I am a member of scbwi and the author of a childrens picture book. In a single page, the writer aims to make the editorpublisher get interested in reading or publishing the entire story. Sep 30, 2015 why you think your book might complement other books theyve published. Some are shared by the authors one tells us that it was the 22nd version of their query that got noticed and. Successful query letters and winning examples writing. I have also had stories published in children s magazines. Literary agent picture book query letter posted by david law on 21st july 2016 in blog, literary agent research i think im finally getting the hang of writing picture book queries for literary agents, im even beginning to enjoy the challenge. Section one query letter sample introduce your book and the target market. Thats one side of one page no cheating and printing a doublesided letter. When writing a query letter for a picture book you will basically have three main paragraphs, plus your signoff. But with picture books, there are a few extra things to keep in mind. But most authors simply have wrong ideas about how to truly make their query letter get an agent s or agent s assistant s attention because most of what has been previously written or told about writing an effective query letter is complete nonsense.
From looking like a heel to a picture book deal all. We met most recently at your seminar, pitches and queries at the ccwc in hyannis, which was instrumental in helping to craft this query letter. If you need a visual, an example template for a query letter is included in the book version of my crash course. Why you think your book might complement other books theyve published. So let me dissect this really good query letter and extoll its virtues. How to write a darn good query letter ny book editors. In this version, keila takes the story to new orleans and centers it around a local custom during the mardi gras season where a plastic baby is hidden inside a king cake leaving everyone wondering who got the baby. I should say that i am a real author describing a real book this letter pretends that this book is a first novel and i have no track record in the industry. My novel, saving grace 105,000 words, is a multifaceted story of love, turmoil, and perseverance in which two people give up everything, including each other, for their love and for their child. Query letters for childrens book fiction musings archive for april 2003. If you dont make a good first impression, your childrens book manuscript will likely get sent right back to you accompanied by one of those dreaded rejection letters. Jul 03, 2010 ive found that all my previous research on queries, which has primarily focused on querying novels, is not quite adequate for writing a pb query. Query tips from authorartistzoologist jess keating.
With loads of hints and tips on how to get your letter right you want to know what a great query letter to literary agents should look like. From looking like a heel to a picture book deal all about query letters. How not to write a darn good query letterdont go beyond one page. Query letters for childrens book fiction harold underdown. Nonfiction books jane friedman for years, ive offered a lengthy guide on how to write a query letter for a novel. Underdown includes many sample letters for manuscripts. Query letter sample literary agents and literary agencies. If you want additional advice or variations on formatting, take a look at harold underdowns excellent the complete idiots guide to publishing children s books, available in bookstores or at your library. You must walk a very fine line between selling your manuscript without coming across like the parent who knows his kid is the best player on the bench.
Sub it club query master heather burnell recently used the framework the hook, the book, and the cook for fiction queries. Aug 22, 2011 children s book coach and bestselling authoreditor emma walton hamilton gives a stepbystep lesson in how to write a pitchperfect query letter. Email query letter format how to write an agent query. Email query letter format what do you need to know about submitting query letters to literary agents by email. Aug 18, 2018 in an equery, you dont need to start with your address, the recipients nametitle address, or date as you would in a traditional snailmail business letter to editorspublishers. This series is called successful queries and im posting actual query letter examples that succeeded in getting writers signed with agents. Through looking at these examples with comments from an agent who specialises in kidlit i was able to gain some insight into how a pictures book plot can be written in a query letter.
Actually, its rude to go over one page in a query letter, not to mention unprofessional. Know where your picture book belongs in the market. Now, a nonfiction query isnt entirely different from a fiction one, but there are some nuances. Just before we look at it, i should say that i am a real author describing a real book this letter pretends th. From looking like a heel to a picture book deal all about. A literary agent shares a reallife novel pitch that ultimately led to a book.
She gave me a lot of other advice i had to unlearn, too. You also have your picture book query letter, and, well, the most important thing. It would look like a standard business letter with the date, contact information, and the actual content of the letter. Friends of mine, old hands at the writing game, admit to still feeling a twinge of anxiety when they have to write a query. How to write a nonfiction query letter for childrens books.
Example of a good query letter nathan bransford writing. Consult a written or online guide to children s book publishers. I then joined a wonderful local society of children sbook writers and illustrators scbwi group, and members encouraged me to join the national organization where i found more about submissions. Write a killer picture book query to hook a literary agents. The query letter is so much of a sales piece that its quite possible to write one without having written a word of the manuscript. It should include your title andor subtitle, name the genre or category of your book, and indicate the word count. Type it single spaced, but leave sufficient white space at the top and bottom so the letter looks uncluttered and appealing. The query letter template youre about to see isnt like anything youve seen before. Sub it club query master heather burnell recently used the framework. Query letters that worked a childrens book editors. Picture book query letters, by emma walton hamilton. A query letter is a way of introducing your writing to editors or literary agents and publishers.
Five important tips on how to pitch a literary agent in person from author tracey barnes priestley. Having gone through the exercise, i figured id share the few paltry samples of good or successful query letters i managed to scrounge up. Let us all learn from emily conrad, who was both gracious enough to send me a good query letter and generous enough to let me use her as a guinea pig. Centipedes is a humorous story for children in the early grades that emphasizes the joy of participating in sports. I have also had stories published in childrens magazines. Near the bottom of each query youll find a link to the authors website and a link to buy the book the query is for. After all, if you dont send out a query, that story is never going to see the light of day. Make sure you specifically address the agent you are querying.
There are lots of query howtos out there, but im hard to educate. All it requires is a firm grasp of your story premise. I wanted examples and they are hard to find for ya or mg fiction. How to write a picture book query letter in 6 simple steps. Klems is the editor of this blog, online editor of writers digest and author of the popular gift book oh boy, youre having a girl. Query letter basics for the childrens book market book editing. The trick to correctly identifying the genre of your book in your query letter is knowing the ins and outs of book genres even before you start writing.
Publishers require prospective authors to submit either a proposal a longer document providing additional editorial and marketing information about your book or a query letter a onepage letter of introduction inviting the publisher to ask for more details about your project. Keila is the firsttime picture book author of the king cake baby, which is a hilarious fractured version of the gingerbread man story. In addition to posting these query letter samples, we will also get to hear thoughts from the writers literary agent as to why the letter worked. For example, if youre thinking your book idea might be young adult, its time to start avidly reading young adultif youre not already. The sample query below resulted in a hardcoverpaperback book deal for carol plumucci. This is not a letter to your best friend, so keep it short, simple, to the point, but enticing.
Dont focus so much on picture book manuscript format that you lose sight of character, plot, and writing style. It is hard to write a good query letter, especially when youre starting out. The editor or agents name, title if editor, company, and address. When writing a query letter for a picture book you will basically have. Query letters that worked a childrens book editors site. For authorillustrators, agents need to see your art. Sep 27, 2010 thanks, mary, for focusing on picture book queries today. If you know what your book is about and you know why someone should want to read your book what benefits it will provide and why it is uniqueyou should be able to write something pithy in 50 words or less that describes your book perfectly. May, 20 now, since this is a picture book workshop, usually you can attach a picture book manuscript to a query letter bc your manuscript is probably only 3 pages long. Most publishers have guidelines for how they want your material to arrive, regardless of. Because most query letters are not read top to bottom.
Remember that picture book format is just one small component of a successful children s book submission. It is either sent without an accompanying manuscript, or with two or three sample chapters the publishers guidelines will state which form the query should take. Simple rules for writing an effective query letter. The first section in my query letter sample outline is for you to explain what your book is about. How to write a query letter that gets manuscript requests. I hope these samples take some of the fear and doubt away so you can get that letter finished and put your best foot forward. Query letters for children s book fiction musings archive for april 2003. How to write a picture book query the basics the layout of a picture book query. Literary agent query letter example below will help you improve your pitch to book agents. Sample query letter the query letter sample below will help you create a successful query letter of your own, so you can get a top literary agent, publisher, and book deal. If youre sending it to more than one publisher, mention that it is a simultaneous submission. Jul 11, 2011 how to write a nonfiction query letter for a childrens book many writers want to know how to write a nonfiction query letter for childrens books.
Jan 17, 2020 the query letter has one purpose, and one purpose only. Query tips no one tells writers from literary agent carly watters. You have one page and 300 words or less to woo a literary agent into falling in love with your story and then requesting your manuscript. No need to write an elaborate picture book query letter. Query letters to agents that worked jason boog for mediabistros galleycat pulled together this great resource, 23 query letters to literary agents that worked. How to draft proposals to childrens book publishers. Query letter basics for the childrens book market book. Example of a good query letter clean version dear mr. Picture book format and how to format your manuscript kidlit. Successful query letters and winning examples the goal of query letter is to elicit an invitation from an agent or editor to send in sample chapters or the whole manuscript. Winning query letter samples query letter faq master the art of the query letter how to write a query letter quick query letter checklist writing your cover letter submission primer 101 perfect query letters what should be in a query letter preparing email queries the last query email query dos and donts a terrific query letter how to write. Perhaps in a few days or weeks from now, youll write to tell me that you just got a top literary agent, publisher, and book deal. How to format your childrens book manuscript dummies. Writers digest is an excellent resource for upandcoming authors.
If you write fiction or narrative nonfiction, a query letter is your first and. The first online group i joined was children s book insiders cbi. Sixteenyearold hannahs faith was seriously injured by the accident that killed her sister, so when her chance at popularity senior will raditz moves into the basement, she sets aside following god to fit in with boys, friends, and fashion trends. When you write your own letter, be sure to only include details which are relevant to your own book and situation. So scroll below now to see my query letter template. Writers use these letters to pitch their ideas to editors and publishers. Cover letters for electronic submissions to childrens. Firsttime picture book author cover letters, exposed. This article is part of a 17part series called the best way to get a literary agent. If you write fiction or narrative nonfiction, a query letter is your first and often, your only chance to get an agent interested in reading and, with hope, signing your work. Query letters that worked sub it club features the letter of author margaret chiu greanias as a successful example of a query. But most authors simply have wrong ideas about how to truly make their query letter get an agents or agents assistants attention because most of what has been previously written or told about writing an effective query letter is complete nonsense.
Mar 21, 2016 one of the easiest ways to learn what makes a good, standard query letter is simply to see an example of one that does its job well. Many authors hate the task of writing a query, but its a necessity in todays publishing industry. When youre pitching fiction to an agent or publisher through a query letter, your ultimate goal is to get your manuscript read. Scroll below to learn more about the query letter sample structure that you can use to get literary agencies fighting over the chance to represent you and your book. Most agencies restrict attachments in query letters, so linking to sample art or an online portfolio is your best bet. May 11, 2017 this is the letter hannah used to hook her agent.
How to write a successful query letter example and. A query letter is a onepage letter sent to literary agents in an effort to get them excited about your book. Nov 30, 2006 i originally posted this example of a good query letter back when i was a literary agent, and the lessons still apply today. Just present the main characters, the main problem, and the resolution, then work in a hook great friendship hook, above, and sign off like you normally would with a novel query. Wow children book publishers with perfect query letters. I hope you got a lot out of this literary agent query letter example. Picture book submissions the great cover letter almost an. When i see picture book queries and when i write my own picture book pitches. I often find it helpful to imagine that i am writing the copy for a catalogue synopsis or the back cover or jacket flap. Heres a helpful template to help boil down your plot. Learn more about query letter writing in the online course how to query letter in 14 days, from writers digest university. Jan 15, 20 successful query letters and winning examples the goal of query letter is to elicit an invitation from an agent or editor to send in sample chapters or the whole manuscript.
Most literary agents will not even consider a query letter with more than one page or front and back. Simple query letter for picture book tips and a sample so you can publish a picture. Writing a pitch shouldnt be too difficult after going through the steps ive outlined previously. There are a lot of picture books out there, and there are many more picture book writers trying to break into the market. Ive also assumed here the agent has allowed to me to send a synopsis and opening chapters along with the query letter. So much so that i actually used examples from the website in my look at how to write a book.
Let us guide you through the query letter writing process and find out what a query letter is, why it is important, basic formatting tips, and much more. Would someone be willing to share an example of a successful query letter for a childrens pb. Like a heel to a picture book deal all about query letters. Picture book query letters, by emma walton hamilton writeoncon 2011. I read a lot of articles on how to write a query and a cover letter.
A query letter is a one page letter with three concise paragraphs. To help inspire you, weve collected 116 examples of successful query letters from famous authors spanning various genres, from crime fiction, to fantasy, to young adult. This is the perfect query letter for picture book formula. How to write the perfect query letter query letter example. Dont think that you have to use a professional voice use a voice that makes sense for your book genre. Successful query letters and winning examples writing and. Writing a query letter advice from young adult author kat cho. It is either sent without an accompanying manuscript, or with two or three sample. Mar 05, 2016 remember, agentseditors can differ in what they expectwant from a query letter or cover letter, so please always check submission guidelines. Every agent will have different pet peeves, different priorities, and different interests, but most likely every single agent who received this query was compelled to move on to at least read gia cribbss first chapters, which, by the way you can do right now in any book store or online to see why gia had so much immediate. On the road to traditional publication, your query letter plays a central role in getting literary agents and publishers to notice your book. I am a member of scbwi and the author of a children s picture book. Writers use query letters to pitch article ideas to magazine editors or book ideas to agents and publishers. This is only a barebones guide to writing a cover letter.
The query letter has one purpose, and one purpose only. Editors see a gazillion manuscripts every day, and the sight of certain common errors makes them sigh with impatience. In an equery, you dont need to start with your address, the recipients nametitle address, or date as you would in a traditional snailmail business letter to editorspublishers. If it is a snail mail query, then use standard business letter formatting. If the query letter stands alone, its your only chance to sell the editor on your book. Example of a successful query letter society of childrens book.
A query is a business letter asking permission to send the project described. How to draft proposals to childrens book publishers dummies. I dont know anyone who really likes writing queries, and most agree. Mar 02, 2015 from a bad picture book query to a picture book deal, learn from these mistakes. Picture book submissions the great cover letter almost.