{"id":265476,"date":"2021-01-05T17:45:44","date_gmt":"2021-01-05T17:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/?p=265476"},"modified":"2025-05-12T14:46:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T13:46:43","slug":"read-a-sample-literary-agent-query-letter-with-hints-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/read-a-sample-literary-agent-query-letter-with-hints-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Read A Sample Literary Agent Query Letter, With Hints &#038; Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\"><strong>Sample Query Letter &amp; Template Included<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You want to know what a great query letter to literary agents should look like? We\u2019re going to show you a perfect sample letter in a moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But we\u2019re also going to figure out what your query letter needs to do \u2013 and how you\u2019re going to write it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This blog post will give you everything you need \u2013 and I promise that if you are talented enough to write a book, you are EASILY capable of writing a strong, confident query letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>OK. We\u2019ll get stuck in in one second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I should probably tell you that I am a real author describing a real book. The query letter below pretends that this book is a first novel and I have no track record in the industry. That&#8217;s obviously the case for most people reading this, but if you DO have a track record of note, then for heaven&#8217;s sake tell agents about it. Boasting is good!<\/p>\n\n\n\r\n    <section class=\"free-signup-block  alignfull\" id=\"\" data-redirect=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/resource-downloads\/the-jericho-writers-vault\/\">\r\n        <div class=\"content-container\">\r\n            <div class=\"free-signup-block-container\">\r\n                                    <div class=\"free-signup-image-container\">\r\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/121-agents.png\" alt=\"\">\r\n                                            <\/div>\r\n                                <div class=\"free-signup-text-container\">\r\n\r\n                    <div class=\"free-signup-text-wrapper\">\r\n                                                        <h2>Getting ready to query literary agents?<\/h2>\r\n                                                    <div class=\"wysiwyg-container\"><p>Join our free community for instant access to: <\/p>\n<\/div>                  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very concise way the manuscript that you\u2019ve written (ie: title, genre, word count).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To introduce your work at slightly more length \u2013 so you say what it is (setting \/ setup \/ premise \/ main character).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To give a sense of the emotional mood of your work \u2013 what is the emotional payoff for the reader?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To give a hint of your book\u2019s USP or angle.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To help the agent understand where your book would fit in the market by including comparable titles and agent personalisation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To say something \u2013 not much \u2013 about you.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Write-A-Query-Letter-In-3-Easy-Steps\">The Structure of your Query Letter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s the structure that most query letters should take. There are some exceptions (notably non-fiction and literary fiction), but for most purposes your query letter should comprise the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Introductory sentence<\/strong> \u2013 include your purpose for writing (you\u2019re seeking representation!) book title, wordcount, genre.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1-2 paragraphs about your book<\/strong> \u2013 what your book\u2019s about and why a reader will love it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A brief note about you<\/strong> \u2013 who you are and why you wrote the book.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ll expand on these things shortly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A sample query letter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>First up, however, here\u2019s a query letter of a sort that would make any sane agent want to start reading the manuscript in question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>Dear Agent Name<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>I\u2019m writing to seek representation for my first novel, TALKING TO THE DEAD, a police procedural of 115,000 words.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The book opens with news of a murder: a young woman and her daughter have been found dead in a rough area of Cardiff, Wales. The house where they\u2019re found is in poor condition, but in the corner of the room is a platinum bank card belonging to a local millionaire. A millionaire who died in a plane crash some nine months previously. New recruit, Detective Constable Fiona Griffiths is assigned to the investigation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Puzzling as this crime looks, it\u2019s not the heart of the book\u2019s mystery. It becomes rapidly clear that Fiona Griffiths herself is a very peculiar woman, who is withholding crucial secrets from the reader. Who exactly is her father? What was her childhood illness? And what is it with her and corpses?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>I currently run my own small consultancy business, and&nbsp;<\/em><em>this is my first novel. I look forward to writing further novels in the series.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>I enclose the first three chapters and a synopsis. I hope you like what you see and look forward to hearing from you.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Yours,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Harry Bingham<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Simple right? And you can do it, no?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s that query letter again with my comments highlighted in bold:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>Dear Agent Name<\/em> [<strong>probably Jenny Smith, for example, rather than Ms Smith or just Jenny. But do check spellings, please! Someone called Jon may be annoyed to be addressed as John.<\/strong>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>I\u2019m writing to seek representation&nbsp;<\/em><strong>[the purpose of you getting in touch]<\/strong><em>&nbsp;for my first novel, TALKING TO THE DEAD, a police procedural of 115,000 words.&nbsp;<\/em><strong>[title, genre, word count \u2013 all defined fast and clearly.]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The book opens with news of a murder: a young woman and her daughter have been found dead in a rough area of Cardiff. The house where they\u2019re found is in poor condition, but in the corner of the room is a platinum bank card belonging to a local millionaire. A millionaire who died in a plane crash some nine months previously.&nbsp;<\/em><strong>[This sets up the basic premise of the crime story. Already, the agent has the basic co-ordinates she needs to navigate, including location. I haven&#8217;t explicitly mentioned that this is a contemporary novel, but if it&#8217;s historical or speculative you certainly need to spell that out.]<\/strong><em>&nbsp;New recruit, Detective Constable Fiona Griffiths is assigned to the investigation.&nbsp;<\/em><strong>[Introduce main character \u2013 clearly and succinctly.]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Puzzling as this crime looks, it\u2019s not the heart of the book\u2019s mystery. It becomes rapidly clear that Fiona Griffiths herself is a very peculiar woman, who is withholding crucial secrets from the reader. Who exactly is her father? What was her childhood illness? And what is it with her and corpses?&nbsp;<\/em><strong>[This hints nicely at the book\u2019s mood and USP. It starts to suggest the emotional payoff \u2013 a mystery to do with the book\u2019s central character. In effect, this is where you deliver something like the book&#8217;s elevator pitch &#8211; the reason why the agent <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">has to<\/span> know more.]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>I currently run my own small consultancy business, and&nbsp;this is my first novel. I look forward to writing further novels in the series.<\/em><strong>&nbsp;[A line or two about me. Confirmation that I understand I\u2019m writing a series \u2013 an important touch for this kind of fiction. If you are writing in any genre that expects a series (eg: plenty of children&#8217;s genres) make it clear that you understand that expectation.]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>I enclose the first three chapters and a synopsis. I hope you like what you see and look forward to hearing from you.&nbsp;<\/em><strong>[Wrap it up. The whole letter easily fits onto one page. And yes, I know you\u2019ll be sending an email, but you know what I mean.]<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Now you know what you\u2019re doing, we\u2019ll get into a slightly more specific analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Components of Your Query Letter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The 1 Sentence Summary<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You need to say why you\u2019re writing. (You\u2019re seeking representation, right? So say so.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You need to give the title of your book, either underlined or (better) in italics, please.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You need to give the word count of your book, rounded to the nearest 5,000 words. (And one word of advice: just be sure your word count is approximately right for the market.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/average-novel-wordcount\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Advice here<\/a>.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You need to give the approximate genre or territory of your book.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>If you do those things, the agent can instantly understand what you want and what you\u2019re offering. You will also, by the way, prove yourself to be a swift, professional writer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s absolutely fine to model your sentence after the one I&#8217;ve given you above. It&#8217;s my copyright, but I don&#8217;t mind a bit of plagiarism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What&#8217;s your genre?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s all very well for me to tell you to define your book&#8217;s genre: my books have a really clear, easily named genre. But that&#8217;s just not true of lots of books. If you&#8217;re writing a historical novel involving a cross-cultural romance amidst the wars of the 18th century Ottoman empire &#8211; what is that book? A romance? A war story? Historical fiction?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The simple truth is that it&#8217;s all of those things and agents aren&#8217;t that fussed about putting things into neat boxes, because fiction has never come in neat boxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So just describe the book, in 1-2 sentences. &#8220;The novel follows Ali, a caliph in the 18th century Ottoman empire and his romance with Anya, a Balkan servant girl. The novel centres on the XYZ war and has its climax during the 17xx siege of Dubrovnik.&#8221; Now, I&#8217;ve just made that up &#8211; I don&#8217;t know if there was a siege of Dubrovnik, but you can see that I&#8217;ve explained what kind of book this is without needing to reference a genre. If your book doesn&#8217;t fit any neat category, then just do the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The 1-2 Paragraph Introduction To The Book<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>First, it\u2019s important to say what this is not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You are not writing a back-of-book blurb. But nor are you writing a detailed outline of your story. (That\u2019ll come in the form of your synopsis \u2013 get more synopsis help&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-write-a-novel-synopsis-with-an-example\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">right here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What you&nbsp;<em>are<\/em>&nbsp;doing is explaining&nbsp;<strong>what<\/strong>&nbsp;your book is and&nbsp;<strong>why<\/strong>&nbsp;a reader will feel compelled to read it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That \u2018what\u2019 element will typically be a matter of presenting some facts. You need to give some more information about your settings, your premise, your characters and so on. You don\u2019t need to be as salesy as a cover blurb, and you don\u2019t need to be as dry as a synopsis. It\u2019s almost as though you were chatting to your best friend and telling her about the book you\u2019ve just been reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u2018why\u2019 element is equally crucial. Here, you are conveying something about&nbsp;<em>emotions<\/em>. What is a reader going to feel as they read the book? What kind of atmosphere will they inhabit? What kind of emotional payoff or challenge is likely?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Comparable Titles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Including comparable titles is a clear and simple way to help authors understand where your book fits in the market. It&#8217;s important to query agents who specialise in your genre, and comparable titles help them get a sense of where your book would fit in with their list. Some people choose to include this in the introduction of their query letter, while others add it in later on; you can place it anywhere that suits you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The standard advice is that you should try to include two or three comparable titles. You could reference them by saying &#8216;readers of x, y, and z would love (your book)&#8217; or &#8216;x meets y in (your book)&#8217;. Make sure that you also describe why your book is unique and detail the extra elements it adds to the books you reference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Personally, I&#8217;m a little sceptical that agents always need this kind of triangulation. Done badly, and it can seem a bit crass &#8211; a bit unsophisticated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For this reason, and if you do choose to go the comparable title route, it&#8217;s important that the titles you use are genuinely similar to your book. Though it can be tempting to reference books you admire, it&#8217;s helpful to show an understanding of the market you&#8217;re writing in and give the agent a sense of the overall tone\/style of your book. The titles should be commercially successful and contemporary (ideally from the last two years or so) to show your agent why you think your book will sell in the current market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh yes, and don&#8217;t just pick the current genre bestsellers as your comps. That&#8217;s a bad idea for two reasons: first, everyone else will do it, and second, it&#8217;s actually important you pick the books and authors that really do give the agent a real clue as to what you&#8217;re all about. That could be the book currently at the top of the NYT bestseller list &#8230; but it probably isn&#8217;t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Agent Personalisation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Agent personalisation is a very brief part of your query letter, but it&#8217;s an important one. Lots of writers eagerly send query letters to lots of different agents, and agents want to know that you put some thought into deciding to contact them specifically. As with comparable titles, this is a section which can go anywhere in your query letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Providing an agent with a specific reason why you chose to query them will help make your query letter stand out, and it also shows that you&#8217;ve done your research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe they represent an author in your genre who you&#8217;re a big fan of, and that&#8217;s how you found out about them. Or perhaps you discovered them on Twitter, or went to an event they took part it where something they said really resonated with you. Let them know! Including this element of personalisation will make your letter more memorable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Again, don&#8217;t do this on auto-pilot. If you genuinely have a particular reason for writing to this particular agent, say so. If not, keep silent. Most agents have 2-3 big name authors and a horribly huge proportion of the query letters coming to those agents say, &#8220;I am writing to you because you represent Famous Author X and I think that my book &#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If in doubt, just keep quiet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A Brief Introduction To You, The Author<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>About you<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Luckily, agents don\u2019t care too much about you. Nor should they. They should care about the book, and only the book. That\u2019s a fine, honest, meritocratic approach. May the best book win!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That said, agents are obviously curious about the person behind the manuscript. So tell them something about yourself. It\u2019s fine to be human here, rather than resume-style formal. It\u2019s also OK to be quite brief. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cI am a 41-year-old mother, with three children, two dogs, one husband, and the finest vegetable garden in the southwest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s much better than &#8220;I spent twelve years as an ACPO-registered bookkeeper with a variety of small and medium enterprises by way of clients. I was nominated for the New Mexico Young Bookkeeper Award three times, and was successful on one occasion (2003).&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Believe me, agents don&#8217;t care &#8211; and nor should they. Your manuscript matters. You don&#8217;t &#8230; much.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Why you wrote the book<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If there is a real connection between who you are (a shrimp fisher, let\u2019s say) and the book you\u2019ve written (something to do with the sea and fishing) then it\u2019s worth another sentence or two to tease that out a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But don\u2019t feel compelled to do that. In my case, I wrote a crime novel, just because I wanted to write one. I\u2019m not a cop or ex-cop. I have no forensics expertise. I have no legal expertise. Or anything else relevant. And that doesn\u2019t matter, of course \u2013 what matters is the quality of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So if you have something good to say, say it. If you have nothing to say, then say nothing and don\u2019t worry about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Your previous writing history<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have some real background as a writer, then do say so. For example, you might have written a textbook or similar on a topic relevant to your own professional area. Or you might have won or been shortlisted for a major short story prize. Or perhaps you work as a journalist or copywriter. Or something similar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If anything like that is the case, then do say so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But if it\u2019s not \u2013 don\u2019t worry! We\u2019ve seen a lot of agent query letters that say things like \u201cI haven\u2019t had much writing experience, but my English teacher always used to say that I would be a writer one day . . .\u201d And, you know what? It just sounds feeble. So don\u2019t say it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Agents know that most slushpile submissions will be by complete newbie authors. And that\u2019s fine. JK Rowling was a newbie once . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Writing a series?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are writing a series, then you should say so, much as I did in that sample letter above. Agents will like the fact that you recognise the series potential of your work and that you are committed to taking the steps needed to develop it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What you don\u2019t want to do, is sound overly rigid or arrogant. (\u201cI have completed the first four novels in my&nbsp;<em>Lords of the Silver Sword<\/em>&nbsp;series, and have got complete chapter outlines for the next 11 titles. I am looking for a publisher who will commit fully to the series.\u201d \u2014 if you write something like that, agents are likely to reject you out of hand.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How Long Should Your Query Letter Be?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Your overall letter should not run to more than one page. (Except that non-fiction and literary authors can give themselves maybe a page and a half, maybe two). And that\u2019s it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;ve written your query letter, and would like some feedback before querying agents, why not purchase an<a href=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/editorial-services\/agent-submission-pack\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> agent submission pack review<\/a> from us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em><strong>We can help YOU get published.<\/strong><\/em><br>Did you know, we have a complete course on getting published? The course covers absolutely everything you need to know: how to prepare your manuscript, how to find agents, how to compile your shortlist, how to write your query letter and synopsis \u2013 and much, much more besides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/join-us\/video-courses-for-members\/#gettingpublished\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">course<\/a> is quite expensive&nbsp;to buy . . . so don\u2019t buy it. The course is available completely free to premium members of Jericho Writers. Not just that course. You get our Agent Match tool for finding literary agents. You get our awesome How To Write course. Plus our members get regular opportunities to pitch their work live online to a panel of literary agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sounds good, doesn\u2019t it?&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/join-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">So hop over here and find out more about joining us<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Query-Letters-The-Exceptions\">Query Letters: The Exceptions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>OK, there are a few exceptions to the above rules. Of those, the two most important ones you need to know about are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-you-are-writing-literary-fiction\">You Are Writing Literary Fiction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are writing genuinely high end literary fiction, agents will want you to strut a little, even in your query letter. So if you were writing about (Oh, I dunno) a fictional nun in 14th century Florence, you might talk a bit about the themes of your work and what inspired you to pick up this story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This kind of thing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c<em>I got the idea for this story, while working as a game warden one winter on the Hebridean island of Macvity. I was all alone and with a deeply unreliable internet connection. It occurred to me that my solitary life had its religious aspect and I became very interested in female monasticism. Blah, yadda, yadda, blah.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Sorry for the blahs, but personally I like books that have corpses in them.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The idea of this kind of approach is that you are selling the book (its themes, its resonances), but also you\u2019re selling yourself \u2013 you\u2019re showing that you can walk the talk as a literary writer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-you-are-writing-non-fiction-and-you-have-a-remarkable-platform\">You Are Writing Non-fiction And You Have A Remarkable Platform<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s say you are writing a cookbook and you have a couple of million people who subscribe to your YouTube channel. Or you are writing a book about motorcycle repair and you have a motorbike-themed blog with 250,000 monthly readers. In those cases, you have to delineate your platform in enough detail to convince an agent (and ultimately a publisher) that you are the right person to write this manuscript.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In those cases, then your query letter does need to outline your platform in sufficient detail. You may even want to kick that outline over into a separate document. However you handle it, the \u201cone page query letter\u201d rule can safely be binned. Your prospective agent wants to know what kind of platform you can supply \u2013 so tell her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh yes: and having a website is not a platform. Having 10,000 followers on Twitter is impressive, but means nothing in the context of national or international marketing. In short: if you are going to make a big deal of your platform, your platform itself needs to be a big deal. That means having six- or seven-figure numbers to boast about. Nothing else will really cut it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-you-are-writing-non-fiction-and-you-have-extraordinary-authority\">You Are Writing Non-fiction And You Have Extraordinary Authority<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Much the same goes if you are (let\u2019s say) writing a book of popular psychology and (like Daniel Kahnemann) just happen to have a Nobel Prize to wave around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you bring amazing authority to a topic, then you need to cover that, either in your query letter or a separate bio. Again, the one page rule just doesn\u2019t apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"What-To-Do-If-You-Dont-Hear-Back-From-Literary-Agents\">Literary Agent Etiquette<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So. Let\u2019s say you\u2019ve got a shortlist of agents. You\u2019ve checked those agents\u2019 websites for their specific submission requirements \u2013 probably opening chapters + query letter + synopsis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You use our query letter sample and write your own perfect query letter. You avoid any weak language, misspellings or grammatical howlers, of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You use our advice to put together your synopsis&nbsp;(<a href=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-write-a-novel-synopsis-with-an-example\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">advice right here<\/a>). You don\u2019t spend too long on writing the synopsis either, because if you use our techniques, that process is simplicity itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You read the opening chunk of your manuscript one last time \u2013 and follow our simple rules on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/manuscript-presentation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">manuscript formatting<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then \u2013 well, you send your stuff off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You light some candles, pray to your favourite saints, tie a black cat into a knot and throw a mirror over a ladder. (Or under it? Or something to do with a wishing well? I\u2019m not sure. Superstition isn\u2019t my strong suit.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anyway. You get your stuff out to at least 6 agents and preferably more like 10-12. You wait an unfeasibly long amount of time \u2013 but let\u2019s say 6-8 weeks as a rough guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What happens next? Well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rejections do happen, and are likely to happen even if you\u2019ve written a great book. (Because agents have their hands full. Or just like a different sort of thing. Or have an author who is too directly competitive. Or anything else. It\u2019s not always about you or your book.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But if you send your material out to 10-12 agents, and find yourself being rejected, then you have to ask yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Am I being rejected because I\u2019ve chosen the wrong agents?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Am I being rejected because my query letter \/ synopsis are poor?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Am I being rejected because my book isn\u2019t up to scratch?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Truthfully? The third of these issues is by far the most common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve written a great book, and a rubbish query letter, you can still find an agent. The other way around? Never.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are confident that you\u2019ve gone to the right agents, and have been rejected by 10+ people (or heard nothing after 8 weeks, which amonts to the exact same thing), then the probable truth is that your book is not yet strong enough for commercial publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, you know what?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s not a big deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All books start out bad. Then they get better. So getting rejected is really just a signal that you still have further to travel down that road. (<a href=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/a-rejection-letter-to-avoid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Find out about the type of rejection letters to look out for here.<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember that getting third party editorial advice is the standard way of improving your work. We offer outstanding editorial help and<a href=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/editorial-services\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&nbsp;you can read all about it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alternatively, join the Jericho Writers family, and you can get a ton of help absolutely free within your membership. Free courses on How To Write. Free courses on Getting Published. Free access to AgentMatch. And so much more.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/jericho-writers\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Find out more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Happy writing, and good luck!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sample Query Letter &amp; Template Included You want to know what a great query letter to literary agents should look like? We\u2019re going to show you a perfect sample letter in a moment. But we\u2019re also going to figure out what your query letter needs to do \u2013 and how you\u2019re going to write it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[29047],"class_list":["post-265476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agents","tag-unwcpop1"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Jericho Writers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We tell you exactly how to write a great query letter for literary agents. 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