Querying for Success

Your query letter is the first interaction you and your book have with an agent. If getting an agent is a job, this is your job interview. Writing a novel is hard, but writing a query complete with a strong hook seems even harder. You've got to distill your book into about 200 words, convincing an agent to read it while not spoiling them on the major plot points.

In this OnDemand webinar, instructor and literary agent Carlisle Webber shows you how to grab an agent's attention with your query letter. After sharing the essentials of query writing and answering some questions many writers have (such as How can I make my query stand out if it's formatted just like everyone else's?), Webber gives examples of great query letters. Learn some of the common mistakes that stop agents from requesting pages based on your query letter.

Carlisle Webber refused to major in English in college because she didn't think there was anything fun to read on the required lists. After college, she took her love of commercial, YA, and middle-grade fiction to the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences, where she earned a Master of Library and Information Sciences. She worked as a public librarian for years before deciding to move to the business side of publishing. She attended the Columbia Publishing Course and holds a Professional Certificate in Editing from UC Berkeley. She is now an agent with Fuse Literary representing high-concept commercial fiction for children, teens, and adults. 

Writer's Digest Shop does not offer any refunds for the OnDemand Webinar. All sales are final.