Breaking Down My Query Letter

the key components of a successful query

When I first started querying, I would spend hours reading the blogs of writers who had gone before me and written posts such as “How I Got My Literary Agent” or “The Query Letter that Got Me an Agent”. Those were some of the most helpful resources I came across when I decided I wanted to pursue getting published because I could see what worked and what didn’t. 

I wasn’t sure at first if this was something people would be interested in, but after a resounding “yes” from the #amquerying community on Twitter (hello, all five hundred of you who asked for this 😂), I decided to do it. 

Now, I’m assuming most of the people reading this know what a query letter is, however, for those that don’t, allow me to explain! Before writers can pitch their newly minted book to agents, they need two very crucial things. 

• A query letter

• A synopsis

Today, we’ll be looking at the query letter or more specifically, breaking down the one that got me an agent and multiple full requests. Before we do, let’s revisit the basics: what is a query letter? 

A query letter is an inquiry sent to literary agents to see if they are interested in representing you and your work. The query contains basic metadata about your book such as the word count, books similar to yours, a two or three-paragraph summary of your plot, and a little about yourself. Some literary agents get upwards of a thousand emails a day, but out of hundreds, only sign a few. So crafting a stand-out query letter is an important skill to know how to weld.

Now, let’s look at the query that got me 15 full requests and an agent: 

~ ~ ~ 

Dear Agent,

It's my pleasure to present Unplanned Engagement, a dual-POV adult contemporary romance complete at 113,000 words. It is perfect for fans of the banter and stakes of The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa, and the fake dating tropes and Latin heritage found in The Spanish Love Deception by Elana Armas. With closed-door scenes, it'll also appeal to readers of Sarah Adams and The Stand-In by Lily Chu.

I think it’s important to start your query with “It’s my pleasure” or “I’m excited to present” as it strikes me, personally, as having confidence and if you are confident in your work I believe an agent can sense that. “I’m seeking representation for” works nicely too, but I found higher request rates with the first two options. 

Second, I get right into the title and let the agent know how long the book is. For my genre (romance!), it’s a bit long but most agents didn’t seem to mind. Next, I state my comp (comparison) titles. These are SUPER important. This is the part my agent talked the most about on our call. She loved them and noted how she could see a little bit of each book reflected in either my writing style, characters, or theme. I was happy to hear that because it showed me just how important comps are and it was also very intentional. 

Typically, when I choose comp titles, I want three titles that do three things:

• One that reflects my writing style

• One with similar characterization

• One with plot elements close to mine

Notice instead of just listing them, I point out specific things in each book that my book also has in some way. My friend Cardigan saved me with this point! They reminded me that you want to be as specific as possible here because readers love different things about different books, and you don’t want agents coming up with preconceived notions about your book before reading your pages.

An important thing to note when choosing comps is to make sure you include recent (within the last several years) titles that are not NYT’s Bestsellers or extremely well-known. For example, if you are pitching an alternate history novel, don’t comp Babel by R.F. Kuang because when the agent gets into your pages, they’ll be looking for that same level of writing, story, or world-building which could lead to rejection because they didn’t see the connection.

Adriana Levisco's made a lot of mistakes in her life, but kissing Kent—her ex-fiance's brother—in front of three hundred people at their family's charity gala is easily her worst. To save face and her reputation as a wedding planner in New York City, she enters into a contract with him: pretend to date until they can arrange a quiet break up. Not only does it save the reputation of Adriana's growing business, but it helps Kent from having to suffer through one more blind date with the daughters of her elite friends.

When her services attract the attention of an heiress to a billion-dollar media conglomerate, Adriana knows the publicity her wedding will garner could change her life and business forever. There's just one thing…

Her soon-to-be-husband is Adriana's ex.

Lies, tulle, and sparks fly as Kent and Adriana's fake arrangement quickly turns real, leaving them to choose between what is comfortable and what their hearts really want.

You want to treat this section like the inside of a book jacket (it used to be the back cover before they put trade/author reviews back there LOL!) and to learn the art of them, I read the dust jackets and Goodreads listings of popular books in my genre to get an idea of how they sound. I’m also using the three-paragraph (slightly more because I broke it up for stylistic purposes) structure to pitch the story.

In the first paragraph, you are going to introduce your characters, set up your world, and explain what your protagonist wants more than anything. For me, I wanted to focus more on the stakes so that’s why you see me jumping straight into the action. Then in a line or two, you’ll describe what is standing in their way. The next paragraph is all about what happens next. It’s that moment of no return, when their world is upended, and they have to step into their new reality. 

Previously agented, I am a proud first-generation Guatemalan American currently residing in sunny Southern California and hope to offer readers stories that can act as safe places to escape the storm called life. Growing up, I never saw myself in fiction, and now, as an adult, desire to write stories with diverse casts of characters so that all may see a bit of themselves represented on the page. When I'm not writing or reading romance novels until 3 AM, I'm marathoning the latest K-drama, podcasting, teaching Korean for an international virtual academy, or learning languages.

Thank you for your time and consideration!

In light,
Alex

[ social media stats here! ] ← optional! 

The final bit of your query letter is about…you! The author who wrote your amazing story! In this section, tell the agent a bit about your background, any writing credentials you may have, and why you write/wrote this book. If you don’t have a ton of writing credits (I didn’t!) include a fun fact or two about you to fill in some space. 

You’ll end with a polite closing line and then, this is optional, but I included my social media stats as well. If you have a platform that has stats worth noting, list them. There is no harm, but don’t sweat it if you have a smaller following or don’t have social media at all. 

It’s not the end all be all, but it is helpful for agents to see if you do. 

I hope this was helpful to anyone thinking about being in or are currently in the query trenches, and let me know if you’d like me to break down the dreaded synopsis next. I’ve struggled for years with that aspect of my query package, but I think I finally cracked the code on how to write it in an hour or less. 

Love, 

Alex