Ask Jerry
Query letters
Asked by Beth Pysnack on June 9, 2020
In my research prior to the query portion of the course I've read many times that your fiction novel query should be no longer than 300 words. After looking through your examples that seem much more elaborate and professionally impressive, I'm confused. Querying is my nemesis and I dont think I'm doing it right. I've queried a childrens book to no avail yet and will eventually query my novel. Submission guidelines tell me keep it short and sweet but these examples arent necessarily short but are impressive. Are these examples appropriate for children's book queries as well? I'm so lost and frustrated.
Jerry's Answer
Here's the best teaching I've seen on query letters, Beth. https://www.janefriedman.com/query-letters/
Be careful not to use the term fiction novel when communicating with agents or publishers, because it's redundant. Novels are fiction by definition.
And here's my teaching on queries: https://jerrysguild.com/perfect-pitch-how-to-write-winning-queries-and-proposals/
Queries are tricky, and there is some conflicting advice out there. But you can do this. :)