3 Ways to Improve Your Query/Cover Letter – Part I
3 Ways to Improve Your Query/Cover Letter – Part I
You've completed and polished your manuscript. Now all you need is the right publisher to take your work. But that requires a query/cover letter and any given publisher gets hundreds of queries a day. So how do you make your approach connect,and delight,the right publisher? The three key elements are covered in this two-part tutorial series.
In the fewest words possible, a query letter must immediately engage the attention of a busy literary agent or publisher. To do that, you must distill the essence of a 65,000+ word manuscript in three paragraphs that will hook the reader, impel them to ask for more, and leave them with a great impression of you,the writer and why they need to be in business with you. Impossible, right? Not if you adhere to these three ways to present yourself and your writing in today's demanding and competitive literary marketplace.
This tutorial is presented by Charlotte Robin Cook, an experienced publisher and story editor, and Jon James Miller, an award-winning screenwriter and debut novelist who retained his first literary agent with a compelling query letter in 2011.
In Part I, a 27-minute tutorial video, you'll discover:
- Why a compelling query/cover letter is important
- How to properly format your letter
- What to include in your letter to get publishers interested in your work
- How to submit your letter and to whom you should target your letter to
- How to best introduce your work
- Why snail mail is preferable to e-mail in today's marketplace
- Examples of successful query letters
- How to research agents and publishers to produce best results
- How to follow-up on your query letter to actually get your submission read
A query/cover letter is the first crucial step to getting your manuscript read, you represented, and your writing career off the ground. These three ways will demystify the elements necessary to getting the positive response needed from today's busy publishing professionals.
