The Perspiring Writer Magazine

What is the most significant mistake that authors typically make when approaching publishers with their projects? For many, it is writing a weak query letter. Think about it, the query letter is your first chance to make a good first impression. If your query letter doesn’t make it past the gatekeepers at the literary agency or publishing offices, you won’t be signing a contract with them anytime soon.

What is the difference between a weak query letter and a strong one? In most instances, it is the focus and perspective that you (the author) write into it. The success of your query letter hinges on your level of understanding about the publisher’s or agent’s needs, requirements and mindset. And you thought that all you had to do was describe your book project and introduce yourself in a one-page letter.

One page or two; does it really matter? Not to most agents and publishers IF the letter gives the information the recipient needs, presented in an appropriate manner and with the right focus and perspective. Here are my five rules for writing a stronger query letter:

1: Determine the purpose of your book and your reasons for wanting to write it. If you are writing (or have written) this book simply to satisfy something within yourself (your ego, for example), there may not actually be a market for it. If you have decided to write this book to fill a need within a particular niche and you have the expertise to do so, there might be a market for this book.

Likewise, if you can’t actually determine a purpose for your book, it may not be a good idea. A reasonable purpose for a viable book project might be to inform, educate, enlighten or even entertain a segment of the population. What segment of the population? How would this book benefit them? You’ll probably want to establish this in your query letter as it shows that you have thought your project through.

2: Succinctly describe your book. You may be surprised at how many authors, even those with really strong, well-defined books, can’t describe their books well. Practice describing your book so that your explanation actually captures the concept, the focus and perspective of your book. What is it about? What is the point of the book? How is this point or the material presented? Is it a novel featuring an older couple who, after a heartbreaking few years of tragedy, renew their vows to one another as well as their commitment to serving the community through clandestine activities? Is it a how-to book for family money management presented in workbook form? Perhaps, it is a self-help book for people who have fallen off the wagon and want to climb back on.

Include the fact that you have featured a dozen case histories to illustrate the problems for alcoholics and your remedy. Reveal any name experts you will be interviewing for this book.

3: Tell the publisher who your audience is. Never say that this book is for everyone. Your book has a target audience and the publisher or agent needs/wants to know exactly who they are. Are they people who are skydiving for the first time, adoptive parents, job seekers, readers of inspirational books or heads of families that are struggling to make ends meet?

How many readers does your audience comprise? Here’s your opportunity to impress the publisher or agent with knowledge about your book’s subject or genre and your reader demographics. If you haven’t done so already, do some research to find out how many people are currently out of work, for example, how many people each year sign up to skydive for the first time or how many children are adopted each year. And then provide these statistics in your query letter. You might say, “Currently, 8.5 percent of employable adults are without jobs,” or “Over a million homes were foreclosed on last year.” You must make a case for your book. Some hopeful authors seem to think that the purpose of a query letter is merely to let the publisher or agent know about your book. There is more to a query letter than that. The actual purpose is to sell them on the idea of your book. When you decide to pitch your book, you must become a salesperson.

Not only does the publisher want to know, “What’s in this book deal for me?” he wants to know what’s in the book for his readership. Hopefully, you can answer these burning questions. You must convince him that your book has something of interest or value for your reader demographic. A mild-mannered book describing the economic situation most likely isn’t going to provide the family that’s struggling financially with anything of value? On the other hand, an updated book complete with fresh information, resources, worksheets and instructions would probably hit the mark for thousands of such families.

4: Explain why you are the person to write this book. But avoid spewing a lot of mundane personal stuff that doesn’t relate to the sort of expertise and skill required for a book of this type. “My grandmother lived on an Indian reservation and that’s why I am writing this Indian novel,” probably won’t cut it with a publisher. “I was adopted as a child, so I have a strong interest in this topic,” may not convince an agent that you can write about adoption with any authority or skill. Sure, these things might be important to mention ever so briefly but, if the bulk of your book is a how-to based on research and expert interviews, this is what you want to describe. And you want to demonstrate to the publisher that you have the information and material necessary to address your audience’s concerns in a way that has not been presented before.

Think about what a publisher might want to know about you—that you have a degree in your field, that you have worked in your industry for a dozen or more years, that you have published a book or books on this topic before and that you travel regularly speaking on this subject? Yes, these things might certainly give you immense credibility in the publisher’s eyes.

If there is more—if you want to talk about your book awards, your level of schooling, your degrees, your affiliations, I suggest adding a “resume” page that the publisher can refer to if he is interested beyond what’s in your query letter.

You might also insert a page listing the experts you have interviewed for your book—again, on a separate sheet so that it does not interfere with the succinct information in the query letter.

5: Use language that resonates with the publisher or agent. Do you know what information he or she wants above all else? It’s generally not how many creative writing courses you’ve taken, the fact that your mother and sister love your story or that this book has taken you 25 years to complete. He wants to know, is this a viable product? Will this book make him some money? It is your job to convince him that it will and you must offer up the proof. How?

Do a market analysis of books similar to yours and honestly evaluate whether there is room for another book of this type. What makes your book different and/or better than what’s currently available? Does your book fit into a genre that is selling well, such as romance novels? Would your book fill a niche that is currently being neglected? Have world or national events and circumstances created new needs? Make a case for the value of your book in the marketplace and make sure you can back it up.

If your query letters keep coming back marked, “reject,” maybe it isn’t your idea that’s being turned down, but the way it is presented. Use these guidelines to write stronger query letters and you may begin to experience some significant and unexpected success.