Blog

Floyd Largent | Book Editing Associates

In Part I of this blog entry, I discussed the crucial need to provide a detailed, complete query package to the publishers and agents you’re asking to consider your book. Writers have to play by the rules set by the publication industry, which first means getting our work past the gatekeepers. I also outlined the optional elements of such a query packet.

 

In some cases, the query letter should be the only item in the initial query packet; be sure to follow the publisher’s or agent’s rules here. Some prefer to use the query letter as a filter before asking for more material.

If queries aren’t your forte, pick up a copy of Lisa Collier Cool’s How to Write Irresistible Query Letters. It’s an inexpensive book, and you may be able to find it in your public library. While she focuses on the types of queries you’d write to interest an editor in a magazine article, the same principles apply for book package query letters. The book is an invaluable tool for learning the subject.

On to the synopsis, which is a more detailed treatment that focuses only on the story. No matter the length of the book, I recommend you try to limit your synopsis to 4-8 pages; you don’t want to tell them everything, and again, agents and first readers at publishers tend to be overworked people who value their time. If the outline goes on too long, they may lose interest and put it aside… and so much for your story. Some editors and agents prefer even shorter synopses, on the order of two pages, so give them what they want. You may as well create both short and longer synopses as you’re putting the query packet together.

Then there’s the manuscript sample. This part of the query packet will vary from agent to agent or publisher to publisher, according to their rules. Follow them explicitly. I’m assuming you’re working from guidelines you accessed either from a website or a source like Writer’s Market, so give them precisely what they want. If they ask for 50 pages, give them 50 pages; if they ask for 30, give them 30. Many ask for the book’s first three chapters. All they really want is a taste of your storytelling ability—and an excuse to weed out the people who can’t or won’t follow directions, so they can whittle down their workload. Don’t assume your brilliance will make you exempt; it might, but that’s not likely. If they see you’ve ignored their requirements, your query packet may be dismissed out of hand.

If you have trouble putting a query package together, ask your editor to help. Some of us in the network actually specialize in query letters and similar documents, while others will add the query package as another service to the customer. Some will do so free of charge; others may ask for an extra fee. It’s up to you to negotiate what works for you. But whatever you do, when submitting your novel for consideration by either an agent or a publisher, don’t forget the query package!

Contents of a Novel Query Package, Part I