attended Bethel University in Minnesota and graduated in 2003, holding AA, ASN and BSN degrees.
She lives in Northern Minnesota where she has plenty of snow-filled days to curl up in front of the fireplace with her Chihuahua, and a hot cup of coffee, to write. She’s blessed with two amazing children, and a wonderful husband of seventeen years.
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Very interesting & helpful information. Thanks so much for sharing Melynda and for posting Gina. This is indeed a dreaded task and you hit the nail on the head with the statement that for every tip one finds there are two to contradict it. Thanks again!
Paul R. Hewlett