Query Letters

Hate writing query letters? You're not alone

Wendy Burt-Thomas, author of the new book, "The Writer's Digest Guide to Query Letters" (January 2009, Writer's Digest Books) shares three reasons you'll feel the pinch in your pocketbook if you don't learn to like queries.

One of the complaints I hear most from magazine writers (and authors) is that they hate writing query letters. As someone who has been on both sides of the slush pile (writer pitching bad queries and editor reading bad queries), trust me when I say I feel your pain.

So what’s a writer to do?

Whether you’re selling a book, article, short story or personal essay, you’ve got to figure out how to find the fun in writing queries. I know, I know…Pollyanna.

Here are 3 reasons you’ll feel the pinch in your pocketbook if you don’t get the bitter taste out of your mouth:

1. Writing query letters will become such drudgery that you’ll stop doing it altogether. (= No sales to anyplace requiring queries first)

2. You’ll write them, but it will take you forever just to finish one. (= Few sales because you’re sending out fewer pitches)

3. Editors will think your manuscript will be as bland as your query. (= No sales.)

The first two are self-explanatory, but the third is a direct reflection of the fun you put into your query. Want an example? Here are two query openings for the same piece. These are samples taken from my book, The Writer’s Digest Guide to Query Letters (January 2009, Writer’s Digest Books):

Dear Mr. Corey,?On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I had the pleasure of meeting the cast of “Ocean’s 13.” Because my brother-in-law was the assistant director for the movie, I was also invited to dine with them. Needless to say, it was incredibly exciting and the conversations during the meal provided me with good fodder for my article, “Dining with the Cast of ‘Ocean’s 13.’”…

The only thing this person has going for him is good grammar. Granted, he’s just eaten dinner with some of Hollywood’s biggest leading stars, but that alone might not be enough to save this piece. If his article is as bland and stoic as his query, even Fabio’s fan club will be bored by the likes of Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Matt Damon. Un-sexy.

Now try this on for size:

Dear Mr. Corey,?I have to wash my brother-in-law’s car for a year, but it’s worth it. As the assistant director on “Ocean’s 13,” he allowed me to tag along to a four-hour dinner with three of the hottest studs (Um, that’s according to my wife) in Tinseltown: Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon. The three were forewarned that I was a freelance writer and they didn’t disappoint. From kissing Julia Roberts and visiting Cambodia to attempts to launch Matt as People’s “Sexiest Man of the Year,” I’ve got dirt to dish and the photos to prove it. At just over 2,000 words, “A Dud Among Studs” is a humorous piece about a night that was nothing less than hysterical—and humbling—with the three Hollywood hotties. (I did mention I’m married, right?)…

Can you feel the difference? The second query’s opening was probably as much fun to write as the article itself. The writer is enticing the editor with not only the topic, but also the voice he’ll use to write it; a fun, funny, self-deprecating style that’s hard to find, and therefore, hard to pass up.

The trick to writing a good magazine query is to find the stories that fascinate or entertain you – and then make that interest contagious in your query. If you love your completed novel, put as much effort into your book’s query letter. Make it a game to craft the best query possible. Can you make the editor laugh? Cry? Look your name up on the Internet? Most importantly, can you make them request your manuscript?

Find the fun in query letters. Your wallet will thank you … and so will your editor.

Wendy Burt-Thomas is a full-time freelance writer, editor and PR consultant. Her credits include more than 1,000 published pieces and three books. She promises that her new book, The Writers Digest Guide To Query Letters (January 2009, Writer’s Digest Books), is fun to read. Visit Wendy at Ask Wendy - The Query Queen: AskWendy.wordpress.com

*This piece was originally published on http://editorunleashed.com. The host is Maria Schneider, the former editor of Writer's Digest magazine. She does consulting for authors and just launched a series of very cool workshops.