Literary agents receive hundreds of query letters and manuscript submissions a week, which is an overwhelming amount of content to review. To streamline the process, most agents rely on the query letter or other submission requirements to help pare down...

Query letters are difficult. Part of the struggle is switching from the long form writing of a novel to the short form writing of a letter. Elaine Ash, author, editor, and book coach, breaks down the mechanics of query letters that get responses from...

Professional editor Christine Van Zandt offers some advice to authors on polishing the query letters written to agents and publishers. Click here to play this audio clip

Jeff Silberman, Literary Agent gives suggestions on writing your query letter to help you stand out from the crowd.

Jeff Silberman, Literary Agent gives suggestions on writing your query letter to help you stand out from the crowd. Click here to play this audio clip

Professional editor Christine Van Zandt offers some advice to authors on polishing the query letters written to agents and publishers.

Professional editor Christine Van Zandt offers some advice to authors on polishing the query letters written to agents and publishers. Click here to play this audio clip

Literary agent and book development consultant Claire Gerus shares a few common reasons she may reject a query letter or manuscript submission. 1. If Gerus is not interested in the topic, she may recommend another agent. There are no hard feelings...

A query letter's purpose is to help you get a literary agent for your book. Like a resume for a job search, the query letter is your chance to get your foot in the door. Your query letter deserves your utmost attention and effort to impress the target...

Finding an agent is hard work, and it isn’t uncommon for an author’s query to end up in the slush pile. There are ways, though, that authors set themselves apart so that their letters lead to a full manuscript request. Eventually, the right query letter...